About this Vice President, Research (Insights & Intelligence) - Burson role at Burson
Who we are:
Burson, part of WPP, is the global communications leader built to create value for clients through reputation. With highly specialized teams, industry-leading technologies and breakthrough creative, we help brands and businesses redefine reputation as a competitive advantage so they can lead today and into the future. When you work at Burson, you are part of a global community of lifelong learners who thrive at the edge of innovation.
WPP (LSE/NYSE: WPP) is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com
For more information visit bursonglobal.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
More about the role:
Burson is seeking a Vice President to join our Insights & Intelligence (I&I) team. This highly strategic leadership role will drive insights, analytics, and measurement programs for a portfolio of leading healthcare and pharmaceutical clients. As healthcare continues to be a significant growth area for the business, this role will play a critical part in expanding Burson's healthcare insights capabilities while serving as a trusted advisor to both clients and internal account teams.
This is an opportunity to operate at the intersection of data, healthcare, communications, and business strategy, leading high-impact work that uncovers meaningful insights, informs decision-making, and demonstrates business impact. You will serve as a senior counselor to clients and internal stakeholders, delivering data-driven recommendations that influence brand positioning, stakeholder engagement, communications strategy, product and campaign measurement, reputation management, and broader business objectives.
The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in healthcare measurement and analytics with strong consulting and client leadership skills. They will be equally comfortable overseeing complex research programs, advising senior client stakeholders, and identifying opportunities to grow relationships and expand Burson's healthcare insights offering. Given the concentration of healthcare clients and team members, New York is the preferred location for this role.
What you'll do:
- Lead large-scale healthcare insights, analytics, and measurement engagements, overseeing data collection, analysis, and synthesis across a portfolio of pharmaceutical and healthcare clients.
- Serve as a senior strategic advisor to clients and internal account teams, translating complex healthcare market dynamics, stakeholder insights, and performance data into actionable business and communications recommendations.
- Design and lead custom qualitative and quantitative research initiatives, including landscape assessments, audience research, stakeholder insights, campaign evaluation, product launch measurement, reputation tracking, message testing, and integrated measurement frameworks.
- Oversee the execution and implementation of consulting and research programs from proposal development through final delivery, ensuring projects are completed accurately, efficiently, and on schedule.
- Develop and scale measurement frameworks that demonstrate communications impact and business outcomes across healthcare organizations, brands, and therapeutic areas.
- Lead media intelligence, social listening, and analytics programs to identify emerging trends, risks, opportunities, stakeholder sentiment, and competitive insights within the healthcare ecosystem.
- Guide the development of executive-level reports, strategic presentations, dashboards, and insight-driven recommendations for senior client stakeholders.
- Act as a trusted partner to healthcare account teams, proactively identifying opportunities to expand insights and analytics engagements and drive incremental business growth.
- Contribute to new business opportunities, client retention efforts, and strategic growth initiatives for the healthcare insights practice.
- Oversee and mentor junior team members, fostering excellence in research design, analysis, storytelling, and client service.
- Ensure accuracy, rigor, innovation, and strategic consistency across all deliverables and outputs.
- Help shape the future of Burson's healthcare insights offering by refining methodologies, introducing new capabilities, and driving thought leadership in healthcare measurement and analytics.
Experience that contributes to success:
- 8+ years of experience in healthcare insights, market research, analytics, communications measurement, management consulting, or a related field within an agency, consultancy, healthcare organization, pharmaceutical company, or research firm.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex healthcare research, analytics, and measurement programs for pharmaceutical or healthcare clients.
- Proven success managing senior client relationships and serving as a strategic advisor to executive stakeholders.
- Strong expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including audience insights, stakeholder research, measurement frameworks, campaign evaluation, and market intelligence programs.
- Experience measuring the impact of communications, marketing, reputation, product launch, and stakeholder engagement initiatives.
- Expertise in media intelligence, social listening, and analytics tools (e.g., Brandwatch, Sprinklr, NewsWhip, Meltwater, etc.) is highly desirable.
- Proven ability to synthesize complex datasets into compelling strategic narratives and recommendations for executive audiences.
- Experience leading multiple workstreams simultaneously while maintaining exceptional standards for quality, accuracy, and client service.
- Strong communication, presentation, and consulting skills, with the ability to navigate complex, highly visible, and fast-moving business environments.
- Experience managing and mentoring high-performing teams while contributing to overall practice development.
- Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint; experience with dashboards, data visualization platforms, measurement frameworks, and emerging AI/LLM tools is a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities for business growth, expand client relationships, and contribute to revenue generation.
- Collaborative, entrepreneurial, and solutions-oriented mindset with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
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Burson is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications. We offer a competitive benefits package; click here for more details: https://mybenefits.wpp.com/public/welcome.
You belong at Burson:
Our vision is for Burson to be the leading ‘academy company’ for creative communications professionals and emerging leaders. We provide a dynamic environment where ambitious colleagues come to elevate their skills, expand their networks, and ultimately, produce the best solutions for today’s leading brands. Our commitment to your growth is reflected in our robust benefits and people programs, which include professional development opportunities, mentorship programs with industry leaders, a vibrant and inclusive company culture fostering collaboration and innovation and packages designed to reward and retain top talent. We invest in our people because we believe their success is our success.
At Burson, we’re an agency of learn-it-alls. We recognize that the things we do best, creativity and communications, require a level of nuanced understanding. That’s why it’s imperative for us to hire extraordinarily talented people of all backgrounds and identities. Without that we can’t do the essential work of inspiring bold ideas, fostering constructive dialogue, cultivating meaningful experiences, and driving innovation and creativity for our partners. Your unique point of view—your talent—is what makes you a #BursonPerson, and it’s how we deliver exceptional results for our clients, together.
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
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