Responsibilities 

• Collaborate with stakeholders in Marketing, Merchandising, and other functions across Whole Foods Market to structure business questions and develop learning plans based on business questions and objectives.

• Develop, execute, and analyze consumer research projects to address business needs related to in-store & online shopping patterns, branding, positioning, advertising, eating habits, category consumption, etc. 

• Synthesize data from both primary and secondary research sources to create a comprehensive understanding of learning around key business issues.

• Serve as consumer advocate ensuring voice of consumer is represented in all business decisions. 

• Manage outside vendors/agency partners to execute consumer research and control costs. 

• Manage projects ensuring that they meet time and budget parameters. 

• Must be willing to travel up to 15% 

Desired Skills & Experience 

• Retail industry experience required. 

• BA/BS degree and 6-8+ years’ relevant experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. 

• Working knowledge of syndicated data and analysis like IRI or Nielsen scanner/panel. 

• Experience with and strong understanding of marketing and market research fundamentals including qualitative and quantitative market research techniques and methodologies, experimental design, questionnaire development, and statistics.  

• Able to answer business questions through an insights lens, including (but not limited to) questions related to brand, advertising development and measurement, strategic program measurement, and product & category-specific needs. 

• Solid leader and influencer who is able to lead autonomously and to drive cross-functional partner alignment on common, consensus-based decisions.   

• Able to build subject matter expertise in a domain and serve as the primary point of contact in that area for business partners and research partners across the company. 

• Able to balance business risk to research rigor when recommending and managing different types of custom and syndicated studies. 

• Able to objectively interpret research, extract insights, link to strategies, and communicate in a motivating way. 

• Strong oral, written and formal presentation skills, including ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple way, and ability to customize communication to different audiences, including to high-level leadership stakeholders. 

• Highly collaborative & proactive relationship builder – enjoys working within and across teams, and values partnering on work with a variety of teammates and cross-functional partners. 

• Approaches conflicts as opportunities; understands others quickly and can find common ground without compromising objectivity. 

• Comfortable in a fast-paced work environment and can handle ambiguity and changing business priorities and questions. 

• Self-starter and highly self-motivated, assumes personal accountability for results and performance. 

• Sense of humor is a must.