Role Summary:

The incumbent will be mainly responsible for assisting the Head of Group Market Research in providing customer and market intelligence to support decision making of the Group Retail Banking Divisions (local and international). The incumbent will closely monitor the competitor activities in the market (i.e. promotions, new product launches, product and pricing dynamics etc.) through various market scanning methods (i.e. competitor websites, press ads, mystery customer visits, mystery calls etc) and disseminate those to the concerned Business Divisions through meaningful analysis in timely manner. The incumbent will also be responsible for the evolution of the proposal from the external Market Research Agencies (MRAs) in response to the briefs prepared by the business and support units and effectively implementing respective market research studies in line with the Retail Banking Group’s strategy.

Role Description:

Assist the Head of Group Market Research to support the Group Retail Banking Divisions to gain competitive advantage and thereby achieve its business volumes, revenue and profit targets by identifying possible ‘gaps’ in retail product /service offerings through sustained efforts expended in understanding /evaluating customer preferences and competitor offerings/ strategies.
Maintain a good relationship with MRAs to ensure that relevant market research studies are effectively carried out, meeting the expected quality and standards of the Group Retail Banking divisions at all times.
Liaise with various business and support units for discussion of their Market Research briefs and evaluation of the market research proposals received from the agencies, to incorporate all required feedback prior to submission for approval of the Head of Group Market Research
Provide timely and accurate information to the Heads of Group Retail Business and Channels on customer preferences and competitor offerings relating to their respective responsibility areas (viz. related products /services assigned to them) to enable them develop, refine and enhance their respective product /service offerings.
Build and maintain strong effective relationship with all the other related departments and units to achieve the Group’s Retail Banking goals / objectives
Periodically conduct Competitive Market Analysis using secondary information sources (i.e. websites, pres ads etc.) and mystery visits/calls to identify the possible gaps in the bank’s product /service offerings.
Provide timely updates on new market developments and competitor initiatives (i.e. promotions, new product launches, product and pricing changes etc.) helping the concerned Group Retail Business Units to take counter initiatives.
Work closely with the business and support areas to carry out annual market research studies i.e. Customer & Merchant Satisfaction Surveys etc.
Work closely with the Group Service Quality Department and the branches to coordinate and conduct periodic Mystery Shopper Audits to track the quality of service delivered to customers.
Conduct other ad hoc research studies required by the business units through MRAs such as testing new product and value propositions developed by the bank.
Scrutinize the market research materials provided by the MRAs (i.e. questionnaires, discussion guides etc.) and ensure that those are free from errors and are in line with business requirements prior to execution of field work.
Participate in Field Briefings conducted by the MRAs and closely monitor the field work through accompaniments and back-checks to ensure high quality and standards of field work that is being carried out.
Monitor industry statistics and follow trends in industry literature.
Attend retail staff conferences to provide the management with information and proposals concerning the promotion, distribution and pricing of the bank’s products and services
 Possess a good knowledge of the retail banking business, its products and services and the applicable market research tools and analysis techniques.
Identify areas for professional development of self and act to enhance professional development.
Ensure high standards of confidentiality to safeguard commercially sensitive information.

Qualifications:

University Graduate with minimum of 3 years experience in the Market Research function in a Retail Banking environment.

Prior experience working with specialized Market Research Agencies on banking projects is preferred.

Well informed of the retail banking industry practices and regulations with at least 1 year experience in the local environment.

 

Required Special Skills:

Good oral and written communication skills in English and Arabic (preferred).
Very organized and good at time and project management.
Ability to make decisions and follow through with initiatives
Ability to plan ahead with good attention to detail.
Ability to work with teams from diverse cultural backgrounds.