Senior Manager, Research and Strategy | Product Development and Design

General Information

Qatar-Doha

About You

Essential

• Proven experience managing a research, strategy, or insight function with a track record of delivering high-quality analytical outputs that have directly informed senior decision-making
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to structure complex problems, synthesise multi-source data, and produce clear, evidence-based recommendations
• Experience managing and developing teams with the ability to set direction, build capability, and maintain high standards of delivery in a demanding environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex analysis into compelling, accessible narratives for senior and executive audiences
• Experience supporting senior leaders with strategic planning, business case development, and executive-level presentations
• Solid commercial fluency, including familiarity with financial modelling, business case development, and ROI analysis, even without direct P&L ownership
• Strong project management awareness with the ability to engage credibly with PMO functions, understand governance frameworks, and influence planning priorities through strategic input rather than direct management
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with the ability to work as an equal peer with planning, PMO, and operational functions, influencing through the quality of insight rather than positional authority
• Candidates from management consultancy, consumer insights, research agencies, premium brand environments, or innovation-led organisations are strongly encouraged to apply. Aviation experience is not a prerequisite.

Preferred

• Experience working within or alongside a product design, UX, or creative development environment
• Familiarity with PMO frameworks and governance models, sufficient to engage credibly and influence prioritisation without owning the function directly
• Experience in high-expectation product or experience environments where insight directly shapes investment decisions and product quality
• Experience commissioning and managing external research agencies or strategic consultancies
• Exposure to organisational design or ways of working improvement programmes in a support or advisory capacity

About Qatar Airways Group

How to apply

Description

About the Role

Research, Insight and Analysis

• Lead the delivery of passenger research, market intelligence, and competitive benchmarking programmes that provide the division with a current, accurate, and actionable picture of the external landscape.
• Synthesise complex, multi-source data into clear strategic narratives and decision-ready recommendations for senior leadership
• Develop and maintain research frameworks and insight methodologies that ensure consistency, rigour, and relevance across all analytical outputs
• Commission and manage external research agencies and insight partners, ensuring quality, timeliness, and value for money

Strategic Planning and Support

• Support the VP in the development and ongoing evolution of the divisional strategy, translating strategic direction into structured workplans, analytical frameworks, and clearly defined priorities for the team
• Develop and maintain product and experience strategy documents, ensuring they are current, evidence-based, and aligned with group strategy
• Prepare high-quality strategic materials, briefing papers, and executive presentations that enable the VP and divisional leadership to engage confidently at board and C-suite level
• Support the evaluation and prioritisation of product initiatives, developing business cases and ROI analyses that inform investment decisions

PMO Alignment and Strategic Influence

• Partner closely with the Manager, Project Strategy and Planning to ensure strategic priorities are accurately translated into project governance, roadmap sequencing, and performance frameworks
• Provide the analytical and strategic input that enables the PMO function to prioritise initiatives with confidence and commercial clarity
• Preview and challenge roadmap progress from a strategic perspective, escalating where initiatives are drifting from their original strategic intent or where emerging insight suggests reprioritisation is warranted
• Ensure that research and insight outputs are structured and communicated in a way that is directly usable by the PMO function, bridging the gap between strategic analysis and operational planning

Organisational Development Support

• Support the VP in shaping ways of working improvements and operating model evolution across the division, contributing a research and insight perspective to how the division structures and sequences its work
• Help build a culture of evidence-based decision-making across the division by promoting best practice use of data, research, and strategic frameworks at team level
• Collaborate with the Manager, Project Strategy and Planning on the people and process dimensions of organisational change, providing strategic context and insight to support effective adoption

Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of researchers and analysts, setting clear expectations, managing performance, and creating a working environment where talent grows and thrives
• Build team capability in research methodology, strategic analysis, and structured communication, raising the quality and impact of the function's outputs over time
• Foster a team culture defined by intellectual curiosity, attention to detail, and a genuine commitment to delivering insight that makes a difference
• Be part of an extraordinary story
• Your skills.
• Your imagination.
• Your ambition.
• Here, there are no boundaries to your potential and the impact you can make.
• You’ll find infinite opportunities to grow and work on the biggest, most rewarding challenges that will build your skills and experience.
• You have the chance to be a part of our future and build the life you want while being part of an international community.
• Our best is here and still to come.
• To us, impossible is only a challenge.
• Join us as we dare to achieve what’s never been done before.
• Together, everything is possible.
• https://aa115.taleo.net/careersection/QA_External_CS/jobapply.ftl?lang\=en&job\=2600007Z