Head of Market Research

About the role

Burn is a fast‑growing clean‑energy company designing ultra‑efficient cookstoves for sub‑Saharan Africa. The Head of Market Research will lead the research function, shaping the evidence base that drives product and commercial decisions across multiple African markets.

Key responsibilities

• Define and own BURN’s research agenda, collaborating with product, commercial and senior leadership to prioritize studies.
• Lead end‑to‑end research projects: needs assessment, study design, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting.
• Manage multi‑country field operations, overseeing in‑house enumerator teams and third‑party agencies, ensuring quality and ethical standards.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative methods including surveys, focus groups, ethnographic visits and usability testing.
• Produce clear, decision‑ready reports and briefings for senior leadership.
• Integrate primary research with behavioural or product data such as IoT telemetry, app analytics or transaction data where relevant.

Required profile

• Minimum 8 years of market research, consumer insights or applied social research experience, with at least 3 years leading a research team.
• Proven track record managing multi‑country field operations in African or comparable emerging markets.
• Strong analytical toolkit: advanced Excel and at least one of SPSS, Stata, R or Python.
• Hands‑on experience with digital data collection platforms (e.g., SurveyCTO, KoboToolbox/ODK).
• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to translate complex data into actionable recommendations.
• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, economics, social sciences, marketing or a related field.
• Willingness to travel regularly across BURN’s markets.
• Desirable experience in clean cookstove, household energy, PAY‑GO finance or last‑mile distribution research.

Required skills

• Advanced Excel
• SPSS
• Stata
• R
• Python
• SurveyCTO
• KoboToolbox / ODK