Research Manager
Department: Research
Job Status: Full-Time
Shift: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Days Worked: Mon., Tue., Wed., Thu., Fri.
Rate of Pay: $55,000.00 – $65,000.00 Annually
Position Type: Permanent
Opportunity
The Research Manager at Intersect Illinois is a part of a team of economic development professionals using informed data analytics to attract investment and jobs into the state of Illinois. This position’s primary responsibility is to conduct research for projects, marketing materials, and partner communities(among other internal and external partners). The manager works to expand the team’s understanding of Illinois’ economy, the region’s competitive assets and other topics. This position reports to the Research Director and works closely with the business development, corporate relations, executive and marketing teams. Preference will be given to candidates with previous economic development (or closely related)and market research experience. The position is eligible to receive a performance-based year-end bonus.
Responsibilities
- Conduct research including labor analytics, business information/market research, public data collection and synthesis, and customized reports, cataloguing findings as necessary
- Collaborate closely with Intersect Illinois’ business development, and marketing teams
- Initiate and conduct market research to optimize lead identification and resulting conversion to projects(business looking to expand in Illinois)
- Administration of Intersect’s Real Estate Database (GISPlanning). Includes maintaining high-quality data, creating new users, training partners on system, and analyzing system usage
- Day-to-day project management responsibilities, ensuring timely delivery of research deliverables and championing continuous improvement processes
- Administration responsibilities for Microsoft Dynamics365 (CRM) include building system improvements, creating and consolidating attribute fields, among other related tasks
- Interact with network of research partners including the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other collaborators throughout the state
- Perform other special projects and duties as assigned
Knowledge/Experience
- Functional knowledge and passion for: labor analytics, business information/market research, quantitative analytics, project management, research methods, economic analysis, and public data collection
- Preferred experience with any of the following: energy markets/policy analysis, comparative tax analysis, rural economic development, technology based economic development
- Proficiency in desktop research, project management framework(s), utilizing public data sources (i.e. BLS, BEA, Census, FAA, BTS), database management, data visualization, Microsoft Office Suite(particularly Excel)
- Experience with any of the following is beneficial: spatial analysis (namely ArcMap/ArcPro), Python for data analysis
- Attributes: intellectual curiosity/desire to learn new things; strong business acumen; ability to find solutions to problems as they arise and taking ownership of assigned work; able to manage multiple projects concurrently and meet time-sensitive deadlines; proven ability to learn quickly and work with limited supervision; team-based approach towards work
- Skills: exceptional critical thinking skills; project management and organization; appetite for synthesizing large amounts of data into compelling facts and figures; superb communication and interpersonal skills; excellent professional judgement
- Degree: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline
Preference to candidates with 2+ years of economic development research, business attraction, or similar relevant experience
Research Team
The research team at Intersect Illinois is responsible for collecting, analyzing and communicating information and data for internal and external partners in support of the organization’s mission to drive economic growth throughout Illinois. The research team collaborates closely with and supports the business development, corporate relations, executive and marketing teams.