Lead Insight Business Partner

Job Title: Audience Insight Lead Business Partner

Reports to: Head of Audience Insights

Department: Strategy, Policy & Insight

Location: London/Hybrid

Salary: Basic salary starting from £106,000 negotiable dependant on experience

Department Description

The Strategy, Policy & Insight (Function) are trusted thought-leaders bringing expert strategy, policy, market & audience insight – challenging and advising the business to drive delivery of Channel 4’s strategy and remit.

The new centralised Audience Insights (Subfunction) purpose is to be independent thought leaders at the heart of Channel 4’s creative and commercial decision-making, bringing a single source of truth and big picture perspective, challenging and advising the business to ensure profitable business growth through the use of data.

Job Purpose

Leads a team of 4 Business Partners & 16 Insight Analysts who are expert thought-leaders and based on a deep understanding of C4’s business challenges, bring high-value & relevant data, innovative analysis & business insight across market, content, viewer, commercial to C-Suite & Senior Leaders. Their role is to translate it for those stakeholders, drive recommendations that challenge and enable Leaders to make profitable business decisions for C4.  Additionally, the Lead Business Partner deputises for the Head of Audience Insight acting across both Bus Partner and Specialist teams.

Within the new centralised operating model where all audience and market insight in C4 is centralised into the Audience Insight team, each C-Suite Leader (CEO, Chief Content Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and the Exec Committee as a body) and their Senior Leaders have a dedicated Insight Business Partner (BP) who prioritizes and agrees their Insight requirements, aligned to the strategic C4 pillars. BP Analysts directly source available analysis and where additional, bespoke research or specialised analysis is required, the BP will commission this from the relevant Specialist Lead, managing jointly the presentation back of recommendations to the C-Suite or Senior Leader.

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES

• Negotiating with C-Suite leaders (CEO & Exec Committee, Director External Comms, Chief Content Officer/Chief Marketing Officer / Chief Revenue Officer/ Chief Operating Officer and their Senior Leaders) to prioritise the value-add insights portfolio provided by the team & renegotiating workload capacity conflicts across their BP team and Specialist peers to meet that agreement. The data and insight delivered directly impacts the decisions made by C-suite Execs and Senior Leaders and consequently C4 performance.
• The highly effective, ongoing direct relationship management of C-Suite Execs & their Senior Leaders including the CEO & Exec Committee as a body, providing high-value, accurate, powerful intelligence & insight that enables leader business decisions to achieve C4 strategic objectives. This role has oversight of relationships managed by the 4 x Business Partners and is responsible for co-ordinating and ensuring a quality service.
• Leading the interpretation and translation of data relevant to the decision into insight reports, breaking down complexity through storytelling to ensure easy understanding by the business stakeholder and easy business application to the decisions required. Calling out failure of C4 to meet the required growth targets and bringing insight which drive Senior Leader decisions to unblock barriers
• Negotiating an agreed portfolio of insight deliverables with those Exec & Senior Leader stakeholders, managing the workstack, team priorities and team capacity across Insight Analysts & Specialists and on occasion project managing external suppliers of specialist research (eg Research Agencies) to deliver this portfolio
• Driving innovation of new approaches to insight based on new market and industry perspectives, data sets, analysis methods or modelling tools
• Identifying the required data path to meet the insight need and work across the BP’s, Insight Analysts & the Specialist teams to source advanced expert research or analysis capacity
• Contributing ideas, options & solutions to the Head of Audience Insight to evolve the insight sub-function’s impact, value & capability
• Full line management responsibility for a team of 4 Insight Business Partners and second line manager responsibility for 16 Insight Analysts to provide powerful evidence-based insight reports, building team capability, coaching and developing the team members to provide a best-in class service to the business
• Responsibility to deputise for the Head of Audience Insight during annual leave etc (for instance translating analysis for CEO / Dir External Comms speaking events or deputising for the BP area in Function Dept meetings)

KEY RELATIONSHIPS / STAKEHOLDERS

• C-Suite leaders & Senior Leaders (see above) across all areas of C4 for which the Insight team provides a service.
• Role is potential succession for Head of Audience Insight & 4 Specialist Lead roles (Research Leads, Analytics Lead, Data Enablement Lead, Data Science Lead or Campaign Optimisation Lead) (if sufficient level of expertise in that technical area)
• Accountable for 4 x Business Partners as direct reports with 16 Insight Analysts below them - total of 20 roles total. No other financial budget accountability

ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Insight capability – Proven track record and knowledge of insight provision and the activities that underpin strong insight & intelligence
• Business understanding – Excellent understanding of C4’s industry sector, competitor activity, business pressures, market & financial challenges & the key drivers to achieve the ‘pivot to digital’ Future4 strategy. Additionally, an excellent understanding of the business remit, objectives, challenges & opportunities across all Exec areas
• Gravitas & confidence – Strong track record of engaging with C-suite/Senior Leaders and building long-term trusted relationships. Capabilities include personal confidence, emotional intelligence and capability to challenge, debate, innovate, advise and recommend solutions
• Influencing & storytelling – Proven ability to influence C-suite stakeholders, using problem-solving skills, the ability to translate complex data to clear messages and bring well considered, high value recommendations to drive profitable decision-making
• Collaboration skills –proactive ability to build a collaborative environment within the insights function and across the business to drive the best possible outcome
• Negotiation skills – strong persuasive skills to challenge leaders, drive wider perspectives and agree a deliverable outcome
• Appetite to innovate – keeping abreast of value-add and best in class insight methods, tools & techniques relevant to C4’s business challenges
• People management – experience of leading a small specialist team to deliver an accurate, high quality and effective data service to Exec level stakeholders

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Project Management skills – experience in briefing and project managing external research agencies (for ad hoc insight only) and managing delivery timelines

COMPETENCES

• Enabling Strategy & Change, Advancing Analytics Capability, Managing Data & Information, Harnessing Insights & Learning

Hybrid Working:

From September 2023, C4 has operated a 60/40 working pattern, equating to three office days per week.

Having everyone in the office three days a week gives us more opportunity to build our high performing, inclusive culture; to collaborate and to learn and share with each other, as well as helping to coordinate a regular pattern of home and office working days.

Employees then have the flexibility to decide where they spend the rest of the working week.

All our offices are open five days a week.

Benefits

There are a million reasons why it’s great to work at Channel 4, here are just a few of the perks for you;

• Private medical insurance with NO EXCESS
• Free Virtual GP access for employees
• Free Female Health hormone test each year
• Free Tastecard membership
• Financial guidance 1-2-1’s available each quarter
• Free OnHand (as featured on Dragon’s Den) volunteering membership
• Discounted Gym memberships
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Holiday Buy/Sell

Equal Opportunities

Channel 4’s purpose is to create change through entertainment; by representing unheard voices, challenging with purpose and delivering content which reflects the diversity of different communities across the UK.

We are only able to deliver on this remit by having a workforce rich in diversity of thought, background and lived experience. As an employer we encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on disability, age, gender reassignment, gender expression, criminal history, length of time spent unemployed, marriage or civil partnership status, national origin, pregnancy and maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Disability Confident Scheme:

Channel 4 is a member of the Business Disability Forum (BDF) and has also maintained the highest level of the Department of Work and Pension's Disability Confident scheme - Level 3: Leader. Under the Disability Confident Scheme, we aim to offer an interview to all candidates who have a neurodiverse condition, impairment or long-term condition and who meet the essential criteria for an advertised job. If you wish your application to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please select yes when completing the application questions. For more information, please visit the Disability Confident Campaign website.

For our roles and schemes that receive a high volume of applications it may not be possible to provide an interview to all applicants who meet the essential criteria and in this situation we can only select applications that best meet the skills needed for the role.

Care Leaver Friendly Employer:

Channel 4 is a Care Leaver Friendly Employer. By signing the Care Leaver Friendly Employer Charter and adopting its principles, we are supporting an immensely talented yet often under-served and under-represented community of young people/ adults. We commit to offering an interview (and constructive feedback) to applicants who identify as care experienced and meet the essential criteria for the role as outlined on the job description. Applicants should indicate if they wish to apply under our Care Leaver Scheme by selecting the option on the application form.

Workplace Adjustments:

We are committed to providing disabled applicants a level playing field when applying for a job and support whilst employed to perform to the best of their ability and develop their careers. If you have a neurodiverse condition, impairment or long-term condition and require any adjustments, additional support or alternative arrangements during the recruitment and wish to discuss this confidentially, please let us know.