Customer Insight Specialist
- Centurion, Gauteng
- Permanent
- Full-time
This role is perfect for a tech- and insight-savvy professional with a background in consumer research, UX, or behavioural science who thrives on pattern recognition, emotional storytelling, and creative problem-solving.Purpose of the Role
To establish and operationalise a structured insight engine that connects customer behaviour, sentiment, and unmet needs with innovation efforts. The Customer Insight Specialist is the bridge between real customer experiences and the brand’s growth and relevance across diverse markets.Key Responsibilities
1. Insight Discovery & Research Operations
- Lead customer journey mapping, identifying friction points and opportunities for delight.
- Conduct field research via in-store visits, interviews, stealth observations, and digital interactions.
- Analyse behaviour and preferences including decision-making patterns, taste profiles, and pain points.
- Run quick-turn research around in-store pilots, packaging changes, and product rollouts.
- Build structured customer feedback systems (focus groups, QR surveys, digital forms, loyalty data).
- Use tools like ChatGPT, Qualtrics AI, and mobile AI apps to automate transcription, tagging, and sentiment analysis.
- Use computer vision and other AI tools to assess customer engagement with physical store elements.
- Collect and process real-time feedback for instant insight generation and team sharing.
- Translate customer insights into actionable product briefs and experience strategies.
- Collaborate closely with Marketing, NPD, and Ops to align findings with project needs.
- Participate in weekly “Insight War Rooms” to pitch ideas and rapid interventions.
- Generate a Monthly Customer Pulse Report to guide cross-functional planning and innovation.
- Conduct trend analysis and competitive audits to anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour
- Lead regional insight gathering in South African and selected African markets.
- Partner with external research agencies, with the aim of building in-house research capability.
Minimum Requirements
- Degree in Consumer Science, Marketing, UX Design, Behavioural Science or similar.
- At least 2 years' experience in customer insight, journey mapping, or UX research.
- Excellent analytical skills – able to turn messy data into clear stories and action points.
- Proficiency in AI tools, dashboards, or data visualization platforms.
- Outstanding storytelling and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently, travel, and engage in field-based research.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends.
- Experience in QSR, retail, FMCG, or innovation-led environments.
- Strong visual reporting or multimedia storytelling skills (photo, video, infographics).
- Passion for food, people, and behavioural patterns.
- Base: Head Office in Centurion (field-based work across regions)
- Travel: Frequent local/regional travel expected
- Schedule: Full-time | Flexible hours | Evenings/weekends as needed
- Tools: Mobile, cloud, and AI-based insight tools