As Canadian Tire continues its mission to be customer-obsessed and data-driven, the Customer Research team plays a critical role in shaping enterprise decisions through rigorous qualitative and quantitative research. Partnering closely with stakeholders across Marketing, Merchandising, Loyalty, Digital, Analytics, and Strategy, the team ensures the voice of the customer informs priority setting, planning, and execution across the enterprise.
The Customer Research function operates as an in-house centre of excellence, balancing speed, scale, and methodological rigour. The team owns and operates a proprietary Customer Research Panel enabling agile, high-quality research across both quantitative surveys and qualitative studies. We are seeking a Customer Research Manager with deep expertise in mixed-methods research. Reporting to the Associate Vice-President of Customer Research, this role leads end-to-end research initiatives and manages a small team of analysts. The ideal candidate is equally strong in research design, execution, and synthesis, with the ability to translate complex findings into clear, actionable insights for senior audiences. This role also has accountability for the ongoing management, health, and optimisation of the Customer Research Panel, ensuring it remains representative, engaged, and fit-for-purpose to support evolving business needs.
You will lead end-to-end research initiatives, from scoping through design, fieldwork, analysis, and delivery, selecting and integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches to address business questions with precision and depth. This includes developing high-quality research instruments such as surveys and discussion guides, overseeing sampling strategies, and ensuring rigorous, ethical execution across all studies. You will own the governance and optimisation of the Customer Research Panel, including recruitment, engagement, representativeness, and data quality, ensuring it is effectively leveraged and evolves with business requirements.
The role involves synthesizing quantitative and qualitative inputs into cohesive insights, identifying key themes, trade-offs, and opportunities, and translating findings into clear implications for business decisions. You will deliver compelling, executive-ready outputs that integrate data, customer voice, and business context, communicating insights with clarity and confidence to senior leaders. Acting as a trusted advisor, you will partner with internal teams by shaping research approaches, refining problem statements, and guiding the interpretation of findings.
You will also manage and develop a small team of one to two analysts, providing coaching on research methodology, analytical thinking, and stakeholder communication. Collaboration with adjacent insight teams like Analytics, UX, and Loyalty, as well as external vendors, will be required to deliver integrated perspectives and specialized capabilities. Finally, you will drive continuous improvement by staying current on emerging methodologies and tools, enhancing research practices, speed, and impact.
What You'll Bring
Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Analytics, Social Sciences, or a related field, with a graduate degree considered an asset. A minimum of eight years of progressive experience in consumer or market research across both client- and supplier-side environments is required. Deep expertise in mixed-methods research is essential, including survey design, sampling, various qualitative techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and ethnography, as well as integrated analysis.
Experience managing or working with research panels is strongly preferred, encompassing an understanding of panel recruitment, engagement, and data quality considerations. Strong storytelling and communication skills are vital, with the ability to distill complex findings into clear, actionable insights for senior audiences. Advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint is necessary, along with experience using survey platforms and qualitative research tools. Familiarity with statistical or text analytics tools is considered an asset.
Why Join Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada’s most admired and trusted companies, known for its more than 90 owned brands, 1,700 retail locations, financial services, exemplary e-commerce capabilities, and market-leading merchandising strategies. The company offers a dynamic environment where employees innovate with purpose for customers, investing in new technologies and products, and focusing on top talent to drive the business forward.
In addition to competitive pay, employees receive comprehensive benefits and retirement programs, performance incentives, continuing education programs, and other perks to support well-being. Career growth opportunities and product discounts are also provided. Eligible employees benefit from store discounts, supported learning through the Triangle Learning Academy, Canadian Tire Profit Sharing, and retirement and savings programs.
The enhanced flex benefits program includes mental health benefits of $5,000 per year for eligible employees and their families, alongside total well-being and mental health tools and resources for all employees. Canadian Tire is committed to fostering an environment where belonging thrives, and diversity, inclusion, and equity are infused into everything they do. They believe in building an organisational culture where people are consistently treated with dignity, respecting individual religion, nationality, gender, race, age, perceived ability, spoken language, sexual orientation, and identification.
The company welcomes and encourages candidates from equity-seeking groups such as people who identify as racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, women, and people with disabilities. Accommodations are available for applicants throughout the hiring process to meet individual needs.
