Senior Researcher

Collinson is the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence. The group offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement, and insurance solutions for over 400 million consumers.


Collinson is the operator of Priority Pass, the world’s original and leading airport experiences programme. Travellers can access a network of 1,500+ lounges and travel experiences, including dining, retail, sleep and spa, in over 650 airports in 148 countries, helping to elevate the journey into something special. We work with the world’s leading payment networks, over 1,400 banks, 90 airlines and 20 hotel groups worldwide.

We have been bringing innovation to the market since inception – from launching the first independent global VIP lounge access Programme, Priority Pass to being the first to sell direct travel insurance in the UK through Columbus Direct and creating the first loyalty agency of its kind in the travel sector with ICLP. Today we still invest heavily in innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver superior customer experiences.

Key clients include Mastercard, American Express, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, LATAM, Flying Blue, Accor, EasyJet, HSBC, Chase, HDFC.

Our mission is focused on doing good beyond profit, which for us means we seek out opportunities for our people to share in our success and that we give back to the communities and people within which we work.

Never short of ambition, the success of our business is delivered through the diverse and talented team of over 2,200 global colleagues.

Purpose of the role 

As a key member of the central research hub, the Senior Research Manager will play a pivotal role in powering the organisation’s global understanding of travellers, loyalty, and consumer behaviour through high-impact, strategically aligned research. This individual will lead global research initiatives while acting as a consultant and advisor to regional/function teams, guiding them in the design, execution, and governance of localised research. This role blends hands on research execution with a strong consultative approach, requiring a balance of technical expertise, stakeholder engagement, and vendor oversight. The successful candidate will ensure research is rigorous, insight-led, and globally coherent - while also empowering regional/functional teams to execute impactful local studies that align with the broader strategy and research framework.

Key responsibilities 

• Global Research Leadership - Lead end-to-end design and delivery of global or strategically critical research initiatives, aligned to business priorities and commercial goals.
  • Develop proprietary IP and insight content that powers thought leadership, product
  innovation, and client engagement strategies.
  • Regional Enablement & Consulting -Act as a strategic partner to regional stakeholders, helping them shape research briefs, apply best practices, and ensure methodological rigour.
  • Provide guidance on sampling, scoping, vendor selection, and data interpretation for
  regionally-led projects.
  • Drive consistency across the global research portfolio by ensuring alignment to central frameworks and data quality standards.
  • Stakeholder & Vendor Management -Build strong partnerships across marketing, product, commercial and partnerships teams globally to embed research into decision-making.
  • Act as the primary point of contact for global research vendors - negotiating project
  scope, managing performance, and ensuring quality standards are met - while also
  drafting terms of engagement and providing vendor guidance for regionally led initiatives
  • Data Strategy & Insight Activation - Leverage advanced analytical techniques (e.g., segmentation, conjoint, regression, clustering) to extract strategic insights from data.
  • Translate complex findings into clear, compelling narratives and actionable
  recommendations tailored to diverse audiences.
  • Research Governance & Best Practice -Maintain a central repository of research outputs and ensure accessibility and reusability across the business.
  • Champion consistent measurement approaches and identify opportunities for longitudinal tracking or research consolidation.
  • Contribute to the continuous improvement of research operations, tooling, and
  knowledge-sharing across the global network.

Knowledge, skills and experience required 

• MSc or equivalent in a relevant discipline (e.g., statistics, psychology, economics, marketing science); BSc with substantial relevant experience also considered.
• Experience managing and delivering high-impact, multi-market research programmes in a commercial setting.
  • Demonstrated ability to work in matrixed or hub-and-spoke organisations, collaborating with global and regional stakeholders.
  • Experience designing research for both strategic decision-making and go-to-market
  activation (e.g., brand, product, marketing use cases).
  • Demonstrated adherence to the Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct (UK) and/or the Insights Association Code of Standards and Ethics (US), ensuring ethical, compliant, and high-integrity research practices
  • Strong track record of vendor management, including budget control, quality assurance,and negotiation.
  Skills
  • Advanced expertise in quantitative research methodologies; qualitative exposure a plus.
  • Proficient in survey scripting tools (e.g., Qualtrics) and statistical programming (Python or R).
  • Highly skilled in turning data into insight via advanced analytics and storytelling
  techniques.
  • Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Strong project management capability, including working across time zones and
  managing multiple concurrent initiatives.
  • Additional qualifications in data science, behavioural science, or strategy consulting
  would be advantageous.

Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: colour, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on-going success.

We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Take Action, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients.

In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc).

If you need any extra support throughout the interview process, then please email us at [email protected]