Guide · Careers
Career map: roles and routes in insight and analytics
Explore the role families, workplaces and skills that shape a career in insight and intelligence.
Insight and intelligence careers can take you through agencies, consultancies and client-side teams. Explore the roles, settings and skills that connect different paths through the industry.
Role families
Each family offers room to deepen a specialism, take on broader responsibility or move into a different setting. Titles and seniority vary between employers.
Research and insight
Agency research, from running projects to leading a team or the agency itself.
- Research Executive (RE)
- Senior Research Executive (SRE)
- Research Manager (RM)
- Associate Director (AD)
- Director
- Managing Director / agency proprietor
Client-side insight
Insight roles inside brands and businesses, including shopper and category work.
- Insight Executive and Insight Manager
- Senior Insight Analyst
- Head of Insight
- Global Intelligence & Insight Manager
- Shopper / Category Executive
- Shopper Research / Category Manager and Head of Shopper
Data and analytics
Analysis and reporting, digital and marketing analytics, and leading data teams.
- Data Analyst and Senior Data Analyst
- Head of Data
- Web Analyst and Digital Analytics Manager
- Marketing Analyst and Head of Analytics
- Analytics Manager
- Director of Analytics or Analytics & Insight
Planning and innovation
Brand, digital and strategic planning, and innovation consultancy.
- Planning Executive and Planner
- Senior Planner and Digital Planner
- Senior Brand Planner / Consultant
- Innovation Consultant and Senior Innovation Consultant
- Head of Innovation
- Director
Fieldwork and operations
Running fieldwork and research operations across qualitative and quantitative work.
- Field Executive
- Project Manager
- Operations Manager
- Operations Director
- Research Executive through Director in qualitative and quantitative fieldwork
Client service and accounts
Looking after client relationships, from account executive to running an agency.
- Account Executive
- Senior Account Executive
- Account Manager
- Account Director
- Client Service Director
- Managing Director / agency proprietor
An agency research path might run:
- RE
- SRE
- RM
- AD
- Director
Roles such as Consumer / Sensory Manager, Account Director, Senior Consultant and Project Manager can also appear in more than one setting.
Where people work
There are three broad settings: client-side, consultancy and agency. Each brings different relationships with clients, colleagues, data and decisions.
Agency settings
Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methodology agencies; field and operations specialists; media agencies; and media analytics.
Consultancy and technology
Innovation and brand consultancies; research and data technology providers; social listening and market intelligence; business intelligence, data science, web analytics and marketing data analytics.
Client-side settings
Insight, shopper and innovation teams; CRM and retail; brand, advertising and digital communications; and data and analytics teams.
Many skills travel well between these settings. A researcher might move closer to business decisions on the client side, while an analyst could deepen technical skills in a specialist consultancy.
Skills that connect the paths
Eight types of capability appear across these role families: qualitative research; quantitative research; statistics and data; interpretation of information and research; insight; management; communication; and knowledge of a market or industry. A role often draws on several at once.
As careers develop, the balance can shift from doing research or analysis to shaping questions, guiding decisions and leading people. Compare a role’s responsibilities and salary range with the work you want to do next.
Plan a move
Start with the work you want to do, the methods you enjoy and the kind of team you want to join. Then compare the role names above with the responsibilities in current adverts. A move between agency, consultancy and client-side settings may require a different mix of delivery, stakeholder and commercial skills.
Use the CV guide to explain your experience, or browse current roles to see how employers describe positions today. For pay at each stage, see average salaries by level.
