Research & Strategy Director (Contract to Hire)

Why Hover wants you:Research & Strategy Directors at Hover help drive decisions and strategy across the company. You have an eye on the future and have superior analytical skills and strategic thinking to address complex business, design, brand, and technical needs.Hover’s methodology emphasizes hands-on skills across all departments. For Research & Strategy Directors, this means being able to develop a deep understanding of our product, and business, generate and socialize insights across all levels of the organization’s insights, and translate those into a plan of action.In addition to strong mixed-methods research and operational skills, Hover is looking for a Researcher who can help shape and define the strategy for the full life cycle of a digital product, from vision and conception to launch and optimization. A demonstrated ability to develop strong relationships and build trust with empowered decision-makers is essential.In addition to product strategy, Hover's Research Director may be involved in brand and marketing research to ensure alignment between product development and broader brand objectives. This role will report to the Head of Design and will help define and evolve the research function at Hover. Teams at Hover are small and highly senior with the expectation that everyone is hands-on across all levels.You will contribute by:• Partner with product, design, and data teams to understand and drive business models, objectives, and user behaviors to synthesize insights that will inform product visions and long-term product roadmaps• Solve problems with a hypothesis-driven approach, combining a deep understanding of user behavior and client business drivers• Provide a business-driven perspective to shape and frame designs• Collaborate with cross-functional teams of product managers, designers, marketers, data analysts, and engineers to conceptualize, design, and deliver multi-platform applications• Evaluate results and help optimize products post-launchYour background includes:• 10+ years of mixed-methods research experience helping to create B2C and/or B2B2C digital products• Proven track record of having strong conviction and the ability to influence across executive stakeholders and cross-functional partners that leads to drive toward a unified vision of a strong user experience.• Strong communication and collaboration skills, as well as the ability to persuasively present and defend your own strategic thinking and synthesis.• Have a proven track record of balancing ambiguity, iterative sprints, business awareness, technology, organizational agility, research and data insights, and high design quality.• Proven ability to accelerate team efficiency by improving processes and workflows within Research and with cross-functional teams.• Ability to look at a situation, deconstruct it, and devise a way to make it better• Experience with proposing project KPIs and validating them via both qualitative research and data analytics• Strong communication and collaboration skills• ability to persuasively present and defend your own strategic thinking and synthesis• Ability to gain insight and modify your thinking based on the contributions and perspectives of othersBenefits:• Compensation - Competitive salary and meaningful equity in a fast-growing company• Healthcare - Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and dependents• Paid Time Off - Unlimited and flexible vacation policy• Paid Family Leave- We support work/life balance and offer generous paid parental and new child bonding leave• Mandatory Self-Care Days - A day set aside each month to allow employees to recharge• Remote Wellbeing Resources - We provide recurring fitness classes, meditation/ mindfulness tools, virtual therapy, and family planning assistance• Learning - We encourage continued education and will help cover the cost of management training, conferences, workshops, or certificationsHover has Hubs in San Francisco and New York City, where we expect that all employees living within a 50-mile radius of our offices will come into their local Hover office at least three times a week to build rapport and foster organic connection. At this time, Hover is not considering fully remote roles.The US base salary range for this contract position is $195,000 - $222,000 annually. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all applicable US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.#RH-LI1