To apply and see full job description, please visit www.smud.org/Careers

Senior Market Research Specialist

Communications, Marketing and Community Relations

Introduction

We are seeking a full time Senior Market Research Specialist who is passionate about understanding and solving practical business questions by combining data-driven analytics and customer insights.

We’re looking for someone who can successfully partner with cross-functional business stakeholders to identify and address critical business issues and utilize innovative market research, analytical methods, and modeling to translate quantitative and qualitative assessments into actionable insights.

Join us as we pursue our vision to make customer insights accessible, usable, informational and valuable to our key stakeholders at various levels of the organization. We are a company filled with people who are excited about how customer research and data science can advance SMUD’s 2030 Zero Carbon Vision and deliver the best experience for our customers. At SMUD, we’re committed to our work, employees, customers, having fun and most importantly to each other’s success.

Purpose

Directs projects and provides technical expertise in the collection and dissemination of marketing and customer information and the conduct of market research studies that form the basis of SMUD’s marketing decisions, strategies and policies; analyzes current market trends and evaluate current and potential product and service offerings in light of market conditions.

Nature & Scope: Serves as a technical or functional expert or consultant providing expertise and/or direction in one or more areas of a professional discipline and assumes responsibility for resolving complex problems and overseeing complex projects. May also serve in a Lead role and assist in planning, coordinating, prioritizing, monitoring and evaluating the work results in assigned area and in selecting, training, motivating, evaluating and developing lower-level personnel.

Position Type

Regular - Full Time

No. of Openings

1

Pay Scale Group

PAS0056O

Base Salary Annual Low

$97,248

Base Salary Annual High

$128,847

Selection Process

Initial Review, Qualifications Interview, Follow-Up Interview, Reference Check, Background Check

Major Duties & Responsibilities

Work may include, but is not limited to, the following: (NOTE: While in general all the functions and requirements listed are essential, individual positions and/or locations may not require all duties be performed.)

• Identifies customer needs, preferences and priorities for product and service attributes; measures SMUD performance on product and service attributes for continuous improvement process; models customer loyalty and satisfaction; develops and manages a system for on-going measurement and monitoring of customer satisfaction and loyalty; prepares and presents understandable and informative reports to management and the Board.
• Conducts market research studies to determine customer segmentation strategies, and support development of appropriate service and product strategies for different customer segments.
• Develops marketing information through the coordination and integration of customer databases that contain information pertinent to customer purchasing behavior and ensure the integration of marketing databases with corporate data and data structure.
• Generates new product ideas by conducting ideation sessions with outside experts, industry leaders, and SMUD staff; identifies existing products, ideas and trends in the marketplace; evaluates the feasibility and viability of potential product and service offerings for SMUD.
• Supports the design of new product/service features and offerings and development of product-specific marketing strategies and materials through identification of desirable product and service attributes, competitor offerings and appropriate target markets.
• Evaluates market potential by estimating customers willingness to pay for services, demand and price modeling to determine optimal price, and estimating elasticities and effects.
• Conducts preliminary screenings to test initial customer reactions to new and redesigned products and services.
• Performs competitive analysis to determine competitors’ existing strengths, weaknesses and product strategies; assesses and compares SMUD’s strengths and weaknesses with competitors; assists in the development and assignment of probabilities to various strategic marketing planning scenarios.
• Provides technical expertise to staff in the areas of quantitative research methods, statistical analysis, and market and customer research methodologies.
• Performs related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in marketing, business administration, economics, statistics or a related field. A Master’s degree is desirable.

Experience: Five (5+) or more years of relevant experience in directing market research projects, coordinating interdepartmental teams responsible for the ongoing collection and dissemination of marketing and customer data and making presentations of technical material to senior management, governing boards and outside agencies. Experience in the utility industry is desirable.

Knowledge Of: Project management and control; operational and service characteristics of the electric utility industry; quantitative and qualitative methods of marketing and customer research including complex multivariate statistical techniques such as regression, conjoint, discriminate, discrete choice and factor analysis; research and sample design, survey methods, data collection, analysis and reporting of results; competitive intelligence research techniques and practices; economic and pricing principles; principles and practices of developing, managing and maintaining complex databases; office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.

Skill To: Work effectively across all SMUD departments and engage the cooperation of all functional areas of SMUD in the development of customer information and information databases; plan and design research projects including sampling methods and development of survey instruments; apply appropriate statistical and analytic techniques; seek out and apply new and improved techniques and industry practices; coordinate with contractors in the performance of research projects; operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications; prepare clear and concise analytical reports; communicate effectively orally and in writing internally/externally; establish and maintain effective working relationships internally/externally.

Desirable Qualifications

To see full description, visit www.smud.org/Careers

Skill To: Work effectively across all SMUD departments and engage the cooperation of all functional areas of SMUD in the development of customer information and information databases; plan and design research projects including sampling methods and development of survey instruments; apply appropriate statistical and analytic techniques; seek out and apply new and improved techniques and industry practices; coordinate with contractors in the performance of research projects; operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications; prepare clear and concise analytical reports; communicate effectively orally and in writing internally/externally; establish and maintain effective working relationships internally/externally.

To apply and see full job description, please visit www.smud.org/Careers