Director Consumer Insight

Music is Universal
 
It's the passionate and dedicated team at Universal Music who help make us the world's leading music company. From A&R to finance, legal to digital, sales to marketing, Universal Music is the place to grow and develop your career within a truly commercial and innovative business that leads in everything it does.

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We will always seek to make appropriate adjustments to recruitment, workplaces, and work processes to be fully inclusive to people with different needs and working styles. If you need us to make any reasonable adjustments for you from application onwards, including alternatives to the online form or to disclose a neurocognitive condition, please email

The A Side: A Day in The Life

UMG's Global Insight team manages some of the most powerful and effective data and research capabilities in the music industry. Alongside advanced analytics, we deliver world-class market and consumer research that explores the evolving attitudes, behaviours, and motivations of today's music audiences worldwide.

The Consumer Insight team (part of the Global Insight department) leads strategic insights and research for Universal Music Group's labels and business units — supporting digital, commercial, and A&R teams with a deep understanding of audiences, artists, and markets.

We are seeking a Director, Consumer Insight – to drive the core of the research team with a focus on strategic projects – including concept testing new ideas to bring to market, spotting ways to grow our non-recorded business, consumer adoption of AI and many more. This individual will take a senior role in an already high performing team, with strong existing infrastructure.

Reporting to the SVP of Global Insight, this senior, London-based role will act as an in-house consultant, bringing agency-honed research and strategic expertise into UMG. We will be looking for someone who thrives on pro-activity, autonomy and has a drive to consistently evolve and improve the work we do and how we do it.

The B Side: Skills & Experience

Agency / consultancy experience is sought after as this is a unique role – where the process of undertaking, analyzing and reporting projects is mostly done in house rather than going via external insight agencies.

The candidate must have a proactive mindset - someone who identifies signals early, shapes the right questions, and converts them into high-impact, multi-market programs.

The role demands genuine autonomy: ownership of the full arc from hypothesis to decision, including scoping, running large scale quant, stress-testing findings, and delivering clear, time-bound recommendations.

The role has management responsibility of mid-level team members so being able to demonstrate and provide case studies of nurturing talent is expected.

Be Insightful

• Design and oversee qualitative and quantitative studies exploring consumer attitudes, motivations, and shopping behaviour across artist and fan ecosystems.

• Translate data and research findings into clear, strategic recommendations for revenue growth, product development, and fan engagement.

• Partner with analytics teams to interpret sales and performance data, transforming quantitative signals into actionable consumer stories.

• Commission and manage external research partners where appropriate, ensuring a high standard of design, insight, and storytelling.

Be Collaborative

• Partner with a wide range of UMG's business verticals to drive growth.

• Collaborate across Global Insight in London, New York, and Los Angeles to integrate global insights into wider business and audience strategies.

• Work closely with label and central teams to embed thinking across artist campaigns and fan initiatives.

• Act as a thought leader, driving the internal narrative on the future of the business and new verticals.

• Represent Global Insight within senior cross-functional forums, championing the role of research and consumer understanding in shaping UMG's commercial agenda.

Skills & Experience

• 7+ years' experience in market research, consumer insight, or strategy — ideally within eCommerce, retail, or consumer brand sectors.

• Proven success in translating consumer insight into commercial and digital strategy.

• Strong quantitative / qualitative research skills — from concept testing and segmentation to trend and competitor analysis.

• Experience leading or advising cross-functional teams in an in-house capacity; background in agency or consultancy work is highly valued.

• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills; able to turn data and research into compelling, actionable strategy.

• Strategic thinker with a commercial mindset and passion for music, fandom, and digital innovation.

Personal Specification

• A visionary insight leader who combines creativity with commercial focus.

• Entrepreneurial mindset is a must, can demonstrate pro-activity and autonomy.

• Collaborative, empathetic, and able to inspire others across multiple disciplines and regions.

Just So You Know…

The company presents this job description as a guide to the major areas and duties for which the jobholder is accountable. However, the business operates in an environment that demands change and the jobholder's specific responsibilities and activities will vary and develop. Therefore, the job description should be seen as indicative and not as a permanent, definitive, and exhaustive statement.