Associate Vice President, Knowledge and Insights
University of South Carolina

Founded in 1801, the University of South Carolina (USC or university) is the flagship institution of the University of South Carolina System (system). The system is the leading educator for the state, serving 53,000 students across eight institutions. Committed to serving a diverse population of students with widely varying backgrounds, career goals, and aspirations, USC offers over 350 degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional program levels, affording students the most comprehensive array of educational programs in the state. Graduate and undergraduate degree programs are offered in the following areas: arts and sciences; business; education; engineering and computing; hospitality, retail and sport management; information and communications; music; nursing; public health; and social work. Graduate programs are also available in law, medicine (Columbia and Greenville campuses), and pharmacy.

The flagship campus in Columbia is home to 16 colleges and schools and over 2,600 faculty, many of whom have earned significant recognition, placing the university in the top 5 percent of public universities in the nation for national faculty awards received. As a Carnegie-classified Tier I research (R1) institution, research grant awards were $309 million in the 2024 fiscal year.

The Position

Location: Columbia, South Carolina.

Reporting Relationships: The Associate Vice President, Knowledge and Insights will report to the Vice President, Marketing.

Responsibilities:

The Associate Vice President, Knowledge and Insights will play a key client services role providing strategic insights to the units and schools within USC. This will be accomplished by providing an enterprise view of our diverse population base and by providing research support for the needs of each unit/school. This key executive will develop insights derived from various research studies, reports, and competitive intelligence sources to help drive the enterprise and achieve the goals of each unit/school by providing meaningful and actionable insights and marketing strategies.

Additional responsibilities will include:

• Develop, implement, and lead constituent insight initiatives such as Brand Awareness, attitudinal segmentation, Perception monitoring, etc.
• Diagnose/interpret business issues and recommend effective plans that improve overall business performance and market effectiveness.
• Consult with University units/schools to identify research needs and requirements to support their goals.
• Develop research methodologies, write proposals, design survey questionnaires, analyze survey results and present findings and recommendations from research.
• Provide insight through primary and secondary research, syndicated sources and other internal or external analysis, resulting in actionable solutions.
• Select and manage outside research suppliers, consultants and information sources and manage associated project budgets. Projects might include awareness & usage studies, brand tracking, concept tests, segmentation, positioning studies, communication, and value propositions.
• Keep abreast of the latest research techniques and emerging insight practices, especially in non-traditional areas.
• Manage, develop, and train direct reports/student and employees on the Consumer Insights team.
• Bridge the gap between “strategic ideas” and “tactical initiatives.”

• Partner with internal customer intelligence, marketing analytics and other teams to provide thought leadership on an overall view of the constituents.

The Candidate

Education/Certifications: An undergraduate degree in Marketing/Market Research is required. An MS in research statistics is desired.

Professional Qualifications:

The Associate Vice President, Knowledge and Insights will be a seasoned and strategic marketing executive with proven experience in organizations enabling marketing to drive revenue. Comfortable working in an entrepreneurial environment, The Associate Vice President, Knowledge, and Insights should possess:

• A minimum of 10 years of marketing research, business intelligence or equivalent experience in a consumer/results driven business.
• Proven ability to evaluate, build, train and retain exceptional teams.
• Ability to quickly identify and understand broader business issues, as well as the immediate business urgencies that help shape the direction of marketing initiatives.
• Strong background in qualitative and quantitative marketing research methods, and ability to translate that information into appropriate marketing programs and strategies.
• Strong communication skills - must be able to articulate a clear vision through speeches and presentations with senior management. Also, must be able to communicate complex information in writing through detailed project plans and business cases. Proven experience in persuading others through the use of strong logic and compelling data.
• Experience researching business problems and creating models that help analyze business problems.
• Analytically strong - proven ability to harness complex data and distill the most relevant information that drives decision-making.
• Marketing experience - the successful candidate will be facile in the development/execution of marketing research plans and be an expert in managing resources through complex processes.
• Ability to work with all levels of stakeholders - executive leadership, unit heads, deans, etc.
• Experience developing and implementing detailed pricing models based on deep understanding of consumer and business customer segmentation and competitive responsiveness.

Personal Characteristics:

The successful candidate must possess outstanding leadership, interpersonal and communications skills. The candidate must be a high-energy, hands-on individual with strength of convictions - a self-confident leader who, in part due to his/her personal presence, style and demeanor, effectively sells ideas and solutions to others.  This person is by nature a risk-taker and has a high level of ambition. Of equal importance, this person must have unquestioned integrity.

• Adept at strategizing and communicating effectively with various internal departments to solve problems and find solutions to challenges.
• Creative and strategic thinker who will bring innovative ideas forward to solve problems and help the organization thrive.
• Problem solver who can take initiative and set priorities while being flexible.
• Adept at navigating complex environments with evolving priorities and communication plans.
• Mature, confident, and successful professional with the executive presence and industry stature to effectively represent USC and bring enhanced credibility to the organization.
• Adaptable, flexible, and able to multitask; ability to work within an ambiguous, fast-moving environment, while also driving toward clarity and solutions.
• Comfortable with the challenge to reach agreement among occasionally conflicting interests to enhance the common good of the organization.
• Highly intelligent, with exceptional conceptual and creative skills, and the ability to visualize and translate the needs of the marketplace into business opportunities.
• Ability to anticipate change and proactively pivot in order to take advantage of industry trends.
• Mature, confident, and successful professional with the executive presence and industry stature to effectively represent USC externally and bring enhanced credibility to the organization.
• Lives the values: Demonstrates the values of USC through words, actions, and by example.