Data Operations Manager

Role outline

Based in London and reporting to the Director of Data & Research Technology, this role sits within Opinium’s CODE (Centre of Data Excellence) team. This is a hands-on role focused on the delivery of quantitative research programmes, including large-scale global trackers and high-profile multi-market studies. The role sits at the intersection of research technology, survey scripting, data processing, automation, workflow engineering, and operational delivery.

You will combine strong technical capability with operational judgement. You understand how complex research programmes are built, where delivery risk sits, and how to keep multiple moving parts aligned.

You will play a significant role in managing operational delivery across automation workflows, survey scripting, data processing, reporting operations, and technology-enabled delivery processes across multiple programmes. The role includes both day-to-day delivery oversight and longer-term process improvement responsibilities, helping Opinium continue to modernise and scale its research operations capability. Success in this role requires strong judgement, calmness under pressure, and the ability to bring structure and clarity to complex operational environments.

Key responsibilities

• Operational delivery
• Hands-on survey scripting, data processing, reporting operations, and workflow automation
• Design, maintain and improve operational tooling, automation workflows and API-driven processes
• As part of the CODE leadership team, coordinate resource allocation, and delivery priorities
• Workflow and risk management
• Identify delivery risks early and manage dependencies
• Implement and strengthen QA, governance, and escalation processes
• Contribute to documentation, governance standards, and delivery frameworks within CODE
• Act as the escalation point for complex technical delivery issues, driving resolution and minimising downstream impact
• Stakeholder management and communication
• Attend client-facing meetings alongside senior operational and research stakeholders
• Translate technical issues into clear operational or commercial impact for senior stakeholders
• Push back professionally where timelines, scope, or operational approaches create delivery risk

About you

You will likely have:

• 5+ years’ experience within a market research, research operations, or data processing environment
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Experience working on large-scale, multi-market quantitative research programmes
• Strong operational judgement and the ability to identify and resolve delivery risk early
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills across multiple concurrent workstreams
• Strong hands-on survey scripting experience with platforms such as Decipher, Qualtrics, Dimensions, Forsta, or similar
• Solid experience managing quantitative data workflows including cross-tabs, dashboards and reporting outputs using tools such as SPSS, Q, DisplayR or similar
• Strong data wrangling, cleaning, and transformation skills
• Experience building automation workflows or data pipelines that improve delivery efficiency and reduce operational risk
• Strong practical technical capability across survey scripting, data processing, automation, and operational tooling
• Experience applying technologies such as Python, SQL, JavaScript, APIs, and workflow automation platforms to solve operational challenges and improve delivery efficiency is highly desirable
• Commercial awareness and understanding of resourcing and operational efficiency

Why join Opinium?

• Join a team at the forefront of research operations transformation, helping shape the technology, automation and delivery frameworks that will underpin the agency’s future growth
• Work on large-scale international research programmes for globally recognised brands
• Help shape the future of research operations, automation, and data delivery
• Collaborate with highly skilled research, operations, and technology teams
• Be part of a business investing heavily in operational transformation and modern research infrastructure