Job Description

About the centralized innovation & incubation team at FIS

Our vision is to make FIS the industry-leading provider of platforms and services for companies to build and run financial applications. To help realize this vision, FIS has created a centralized innovation & incubation team.  

The innovation & incubation team will transform new product and business concepts into sustainable, organic growth opportunities while building a strong culture of intrapreneurship across FIS. Operating within a product innovation framework, the team vets, tests, and incubates new ventures for successful commercial integration. 

Joining this team will put you at the forefront of fintech innovation. The products delivered by the innovation & incubation team will impact the FIS product suite and drive significant value back to the business. Most importantly, your work will shape the future financial services landscape.

Job description

The Research team will be responsible for delivering all the data and insights needed to support investment in concepts that come through the innovation & incubation team. The data produced by this team will be the key factor in determining a concept’s path to incubation and eventual delivery to the line of business. The Research team will work collaboratively across functions including product, marketing, and operations to drive results for each concept that moves through the product innovation framework.

The Head of Research will lead a team of Research Leads to execute across a variety of rigorous primary research efforts, including: designing new research instruments, sourcing interview/survey panels, conducting in-depth interviews, managing panel compensation, analyzing and synthesizing data and feedback, and distilling findings into clear and impactful presentations.

 You will be building and scaling the research function from scratch and will be responsible for defining the relevant structures, processes and success factors. You will manage workstreams and capacity across your team and will work closely with Strategy to support secondary research efforts when appropriate.

This is a high-impact, high-visibility, and high-velocity role that requires a strong voice, exceptional attention to detail, and the ability to execute and influence with conviction (This is not a behind-the-scenes research position!).

About the role (Your key responsibilities):

• Hire and develop a team of high-performing Research Leads
• Manage rigorous primary research efforts from start to finish for all concepts that come through the innovation framework, including market-testing prototypes among key stakeholders
• Develop robust data-backed insights and viewpoints for each concept
• Generate high-quality, summary assessment of each concept’s viability based on customer and market feedback
• Efficiently manage research budgets and timelines
• Create necessary structures and processes to support in-house research capabilities
• Develop training materials and resources to guide Research team processes
• Collaborate with other managers/innovation & incubation team members to ensure the Research team is acting and executing consistently with the broader innovation & incubation team and its objectives

Must Haves (Requirements for this Role):

• 5+ years of market and customer research experience
• Experience project managing primary and secondary research studies
• Exceptional data analysis, problem-solving and storytelling skills
• Ability to analyze, assess and synthesize findings from numerous and potentially disparate sources to drive key insights
• Ability to influence and persuade others using data
• Ability to collaborate effectively, take initiative, and drive results
• Experience managing research budgets and timelines
• Deep knowledge of and experience with an array of research methodologies and techniques (e.g., surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews) and when to leverage each
• Experience in PowerPoint and Excel
• Experience managing a team of direct reports

Nice to Haves (Not Hard Requirements, but a Bonus!):

• Experience conducting research studies in the tech space, or fintech space, specifically
• Experience with ethnographic research

What we offer you:

• A high-visibility and high-impact role
• The ability to build your team and program from scratch
• Opportunity to closely collaborate with a cross-functional team aligned to a common goal
• Opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge of and perspectives on numerous topics within the fintech space
• A driven, creative and multi-talented group of colleagues who are extraordinarily passionate about their role in shaping the future of fintech and driving cultural transformation at FIS
• The opportunity to inform the direction of FIS by validating concepts that aim to solve some of the most challenging and relevant issues in financial services & technology
• A work environment built on trust, accountability, collaboration, curiosity, fearlessness, kindness and respect