The Role
As the Senior Fieldwork Manager, you will be the ultimate air-traffic controller for our quantitative projects. You will be responsible for sourcing high-quality respondents from a global network of panel vendors, blending sample to meet complex demographic quotas, and protecting our profit margins by strictly managing the Buy-vs-Sell spread.
You will also serve as the escalation point for junior Project Managers and take ownership of building strategic, long-term partnerships with top-tier panel providers (e.g., Cint, Dynata, Toluna, and niche B2B panels).
Key Responsibilities
1. Sample Procurement & Negotiation
Evaluate client project specifications (N-size, IR, LOI, targeting criteria) and determine global sample feasibility.
Distribute Request for Quotes (RFQs) to multiple panel vendors, aggressively negotiating Cost Per Interview (CPI) to maximize project profitability.
Develop "Sample Blending" strategies to ensure complex quotas are filled without relying on a single vendor, mitigating risk and controlling costs.
Discover, vet, and onboard new niche panel partners (B2B, Healthcare, ITDMs) to expand our procurement capabilities.
2. Technical Setup & Field Management
Generate, map, and test standard industry redirect links (Complete, Terminate, Quota Full, Security Term) across multiple vendors and survey platforms (e.g., Decipher, Qualtrics).
Ensure tracking parameters (e.g., &rid=, uid=) are passing correctly to guarantee accurate vendor payouts and prevent data loss.
Execute soft launches to monitor initial Incidence Rates (IR) and Length of Interview (LOI) against vendor expectations.
Monitor real-time fieldwork dashboards, actively pausing/resuming vendor traffic to balance quotas and prevent expensive over-sampling.
3. Data Quality & Reconciliation
Act as the first line of defense against survey fraud (bots, click farms, VPN abuse, speeders, and straight-liners).
Review interim data files to spot-check for low-quality responses and immediately pause underperforming vendors.
Lead the end-of-month reconciliation process: comparing platform completes against vendor-claimed completes, issuing scrub reports, and negotiating final invoices to prevent margin leakage.
4. Leadership & Process Optimization
Build and maintain the "Vendor Scorecard" to track partner performance based on EPC (Earnings Per Click), conversion rates, and historical fraud levels.
Mentor and train junior Project Managers on best practices for link testing, vendor communication, and crisis management.
Identify bottlenecks in the fieldwork lifecycle and implement workflow automations to increase speed-to-field.
Qualifications & Requirements
Experience: 4+ years of direct experience in Online Market Research Operations, Fieldwork Management, or Sample Procurement.
Domain Expertise: Absolute fluency in market research economics and metrics (CPI, IR, LOI, N-size, Conversion Rates, EPC).
Technical Literacy: Hands-on experience with survey programming/hosting platforms (FocusVision Decipher, Qualtrics, Confirmit) and a flawless understanding of URL redirect logic and parameter mapping.
Vendor Knowledge: A deep existing network and understanding of the global online panel ecosystem (API integrations like Cint/Lucid are a major plus).
Financial Acumen: Strong commercial awareness with a track record of protecting project margins and successfully disputing bad data during reconciliation.
Soft Skills: Extreme attention to detail (one broken link kills a project), high emotional intelligence for vendor negotiations, and the ability to thrive in a high-urgency, deadline-driven environment.
What We Offer
Competitive base salary + performance-based bonuses tied to margin protection and project volume.
Comprehensive health and other benefits with perks.
A tech-forward environment where you will have access to the best tools to automate manual grunt work, allowing you to focus on strategy and vendor relations.
A clear progression path to Director of Operations.
Flexible Timings.