Director of Recruitment and Panel Development

At L&E Research, we connect brands with people to make conversations happen. Since 1984, we've been a trusted partner in qualitative research recruitment across healthcare, consumer goods, B2B, and beyond. We're growing our team and looking for a Recruitment Strategist who thrives on solving hard problems and building relationships.

Full-Time | US Remote | EST or MST

Reporting to the Vice President of Operations, the Director of Recruitment & Panel Development is responsible for the performance of Recruitment Operations and for the health, growth, and development of L&E's panel member database (leopinions.com). You'll independently lead the Recruitment and Panel division and partner across the business to move it forward.

• Oversee Recruitment Operations and directly supervise the Recruitment Operations Manager.
• Plan and oversee market- and client-specific panel builds, including spend approval, budget tracking, and FMP study group set-up, in coordination with the Recruitment Strategist and Project Management teams.
• Work directly with clients on recruitment, including creative when needed.
• Develop recruitment plans of action for niche and rare populations, such as clinical trial patients and B2B decision-makers, and build team capability around these specialized skill sets.
• Lead the operational adoption of Recruiting Workflow Automation.
• Identify and vet new recruitment tools, then lead their training and integration within Recruitment Operations.

• Own the L&E panel member database and its health, accuracy, integrity, and project-readiness, with health metrics and regular reporting to leadership on growth, attrition, hygiene, and engagement.
• Lead database hygiene, including deduplication, data validation, suppression management, and compliance with privacy standards, partnering with the Technology database team on execution.
• Grow the panel by identifying gaps by market, demographic, and specialty (including hard-to-reach populations), partnering with Marketing to recruit new consumer and healthcare professional members, and running active and inactive member re-engagement campaigns as new member platforms launch.
• Own member-facing wording across confirmation letters, thank-you letters, and the Universal Participant Consent & Confidentiality Agreement, and route member inquiries to the right team.

• Oversee social media postings and directly supervise the Social Media Coordinator.
• Set link tracking and source attribution standards across flyers, paid ads, and organic posts, and share posting guidance with Operations.
• Evaluate and stand up new paid recruitment channels, partnering with Technology and IT on account setup and site tracking.

• Provide and consult on feasibility for escalated or complex requests, as requested.
• Review and collaborate on RFIs requesting additional panel or community engagement details.

• Partner with the Technology Product Manager to define operational requirements for new systems and automations for panel and recruiting work.
• Conduct operational user acceptance testing and confirm new systems work for the teams that will use them before rollout.
• Lead implementation across Operations with the Director of Operations, including training materials, rollout communication, and adoption tracking.
• Keep operational documentation and processes accurate, current, and consistently followed.

• Manage your direct reports, the Recruitment Operations Manager and Social Media Coordinator, including hiring, reviews, and staffing proposals.
• Take on other special projects as needed.

• 5+ years of experience in panel management, recruiting operations, project management, market research operations, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience isolating and recruiting niche or rare populations, such as clinical trial or B2B audiences, including developing plans of action and building teams around these skill sets.
• Social media and/or digital marketing experience, including paid advertising channels and campaign tracking (required).
• Experience writing SOPs and training materials and implementing new systems or processes across teams.
• Prior management experience overseeing a department or team, with demonstrated success in staffing, training, and performance management (preferred).

• Proven ability to work independently and manage priorities for yourself and your team, while knowing when to collaborate and escalate.
• Deep understanding of panel database structure, segmentation, hygiene, and member-engagement best practices.
• Working knowledge of recruiting operations, paid recruitment channels, and the L&E FMP environment.
• Knowledge of sourcing channels, screening approaches, and recruitment strategies for niche and rare populations.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret database health, recruiting, and quality metrics and turn them into action.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint), database, CRM, and panel-management platforms, and social media and paid advertising platforms.
• Adaptability and a strong aptitude for learning and using new technologies, including emerging AI tools, to improve efficiency and insight.

A Windows-based PC will be provided to all full-time employees. You'll also need:

• Reliable high-speed internet/broadband connection.
• Consistent and dependable phone service.

• Lead team L10s and attend Operations Leadership L10s, monthly management staff meetings, yearly management retreats, and other onsite meetings or events as needed.
• Minimal travel required (quarterly)
• Adhere to the ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 20252 standards.

Beyond the technical skills, the right person for this role brings these qualities to the work every day:

• Owns the work. You take ownership of the day-to-day work of the role and the team, set priorities with confidence, and keep leadership informed and engaged on key decisions.
• Leads and develops people. You set clear expectations for your direct reports, create accountability across the functions you oversee, and drive the team toward the company's vision.
• Thinks strategically. You connect daily panel and recruiting work to broader business goals and spot opportunities to scale, including for niche and rare populations.
• Communicates clearly. You communicate well, verbally and in writing, with leadership, cross-functional partners, direct reports, and external vendors.
• Keeps projects moving. You manage multiple workstreams, implementations, and recruiting needs at once while meeting deadlines.
• Lets data guide decisions. You use data to inform decisions, prioritize investments, and measure the impact of database and recruiting initiatives.
• Works well across teams. You collaborate effectively with Operations, Marketing, Sales, Technology, and Product.

We read every application, and we want to know you read this post all the way through.

Key Phrase - Recruitment.

This job summary outlines primary responsibilities but is not intended to be all-inclusive. Duties may be modified or expanded to reflect business needs and the natural progression of the role.

L&E Research, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.