Senior Consultant qualitative research

As a member of TRA’s qualitative team, you’ll become an expert in cars, flying, chocolate, solar panels, even cat treats. At TRA, we work with a genuinely diverse mix of clients across the public sector, private sector and not-for-profit. Regardless of the industry or topic, your job will be to unearth human insight that helps move our clients closer to their objectives. You’ll do this alongside a diverse team that cares deeply about people, about each other, and about doing work that makes a difference. 

Who this role is for 

This role is for someone who is equal parts curious and disciplined. Someone who knows how to follow their nose to find the uncommon truths, while staying anchored to the task at hand. It suits someone who thrives on variety and pace; moving from client conversations, to drafting recruitment criteria, to writing a debrief, and everything in between.  

And it’s for someone who loves talking to people from all walks of life. Fieldwork will be your bread and butter, so you’ll need to be comfortable facilitating discussions that are thoughtful, open and purposeful – whether you’re speaking to parents, frontline staff, young people, customers, communities, or category experts. 

You’ll be part of a team that cares deeply about understanding people. Not just what they say, but what sits underneath it: the tensions, motivations, behaviours and cultural context that shape how people think, feel and act. 

What you’ll be doing  

As a Senior Qualitative Consultant, you’ll help lead qualitative projects from start to finish. This means being close to the client, clear on the objective, thoughtful in the design, sharp in the analysis and compelling in how the story lands. 

You’ll be responsible for:  

• Client centricity: building trusted client relationships throughout a project’s journey; keeping clients informed, involved and confident in the work. 

• Recruitment management: developing participant criteria that is fit for purpose, and managing recruitment with external providers. 

• Topic frameworks: writing guides that ladder back to the client objective while creating enough space to uncover the unexpected. 

• Fieldwork: conducting interviews, groups, workshops and other qualitative methods with confidence and curiosity. 

• Analysis: making sense of messy human data, identifying the insights that truly matter, and knowing what to leave behind. 

• Debrief writing: turning findings into clear, compelling stories that communicate the insight, the implications and the opportunity. 

• Client presentations: leading client sessions and presentations comfortably, bringing the work to life in a way that is engaging and useful. 

• Project management: keeping projects moving, managing timelines and staying across the details without losing sight of the bigger picture. 

What you’ll bring 

We’re looking for someone with qualitative experience who is ready to take ownership and contribute to a collaborative team environment. 

You’ll likely be someone who is: 

• Curious: genuinely interested in people, culture, behaviour, brands, and the “why” behind the obvious answer. You’ll be someone who pays attention to the wider world – what people are talking about, what’s shifting in culture, and how everyday life shapes the way people think, feel and act. 

• Collaborative: open to diverse perspectives and comfortable working closely with others.  

• Detail-oriented: able to hold the moving parts of a project, spot gaps, and make sure the work is rigorous and well-crafted. 

• Personable: warm, confident and able to build rapport with clients, participants and team members alike. 

• Pace-ready: comfortable working across multiple projects, switching gears when needed, and keeping momentum without compromising quality. 

• Commercially aware: able to connect human insight to the decisions clients need to make. 

• A strong communicator: clear in your writing, confident in the room, and able to turn complexity into something people can act on. 

At TRA, qualitative research is not just about asking good questions. It’s about knowing how to listen, how to read between the lines, how to spot what others might miss, and how to turn that into insight clients can use. So, if you’re energised by variety, problem solving, and motivated by the chance to understand people more deeply, this could be the role for you. 

Apply today with a cover letter outlining why we should talk with you, your salary expectation and confirm you have the right to work in New Zealand. We'd love to hear from you!