Job Description

At EY, we're all in to shape your future with confidence.
We'll help you succeed in a globally connected powerhouse of diverse teams and take your career wherever you want it to go.
Join EY and help to build a better working world.
Associate Director - Research And Thought Leadership**
Role Overview
The Associate Director - Research & Thought Leadership is a senior strategic role responsible for shaping EY's market narrative, guiding enterprise-level insight programs, and building signature thought leadership that strengthens EY's brand, reputation, and competitive positioning. This role integrates deep research excellence, strategic advisory capability, and high-impact communication leadership. The Associate Director partners extensively with senior executives, service line leaders, global teams, and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver differentiated, insight-led content programs that influence clients and the wider market ecosystem.
Key Responsibilities
Thought Leadership Strategy And Vision

• Define and lead the organization's thought leadership agenda in partnership with leadership, ensuring alignment with EY's strategic priorities and market themes.
• Identify white-space opportunities, emerging macro trends, and industry disruptions that can fuel signature content programs.
• Drive multi-year content planning and ensure a consistent, enterprise-wide approach to insights and narrative development.

Research Leadership And Insight Stewardship

• Lead sophisticated research efforts including primary research, surveys, trend mapping, competitive intelligence, and macroeconomic analysis.
• Oversee development of insight frameworks, hypothesis models, and data-driven narratives.
• Ensure research rigor, methodological consistency, and alignment with global EY knowledge systems.

Executive Advisory And Stakeholder Management

• Serve as a strategic advisor to senior partners and business leaders on content framing, narrative positioning, and thought leadership opportunities.
• Facilitate high-level discussions, SME councils, and expert workgroups to shape compelling viewpoints.
• Build strong relationships across service lines, markets, and global teams to drive adoption and amplification of insights.

Signature Content Creation And Editorial Direction

• Lead the development of flagship reports, whitepapers, executive POVs, sector outlooks, and insight-led narratives.
• Oversee editorial quality, structure, messaging discipline, and brand alignment.
• Guide transformation of research into high-impact storytelling across formats including reports, videos, presentations, digital experiences, and leadership talks.

Amplification, Influence And Market Impact

• Partner with media, PR, brand, and digital teams to ensure thought leadership achieves broad visibility and resonance.
• Shape messaging packs, leader briefs, executive speeches, and event content to extend reach and influence.
• Ensure thought leadership is activated across client conversations, leadership forums, signature events, and external platforms.

Governance, Measurement And Capability Building

• Establish standards, templates, processes, and quality frameworks for research and content development.
• Build dashboards to track impact, reach, engagement metrics, and business influence.
• Mentor, upskill, and guide content specialists, researchers, and analysts across the function.

Skills And Competencies
Strategic And Leadership Skills

• Strong enterprise thinking with ability to connect insights to business strategy.
• Proven ability to influence and partner at senior leadership levels.
• Capability to lead complex, multi-country, multi-stakeholder content programs.

Research And Analytical Expertise

• Expertise in research design, market analysis, data interpretation, and insight development.
• Ability to translate large, complex datasets into actionable business insights.
• Comfort with frameworks, models, and structured insight generation.

Communication And Storytelling Excellence

• Outstanding writing, editing, and narrative-structuring capabilities.
• Ability to elevate technical content into accessible, high-impact thought leadership.
• Strong presentation and messaging skills suitable for senior audiences.

Execution And Project Leadership

• Mastery in project planning, stakeholder alignment, and program governance.
• Ability to navigate large, matrixed environments while maintaining quality and pace.
• High ownership, accountability, and ability to work under ambiguity.

Qualifications

• Master's/Bachelor's degree in Business, Economics, Public Policy, Communications, Journalism, or related field.
• 12-16+ years' experience in research, insights, consulting, strategy, or thought leadership.
• Experience in professional services, advisory, or enterprise-level insight functions is highly preferred.
• Proven track record of leading major research or thought leadership initiatives at scale.

EY | Building a better working world
EY is building a better working world by creating new value for clients, people, society and the planet, while building trust in capital markets.
Enabled by data, AI and advanced technology, EY teams help clients shape the future with confidence and develop answers for the most pressing issues of today and tomorrow.
EY teams work across a full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions. Fueled by sector insights, a globally connected, multi-disciplinary network and diverse ecosystem partners, EY teams can provide services in more than 150 countries and territories.

Skills Required