Director Consumer Insights - Coffee

Job Overview:

Director Consumer Insights - Coffee [North America]

At Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) the consumer is at the heart of everything we do. Join the team at KDP and make a difference to consumers with one of America's leading producers and distributors of hot and cold beverages helping to satisfy every consumer's beverage need, anytime and anywhere.

This role is specific to the current Coffee Operating Unit of KDP.  Following the recent, successful acquisition of JDE Peet's in April 2026, the Coffee Operating Unit will become its own independent publicly traded company.  For more information on this, please visit keurigdrpepper.com

This individual will report into the Senior Director, Insights. This role is based at the Burlington, MA office location working in a Hybrid capacity( 3 days from the office and 2 days remote)

We are seeking Director of Consumer Insights to lead the consumer insights agenda for the coffee portfolio across US and Canada. This leader will bring the voice of the consumer to marketing and brand decision-making. The ideal candidate will uncover meaningful consumer needs, motivations, behaviors, attitudes, and cultural trends and translate those insights into compelling strategies that strengthen the brand, shape communications, inspire innovation and deepen consumer connection.

The ideal candidate is consumer and marketing-oriented, with a deep passion for understanding why people think, feel, and behave the way they do. They combine strong research expertise with strategic judgment and have the ability to turn complex information into simple, compelling stories that inspire teams and influence business decisions.

Key Responsibilities

Consumer Understanding and Insights Strategy

• Develop and lead the coffee insights strategy and annual learning agenda for both US and Canada markets
• Build a deep, evolving understanding of the consumer, including their needs, motivations, behaviors, attitudes, lifestyles, and consumption occasions.
• Identify consumer tensions, unmet needs, and opportunities to strengthen emotional and functional connections with the brands
• Bring together qualitative and quantitative research, behavioral data, social listening, cultural trends, and other sources to create a holistic understanding of the consumer
• Identify and champion the application of AI, emerging technologies, and innovative research approaches.
• Identify opportunities to use agentic AI, synthetic data to augment traditional research processes and unlock forward looking intelligence framework
• Apply strong statistical and analytical thinking to evaluate research design, sampling to ensure insights are grounded in sound research methodology
• Establish a strong culture of curiosity and consumer empathy across the organization

Brand & Marketing Insights

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the coffee marketing team and the broader marketing leadership team.
• Translate consumer attitudes and behaviors into clear, compelling brand and marketing recommendations and support the annual brand planning process
• Lead consumer learning agenda around brand equity tracking. Establish frameworks and KPIs to measure brand health and marketing effectiveness
• Partner with creative, media and communications teams to uncover powerful consumer and cultural insights that can inspire breakthrough work.
• Lead research supporting campaign development, creative evaluation, campaign effectiveness, and support the overall brand and communications strategy
• Partner with Marketing analytics to define target audiences based on consumer insights, segmentation and occasion research

Innovation & Product Development

• Serve as a strategic insights partner to Innovation, R&D and sensory teams
• Identify unmet consumer needs, whitespace opportunities, emerging trends and new consumption occasions
• Lead qualitative, quantitative research from opportunity identification through concept development, product testing and commercialization
• Define consumer success criteria based on innovation performance and work closely with innovation team to establish consumer benchmarks across the innovation stage gate process

Culture & Consumer Trends

• Stay deeply connected to evolving consumer lifestyles, behaviors, values, and cultural conversations.
• Identify emerging macro-consumer trends and shifts that may influence how consumers' think about coffee, brands and their everyday rituals.

Leadership & Influence

• Act as the organization' voice of the consumer bringing a clear and compelling consumer perspective to strategic decisions
• Build trusted partnerships across Brand Marketing, Communications, Marketing Analytics, Innovation, Product Development, and Commercial teams
• Present insights in a clear, inspiring, and highly actionable way to senior leaders and cross-functional teams
• Build and manage strategic relationships with external research partners, agencies, ensuring they bring strong strategic thinking, high-quality execution, innovative research methodologies
• Lead and mentor the insights team and build strong relationships with research partners and agencies
• Establish high standards for research quality, strategic thinking, and insight storytelling.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Total Rewards:

• Salary Range: $155,500- $195,000
• Actual placement within the compensation range may vary depending on experience, skills, and other factors
• Benefits, subject to election and eligibility: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability, Paid Time Off (including paid parental leave, vacation, and sick time), 401k with company match, Tuition Reimbursement, and Mileage Reimbursement
• Annual bonus based on performance and eligibility

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required in marketing, business, psychology, sociology, statistics, anthropology. Masters Degree preferred
• 8-15 years of experience in consumer insights, market research, brand strategy, shopper insights, or a related discipline.
• Experience in CPG, food & beverage, coffee, retail preferred.
• Demonstrated expertise across qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with strong analytical and statistical skills
• Demonstrated experience applying advanced analytical approaches such as driver analysis, predictive analytics, correlation and statistical techniques
• Ability to interpret complex datasets, assess research rigor, and translate analysis into actionable business insights
• Strong understanding of brand strategy, consumer behavior, segmentation, innovation, and marketing effectiveness.
• Proven ability to translate research and data into strategic recommendations that influence business and marketing decisions.
• Strong executive presence, communication, and storytelling skills.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research budgets
• Experience in leading external agencies, research partners, and vendors, including partner selection, briefing, performance management, and delivery
• Comfortable synthesizing multiple sources of information and translating complexity into clear, actionable insights.
• Highly proficient in Excel, Word and Power Point
• Presentation skills a must - building and delivering

Company Overview:

Keurig Dr Pepper (Nasdaq: KDP) is a leading beverage company with more than 150 owned, licensed and partner brands that meet a wide range of needs and occasions. Our North American refreshment beverage business holds leadership positions across carbonated soft drinks, water, juice and mixers with a portfolio of iconic brands such as Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Mott's, A&W, Peñafiel, GHOST, 7UP, Snapple, Clamato and Core Hydration. Our global coffee business spans more than 100 markets and includes the leading Keurig single-serve brewing system in the U.S. and Canada, along with powerhouse brands such as Peet's, L'OR and Jacobs, and other regional coffee leaders. Our more than 50,000 employees aim to enhance the experience of every beverage and coffee occasion while making a positive impact for people, communities, and the planet.

We strive to be an employer of choice, providing culture and opportunities that empower our team to grow and develop. We offer robust benefits to support your health and wellness as well as your personal and financial well-being. We also provide employee programs designed to enhance your professional growth and development, while ensuring you feel valued, inspired and appreciated at work.

Whatever your area of expertise, at KDP you can be a part of a team that's proud of its brands, partnerships, innovation and growth. Will you join us?

Keurig Dr Pepper is an equal opportunity employer and recruits qualified applicants and advances in employment its employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability or association with a person with a disability, medical condition, genetic information, ethnic or national origin, marital status, veteran status, or any other status protected by law.

A.I. Disclosure:

KDP uses artificial intelligence to assist with initial resume screening and candidate matching. This technology helps us efficiently identify candidates whose qualifications align with our open roles. AI does not make hiring decisions; all decisions throughout the hiring process are made by talent acquisition team members. If you prefer not to have your application processed using artificial intelligence, you may opt out by emailing your resume and qualifications directly to kdpjobs@kdrp.com in lieu of clicking Apply. In order for your application to be considered and opted out of AI, you must include the words 'AI Opt-Out' and either job title and location or Job ID # in the email subject line in your email application.