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About This Role:
Forrester Research is seeking a Vice President, Research Director to lead a research team responsible for our technology research services in EMEA. This practice serves CIOs and senior technology leaders such as the heads of enterprise architecture, cloud, infrastructure, IT operations, enterprise applications, and software engineering. This individual will also serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders at major enterprise tech, software, and service providers delivering insight on market evolution, competitive positioning, portfolio strategy, product/services, and go‑to‑market messaging.
The chosen candidate will be responsible for defining a compelling and actionable research agenda that encompasses vision, strategy, and execution to address the needs of our target clients. This research agenda must provide a holistic set of answers to the questions that are most important to clients which will require working with other Research Directors and executive partners across Forrester’s research services. This role has primary responsibility for the quality and timeliness of the research deliverables produced by the research team.
Finally, this person will be responsible for acting as an advocate and champion for Forrester’s research services both within Forrester and externally. This requires partnering closely with our global sales organization during the pursuit of new business opportunities as well as the enrichment of existing client relationships.
Job Description:
- Engage as a thought leader and partner with the analyst team, other Research Directors, and our executive partners to elevate, refine, and expand the research agenda.
- Set and evolve a research agenda grounded in client reality, with particular focus on: tech strategy, operating models, digital transformation and innovation, as well as modernization, cloud strategy and sovereignty, automation and agentic AI, and agentic software development. The research agenda should also cover the impact of agentic AI on the future of technology and the client personas we serve. Finally, the Research Director should also consider how to meet the needs of the industries we target such as banking, government, retail, and manufacturing.
- Edit syndicated research reports and ensure the quality of our intellectual property (IP).
- Serve as a leader, mentor, and coach to the research team in support of their professional development goals and help establish their impact on our clients and throughout the industry.
- Partner with account teams to identify and pursue business opportunities.
- Partner with executive partners to help deliver exceptional client engagement for Forrester’s executive clients.
- Meet the team performance goals for smooth and adaptive content production, advisory, consulting, and client support.
- Participate and speak at Forrester-sponsored and other events to drive awareness of our technology executive practice and represent our thought leadership.
Job Requirements:
- A strong record of academic achievement.
- Some experience in a mix of roles as a VP-level and above practitioner, consultant, or research analyst, or as a senior leader in a product management or customer-facing role at a major enterprise technology vendor, consultancy, or SI etc.
- A strong understanding of the challenges facing technology leaders today as well as how AI is transforming tech strategy, tech stack/architecture, IT operations, and the IT operating model itself.
- Demonstrated ability to serve as an advisor to senior management and C-level clients and to contextualize our research to the industries that we serve.
- Deep intellectual curiosity about how technology can drive business forward; solid business instincts as well as a practical understanding of what makes companies tick and how technology leaders operate; and a willingness to continually look at markets and technologies through new lenses.
- Strong knowledge of the issues and challenges that technology leaders and practitioners face.
- Superior analytical, writing, editing, and presentation skills.
- The ability to travel 30% of the time or more.
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Here at Forrester, we welcome people from all backgrounds and perspectives. Our aim is for all candidates to be able to fully participate in Forrester’s recruitment process. If you would like to discuss a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to [email protected].
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