Sr Research Associate - Product & Market Intelligence, Employee Benefits Division (EBD)

Reporting to the Senior Director Product Management, the Product and Market Intelligence Senior Associate will play a pivotal role in shaping product strategy by delivering actionable insights through market, customer, and competitive research. This individual is responsible for working within the Product team to perform analysis and research contributing to the strategic positioning of EBD's product portfolio. This role will lead a broad spectrum of projects, including gathering current product information, performing market and competitive analysis, and formulating research findings as well as customer insights to inform the product roadmap. In collaboration with cross-functional areas such as Sales, Marketing, Actuarial, Operations, and IT, this function will provide insights to senior management that will drive new product and service offerings as well as resolution of issues and concerns around existing products. The incumbent will apply strategic thinking and storytelling to inform decisions that drive growth, improve customer experience, and enhance retention across the EBD product portfolio.

Specific Responsibilities:

* Develop and execute research strategies aligned with business priorities.

* Lead research efforts supporting product innovation, market expansion, and strategic planning.

* Provide research support within the department and across departments on products and capabilities under consideration as well as existing products.

* Inform product roadmap decisions by identifying and validating growth opportunities through quantitative and qualitative research.

* Work with product leadership to support recommended product changes and new product strategy.

* Provide support that ensures effective coordination and communication among stakeholders.

* Vet external research vendors, tools, and platforms to ensure quality and relevance.

* Deliver data-driven presentations that translate insights into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders.

* Gather and analyze relevant data to create business cases and cost-benefits analysis to support strategic direction.

* Develop and maintain documentation content of market insights and competitive intelligence.

Qualifications:

* 7-10 years of relevant experience.

* Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Marketing, or a related field; Master's degree a plus.

* Adept in product analysis, market research, and a passion for leveraging data in strategic decision making.

* Excellent communication and presentation skills, with an ability to craft clear and compelling data narratives.

* Ability to gain a working knowledge of various data sources.

* Experience working in cross-functional teams and managing multiple initiatives simultaneously.

* Strategic mindset with a bias for action and continuous improvement.

* Ability to work both individually and as part of a team to gather information with limited supervision and guidance.

* Proficient in Excel. Familiarity with SQL and data visualization tools such as Tableau, or Power BI a plus.

* Experience in Insurance or Financial Services preferred.

Employee Benefits:

We aim to protect the wellbeing of our employees and their families with a broad benefits offering. In addition to offering comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance, we support emotional wellbeing through mental health benefits and an employee assistance program. Work/life balance is important and Protective offers a variety of paid time away benefits ( e.g. , paid time off, paid parental leave, short-term disability, and a cultural observance day). The financial health of our employees is just as important as physical and emotional health. Some of the financial wellbeing benefits include contributions to healthcare accounts, a pension plan, and a 401(k) plan with Company matching. All employees are encouraged to protect their overall wellbeing by engaging in ProHealth Rewards, Protective's platform to improve wellbeing while earning cash rewards.

Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability :

If you require an accommodation to complete the application and recruitment process due to a disability, please email martina.winston@protective.com . This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application and recruitment process.