Research Manager - Travel, Tourism, Sports and Events

Company Description GSIQ is a global research and insights agency focused on intelligence across sport, sponsorship, tourism, and their convergence. Operating through two integrated pillars - Sports & Sponsorship and Tourism Insights - GSIQ combines data-led expertise with hubs across North America, UK & Europe, MENA, India & Subcontinent, and Australia & New Zealand. The agency delivers tailored, client-centric solutions that translate complex intelligence into clear, actionable outcomes and measurable commercial impact. GSIQ has received multiple industry honors, including awards and shortlists for innovation, advisory services, and data and analytics in sport. These recognitions highlight its leadership in shaping intelligence across sport, sponsorship, tourism, live experiences, entertainment, culture, and the wider economy. We are looking for an experienced Research Manager to take ownership of quantitative research projects, from understanding the client's question through to presenting the findings. You will work across both recurring trackers and bespoke studies, often involving several countries, audiences or suppliers. This is a hands-on role. You will write and review questionnaires, check survey scripts and fieldwork, interrogate data, build the story in reports and presentations, and manage day-to-day client communication. You will also help scope new work and support colleagues working on your projects. You will be confident leading established research approaches independently and know when to bring in specialist support for advanced analysis, complex methods or sensitive decisions. Experience in travel, tourism, sport or events or researching these industries is highly desirable; strong research judgement and excellence delivery experience matter most. Primary Research & Insight Delivery

• Work with clients and senior colleagues to clarify the decisions the research needs to inform, the target audience, and the outputs required.
• Recommend appropriate quantitative or mixed-method approaches, explaining the practical implications of sample, timing, cost and methodology.
• Develop research plans covering audiences, markets, sample and quotas, measures, fieldwork, analysis and reporting.
• Write clear questionnaires with routing.
• Contribute to qualitative projects by helping develop discussion guides, reviewing findings and bringing quantitative and qualitative evidence together. Deliver projects from start to finish
• Own project plans, deadlines, budgets, responsibilities and regular client updates.
• Either script surveys (if a single country brief) yourself or brief and coordinate with panel providers, designers and other partners.
• Monitor fieldwork progress and data quality. Identify issues early, investigate their cause and recommend a clear course of action.
• Manage changes to scope or timings transparently, keeping clients and colleagues informed.
• Check data, review bases, weighting, data and comparisons between markets or waves, examine unexpected results and distinguish a genuine finding from a change in sample, wording, method or processing.
• Review work produced by junior colleagues and suppliers, giving clear and constructive feedback. Turn data into useful insight
• Produce reports, presentations and executive summaries, present findings confidently to clients and work with dashboard and data teams to ensure that published outputs are consistent with the underlying research. Build strong client relationships
• Act as a reliable day-to-day contact for assigned projects and accounts.
• Lead project meetings, manage expectations and give clients practical advice when choices or problems arise.
• Understand each client's organisation and use that context to make the research more relevant.
• Contribute to proposals, research designs, costings and presentations for new work or extensions to existing programmes. Support the team
• Coach less experienced researchers, help improve outputs, templates and processes where they make research more accurate, efficient or easier for clients to use. Your impact: Reliable project delivery and strong client confidence in our insight capability. Reporting: You will report directly to the Managing Partner who will oversee and support all research projects but you will be responsible for the majority of project delivery. Project examples: projects might include tourism policy impact measurement, sponsorship campaign uplift study, concept/stadium development, fan insight (qual/quant), international brand tracking, tourism destination development. Compensation Structure Base Salary Depending on experience + Performance Bonus Who This Role Is Ideal For You likely have:
• 5 – 8+ years in market research ·       Track record of research study project delivery success (from questionnaire design and scripting through fieldwork, analysis and reporting with sound knowledge of sampling, quotas, weighting, bases, and multi-wave, international projects)
• Experience managing clients, suppliers, budgets and several deadlines at once as well as working with and presenting to senior stakeholders
• Excellent PowerPoint, Excel and GenAI skills
• Comfort working in a fast-paced environment where you have more ownership of all aspects of the project
• Interest in Travel and Tourism, Sports, or Events industry research
• The ability to manage delivery of multiple projects at once
• Strong written and spoken English, other European languages also highly desirable
• Confidence presenting findings with clients
• Helpfulness, positivity and a can-do/will-work-it-out attitude desirable Particularly valuable experience ·      Multi-country research or recurring brand, destination or consumer trackers. ·      Travel, tourism, destination marketing, hospitality, sport or events research. ·      Visitor profiles, resident sentiment, campaign effectiveness, event evaluation, segmentation or B2B research. ·      Comfortable using and analysing raw data, survey scripting tools, online analysis tools, and dashboard products. ·      Working with qualitative researchers, moderators or social listening outputs. ·      Writing proposals and helping identify follow-on opportunities with existing clients. Why this role at GSIQ?
• Own your projects. You will have a real say in the research, from shaping the approach and solving challenges to presenting findings and seeing how clients use them.
• Enjoy a varied, dynamic role. Our work spans travel, tourism, sport and events, with new questions, audiences and destinations to explore.
• Work with exciting clients. You will collaborate with major brands, industry associations and destinations around the world on research that informs meaningful financial, strategic and marketing decisions, and even national travel strategies and policies.
• Make your ideas count. As a fast-growing company, we welcome your input on how we design studies, deliver projects and improve the way we work.
• Build your profile. There will be opportunities to attend and speak at industry events, present webinars, work with marketing and help grow GSIQ's reputation.
• Grow with us. You will have room to develop your expertise and take on new responsibilities as the company grows.
• Feel supported. You will work with great colleagues, established systems and experienced researchers who are happy to share ideas and help each other.
• Come together in a great space. Our office at WeWork Chancery Lane, London gives us a welcoming place to collaborate as part of our hybrid working arrangement working alongside our sports media colleagues.