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 1,850 employees. In 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 Society’s annual operating revenue is approximately $800M. The Society’s 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.

Under the Society’s Business Strategy and Operations (BSO) unit, the Research and Innovation (R&I) department serves as stewards of the Society’s 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 work streams; 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.

• 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 constituency’s 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:…