Head of Research

The Head of Research: Benchmark Litigation Europe (HoR) is the operational lead for Benchmark Europe research. Benchmark Litigation is a global brand, which benchmarks the leading law firms and lawyers across key disciplines in litigation and dispute resolution, and hosts industry awards for litigation specialists. The HoR will also take the lead on the Life Sciences EMEA Awards programme: a standalone, annual awards programme.

The HoR will have overall responsibility for managing the research that underpins all of Benchmark Litigation’s products in Europe and for the delivery of the Life Sciences EMEA awards. A key initial responsibility will be helping to relaunch Benchmark Litigation Europe in 2025 after several years of the programme being dormant.

The HoR will act as the key Europe point of contact for research, and is responsible for building, managing and nurturing programmes under their care. They must ensure that research is conducted to a high standard and by deadline, and that research decisions have been made in adherence with the LBG’s methodologies and criteria. They will also support in the development and evolution of LBG’s overarching research strategy. The HoR may also support on wider projects spearheaded by the research department where required.  

• Ensuring research is completed to a high standard and on deadline
• Planning research: working with stakeholders to define delivery milestones; building a production plan and a release calendar to meet those milestones
• Creating and delivering content for research announcements and webinars
• Delivering progress reports, with regular updates to key stakeholders
• Promoting the brand and developing strong relationships in the market through engagement with lawyers – including in person meetings – and business development professionals
• Supporting in the design and development of all research strategies, both qualitative and quantitative (ie surveys), to support quality and growth
• Attending and presenting at industry events and conferences

INTERFACES

• Daily – Director of EMEA Research
• Regular – Benchmark Head of Research (US-based), Benchmark research stakeholders, Life Sciences US research team, commercial and marketing leads, Europe heads of research
• Ad hoc – Director of Global Research, Managing Director
• Regular/ad hoc: legal professionals, business development professionals, and communications and public relations specialists from law firms and in-house legal departments

• Strong communication skills, with an ability to explain goals, methodology and criteria in clear terms to internal and external stakeholders and present to a room of people
• A proactive, agile and entrepreneurial approach with a customer-focused mindset
• A great listener and willing learner
• An analytical thinker
• Highly organised
• Calm under pressure, with an ability to deliver to deadline, prioritise, and multi-task
• Excellent written and spoken English 

EXPERIENCE

• 3-5 years’ experience in a qualitative research role
• 1-2 years’ experience managing research projects
• Experience in the professional services industry
• Sourcing, managing, organising and analysing large volumes of data
• Writing structured reports and editorial copy
• Phone and face-to-face interviewing in a research and/or journalistic capacity
• Working collaboratively with sales/business development team
• A strong competency with Excel
• Note taking skills