Research Strategist

About Us

The Freeman Company is a global leader in events, on a mission to redefine live for a new era. With a data-driven approach and the industry’s largest network of experts, The Freeman Company's insights shape exhibitions, exhibits, and events that drive audiences to action. The integrated full-service solutions leverage a 99-year legacy in event management as well as new technologies to deliver moments that matter.

Summary

This is a business strategy role with research at its core, not a marketing research function or an independent research role. The research strategist role exists to drive client decisions inside fast-moving consulting engagements. Our Strategy & Insights practice lives at the intersection of consulting rigor and the fast-moving world of live events and we're in the middle of building something genuinely new. We partner with in-person event organizers across the full strategic spectrum: helping thriving events optimize and grow and guiding struggling ones through meaningful turnarounds. What makes this moment special is that we're actively evolving into a high-performing consulting practice, and we're hiring a Research Strategist to join a fast-growing team: someone ready to bring strong research skills alongside consulting fundamentals to help us scale our Event Strategy and Profitable Growth capabilities, support client engagements, shape how we work, and elevate those around them. If you're looking for a role where you can grow fast, contribute to something being built in real time, and see your impact on both clients and a team still taking shape, this is where that happens.

You will work directly with executive-level event organizers to drive community engagement and profitable revenue through in-person and online events. We're especially excited about candidates who bring rigorous research skills, consulting fundamentals, and a passion for problem-solving and innovation.

This position will support our Growth team. It is eligible to work a hybrid schedule, generally requiring work in-office and/or show site 2-3 days per week. The ideal candidate will be based out of any of the following locations:

• Dallas, TX

• Anaheim, CA

• Denver, CO

• Orlando, FL

• Atlanta, GA

• Chicago, IL

• McCook, IL

• Las Vegas, NV

• New Orleans, LA

• Nashville, TN

• San Antonio, TX

• Alexandria, VA

• Kearny, NJ

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Work across multiple project types and industry research to identify opportunities, use structured problem solving and hypothesis-driven analysis to help clients create new value in the event industry

• Design and field research that produces insights and decision support data, including primary research (surveys, interviews, focus groups) as well as organize and analyze qualitative and quantitative data (financial and operational) and partner with others to create compelling executive client presentations with clear steps for action

• Conduct qualitative research including field observation and stakeholder interviews at industry events to identify improvement opportunities that drive new revenue growth for clients

• Design research methodologies and instruments (survey design, sampling approach, interview guides) suited to each client's strategic question or challenge

• Support development of strategic growth frameworks leveraging data-driven tools, quantitative analysis and critical thinking

• Collaborate with others across Strategy & Insights and Freeman to develop new approaches and frameworks to advance the events industry

• Build and maintain client communication and foster client relationships

• Demonstrate a client-centric approach on all strategy and research engagements

• Work across the Strategy and Insights team to lead the industry in thought leadership, growth and profitability strategies, and identify opportunities to foster engagement, commerce, learning and professional growth at in-person and online events

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree (Business, Management, Economics, Statistics or related field preferred).

• 2+ years of management consulting experience, applied market research, or an insights consultancy

• 3-5 years of professional experience in research, insights or strategy consulting

• Strong observation, analytical, and business acumen skills and demonstrated ability for abstract thought

• Experience building slide-based client deliverables (e.g., situation-complication-resolution frameworks) for senior stakeholders with clear logic and a compelling narrative

• Experience with research design and methodology, including survey instrument design, sampling approaches, qualitative interviewing, and statistical or segmentation analysis (Qualtrics, SPSS, R, or similar a plus)

• Strong sense of personal organization — you know how to prioritize and keep yourself on track, even when juggling multiple projects in a fast-moving environment

• Exceptional proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, as well as demonstrated understanding of AI tools to improve efficiency and provide input into analysis and work products

• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking, use of logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems

• Demonstrated drive to perform and deliver results including comfort moving fluidly between rigorous research work and fast-turnaround, ambiguous consulting engagements.

• Maintains a high level of interest, enthusiasm and personal focus. Seeks and takes advantage of opportunities to identify unique and novel solutions to problems

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team; demonstrated eagerness to learn new skills, adapt to change, and raise the bar

• Prior experience with or interest in the live events business is a plus

• Prior experience working on client deliverables across a range of sectors or with industry/trade associations is a plus

Travel Requirements

Travel up to 25%

What We Offer

The Freeman Company provides benefits that aim to empower our people and their families to thrive mentally, physically, and financially. These are a handful of the types of programs and benefits our full-time people may be eligible for. There may be some variances in specific benefits across regions.

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

• Tuition Reimbursement

• Paid Parental Leave

• Life, Accident and Disability

• Retirement with Company Match

• Paid Time Off

• Salary range of $90,000- $120,000 based upon experience

• Eligible for an annual bonus of up to 5% of the base salary

Diversity Commitment

At The Freeman Company, our commitment to diversity and inclusion is helping us to create not only a great place to work, but also an environment where our employees, our customers and our communities around the world can reach their goals and connect with each other. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status and other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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