VPII, Client Insights - (Remote: Chicago / East Coast)

Client Insights Team Lead

Let’s be unstoppable together!

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives. We’re a global company dedicated to fostering inclusivity and belonging. We value and celebrate the unique experiences, cultures, and viewpoints that each individual brings. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and beyond, we create a stronger, more innovative environment for our employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work. Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana.

Learn more at www.circana.com.

What will you be doing?

The Client Insights Principal is a high-profile role designed to support and drive profitable client growth and impact in an environment which requires a deep understanding of data, analytics, and technology. We are looking for a seasoned partner who can act as a trusted client advisor, influence and direct client strategies, and lead with a POV on modern day marketing questions. This role requires deep experience across Research, Media, Brand, Sales, Strategy and SRM functions. This role will serve as the connective tissue across and within both the client functions and Circana’s analytic, media, insights and omni teams; therefore, requires strong collaboration and leadership skills to drive followership.

As a Client Insights Principal, you will lead and develop a high-performance team culture using Circana’s solutions to identify and address a broad spectrum of key marketing issues and business opportunities. The Client Insights Principal serves as a passionate advocate for the client in advancing solutions that will best build the client’s long-term business. While exceeding revenue targets is important, success is equally measured by the ability to create indispensable, long-term, solution-focused consultative partnerships.

Job Responsibilities

As a Client Insights Principal, you will leverage data and analytic solutions to drive impactful insights that inform business strategies and actions that elevate client performance. You will lead a high-performance team utilizing Circana’s core solution set in tandem with advanced analytic studies to address a broad spectrum of key marketing and sales business questions. The role will act as a player coach with the expectation that this candidate can drive executive engagement but also contribute to the work required to bring forward the most compelling and action-oriented insights. The Client Insights Principal serves as a passionate advocate for the client in advancing solutions that will best build the client’s long-term business. Collaboration is central to the role’s success. Internally, the Principal can expect to work with the broader Analytics & Consulting team, Consumer & Shopper Insights,

Client Insights & Delivery, New Business, Media Center of Excellence, Technology, Retail, and Product Management. Externally, the Principal will work with relevance at all levels up to the C-Suite and across the key functions of Market Research, Marketing, Sales, Shopper Insights, Category Management, Strategy, Brand Management and SRM.

At your disposal will be Circana’s unparalleled UNIFY+ platform and complete access to a constantly expanding ecosystem of data. Data includes proprietary access to POS, FSP, Household Panel, Experian, and Supply Chain among other data assets. While activities will vary, the CI Principal can expect to spend his/her time on industry thought leadership, business development, project management, cross-functional team leadership, problem-solving, and innovation. This leader oversees a team of twenty with four direct reports.

Client Insights Principal at CIRCANA possesses and executes upon four key skill sets:

• Analytic Capability: Use a systematic approach to solving problems that involve breaking it into smaller pieces, tracking the implications of situations, generating multiple alternatives, and making comparisons of potential solutions before taking action.
• Quality Control: Drive to achieve high-quality results through effective data integrity.
• Planning and Organizing: Determine effort and resources required to meet objectives; able to plan, coordinate and manage resources effectively to ensure task completion.
• Client Focus: Consistently act with client satisfaction in mind and follow through on commitments to ensure the needs of the client are met.

Requirements In addition to the above skills set, the ideal candidate must possess the following:

• 10 + years of progressive business experience with a strong understanding of manufacturer/retailer industry issues having worked in one or more of the environments below:
  • Retailer (any channel)
  • Consumer Packaged Goods
• Ability to develop and execute strategies and architect business proposals leveraging a cross-functional team of service line experts by integrating Circana’s services and solutions and aligning them with specific business needs.
• Demonstrated ability driving C-level engagements across the broad spectrum of core issues (i.e. performance challenges, merchandising, category management, marketing, etc.)
• Proven experience always maintaining manufacturer and retailer perspectives in mind; able to think through multiple divergent paths and understand the implications on the client and CIRCANA.
• A track record of leveraging innovative solutions with a focus on the consumer experience.
• General management and P&L responsibility equal to or larger than $20M with a track record of revenue and profit growth through the achievement of short- and long-term objectives
• Proven experience and success driving revenue growth through innovation
• Impactful executive presence
• Ability to translate vision articulated by stakeholders into solutions.
• Leadership - able to demonstrate leadership of direct reports and complex project teams.
• Business Insights - able to quickly assess complex client issues and identify root causality versus symptoms.
• Impact - able to convey technical content and data analytics to all audiences in compelling ways.
• Undergraduate degree required; Advanced degree preferred.

Competencies
To be successful as a Client Insights, Principal you must possess and be able to execute upon five key skill sets:

Business Insights and Consulting: Provide clear, deep perceptions and recommendations regarding decisions, situations, and business benefits:

• Routinely delivers ad hoc cross-functional recommendations to clients for improved client business results.
• Remains in tune with external business climate-identifies trends and their business impact early.
• Informed on Business Insights and Analytics best practices, and leverages learning to find new insight opportunities that inform growth actions.
• Ability to synthesize, distill and reconcile key finds from complex sets of information. Can further lead team to leverage data and analysis to make concise and compelling recommendations to clients.
• Generate new perspectives, ideas or innovations that allow problems to be solved.
• Link industry trends and global factors to deliver cross-functional projects and insights that address C-level issues.

Innovation: Contribute to the development and creation of new or enhanced methods, products and/or services; approach job function with original and progressive thinking in order to improve processes, methods, systems and services:

• Understands and communicates Circana brand and strategic vision.
• Identifies novel approaches for completing client engagements more effectively or efficiently and works within the established system to push for “a better way.”
• Develop better, faster, and cost-effective ways to get business results. Proposes new approaches and methods.
• Reviews, selects and disseminates information regarding key technologies, best practices and tools.

Client Management and Value: Understand economics of Circana and the client to effectively manage client projects and relationships:

• Prioritizes workload and allocates resources to accomplish business objectives.
• Forward thinking: anticipates client needs in a changing marketplace.
• Build and maintain support and trust with the client; act as a trusted advisor to help client balance achievement of short- and long-term goals.
• Drive transformation at the client while accelerating the growth and penetration of Circana.
• Establishes and manages systems and measures for results that meet or exceed expectations. Hold self and team to a high level of performance.
• Create client engagement at all levels from market research and development to brand, sales and the CXO team.

People Leadership: Build capability within the organization, setting high standards of performance for self and team. Self-motivated; and serves as a role model of leadership in all situations.

• Manages one or several larger teams with direct and indirect reports.
• Builds talent capabilities to meet current and future business needs.
• Build a high performing team through actively recruiting, developing talent, and retaining top talent.
• Inform and inspire others about Circana’s vision and mission in order to promote understanding, elevate engagement and build loyalty with all team members.
• Individual Leadership: Active management of career choices and decisions; takes ownership of personal development.
• Receptive to and seeks coaching and feedback - leverages understanding to grow and develop.
• Executive presence and influence
• Maintains a positive mindset.
• Shares credit with others

Individual Leadership: Active management of career choices and decisions; takes ownership of personal development.

• Receptive to and seeks coaching and feedback - leverages understanding to grow and develop.
• Executive presence and influence
• Maintains a positive mindset.
• Shares credit with others

Circana Behaviors

As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviors sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviors throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions.
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action.
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices.
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers.
• Being a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect and integrity.
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone.

Location

This position can be located in the following area(s): Chicago or East Coast (Remote)

The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $200,000-$230,000.

This job is also eligible for bonus pay.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

You can apply for this role through [methods to apply (e.g., Careers website link and/or Intranet site for internal candidates).

The anticipated application deadline for this position is Oct. 1st, 2025.

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Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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