Sr. Strategic Insights Manager

Background

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a non-profit organization founded in 1876 and chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry. Our mission is to advance scientific knowledge empower a global community and champion scientific integrity. Our vision is a world built on science.

There are two major operating locations with approximately 1850 addition the ACS has a representative foreign office in China and several field representatives throughout Europe and Asia who promote the use of ACS programs products and services. A dozen field offices in the United States and abroad also serve as news gathering centers for Chemical & Engineering News the monthly ACS magazine. Global operations are managed through ACSI Ltd. The Societys annual operating revenue is approximately $800M.

The Societys membership is composed of individuals of widely diversified interests and objectives ranging from undergraduate students in the chemical sciences to the highly experienced chemical professionals in industry academia government and elsewhere. The Society has over 180 local sections and over thirty technical divisions as well as student chapters and international chapters.

Position Summary

Under the Societys Business Strategy and Operations (BSO) unit the Research and Innovation (R&I) department serves as stewards of the Societys research and innovation efforts across functional areas such as Membership Education and Career Development Science Research & Sustainability and Meetings & Expositions among others. The R&I department advises on defining what we want to learn or solve; gathers relevant data from internal systems new research or external sources; and uses qualitative and quantitative data analysis to generate insights that drive and validate decisions and identify trends. The department also leads the Society Units innovation governance strategy and implementation.

Reporting to the R&I Director the Senior Strategic Insights Manager leads research projects and cross-functional workstreams; manages external vendors and participant recruitment; influences senior stakeholders through evidence-based recommendations; may mentor colleagues and coordinate matrixed teams. This role drives member- and market-centered learning partners closely with quantitative teammates and translates insights into decisions and measurable impact across ACS programs and services.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end qualitative research programs: scope design recruit moderate synthesize and tell the story using methods such as in-depth interviews focus groups journey mapping and jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) to uncover member needs across segments (students academia industry government international).
• Create rigorous research plans and protocols: develop research briefs discussion guides screeners sampling frames and consent materials that meet ethical standards protect participant privacy and ensure representation across ACS governance structure.
• Synthesize qualitative data into actionable insights: conduct coding and thematic analysis (e.g. grounded theory affinity mapping insight frameworks) triangulate with quantitative findings and deliver clear narratives personas journey maps and opportunity areas that inform membership education meetings publishing and sustainability strategies.
• Partner closely with quantitative researchers/analysts: collaborate on mixed-methods designs; align qualitative learning objectives with survey constructs segmentation and conjoint/discrete choice modeling; interpret statistical outputs; and jointly craft cohesive insight stories that drive data-informed decisions.
• Lead market and constituencys experience research: assess program awareness value proposition pricing sensitivities channel preferences and content needs; benchmark against peer professional societies and publishers; and identify growth opportunities across the membership lifecycle (acquisition engagement renewal reactivation).
• Translate insights into decisions and measurable impact: frame insights as trade-offs and scenarios; recommend pilots/experiments; define success metrics (e.g. engagement NPS conversion retention and revenue for mission-aligned initiatives); and partner with business owners to track outcomes via dashboards (e.g. Power BI Tableau).
• Elevate research quality consistency and speed: establish research operations standardstoolkits templates IRB/ethics checks where applicable vendor management participant recruitment best practices incentive policiesand build a searchable insight repository that supports institutional memory.
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement and alignment: run workshops and readouts with executives and cross-functional teams; use facilitation techniques (e.g. design sprints assumption mapping opportunity solution trees) to align learning objectives decisions to be made and actions owners will take.
• Support innovation governance and strategy: contribute qualitative evidence to ACSs innovation portfolio; help prioritize concepts de-risk new offerings and validate desirability/feasibility/viability; integrate member voice into stage-gate decisions and business cases.
• Ensure global relevance and inclusion: design and conduct research that accounts for cultural linguistic and regional differences (e.g. China office Europe/Asia field representatives); apply inclusive research practices to reach underrepresented groups and diverse career stages across ACSs global community.
• Communicate insights through compelling deliverables: produce concise executive briefs narrative memos visual storyboards and decision-ready presentations tailored to stakeholders in Membership Education & Career Development Science Research & Sustainability and Meetings & Expositions.

This role is based in our Washington D.C. office. A reasonable rate of compensation for this position is between $112000-$130000 per year.

ACS currently provides the following benefits for this position: paid vacation leave paid sick leave paid holidays health insurance flexible spending account or health care savings account dental insurance life insurance vision insurance retirement benefits short- and long-term disability and 4-week work from anywhere; each benefit is subject to the terms of the applicable program. Additional benefits may apply based on skills experience and location.

Any actual offer of employment reflecting the total compensation package and benefits will be made in the sole discretion of ACS. ACS reserves the right to amend or modify its employment benefits and compensation structure at any time.

Required Experience:

Manager