Head of Marketing Research

Join the team redefining how the world experiences design.

Hey, g’day, mabuhay, kia ora, 你好, hallo, vítejte!

Thanks for stopping by. We know job hunting can be a little time consuming and you’re probably keen to find out what’s on offer, so we’ll get straight to the point.

Where and how you can work

Our flagship campus is in Sydney, with hybrid flexibility built in. We trust our Canvanauts to choose the balance that empowers them and their team to achieve their goals.

What you’d be doing in this role

As Canva scales, change continues to be part of our DNA. But we like to think that’s all part of the fun. As Head of Marketing Research, you’ll be the craft lead for research across Canva’s global marketing organisation, shaping how research underpins strategy and decision-making at scale.

You’ll sit within the Marketing Strategy Centre of Excellence in the Growth supergroup, partnering across Marketing, Growth, International and Product to ensure insights are driving our highest-impact work . This is a rare opportunity to build world-class research foundations that compound over time.

At the moment, this role is focused on:

• Setting the bar for marketing research at Canva by defining research standards, methodologies and best practices that teams can rely on, creating frameworks and playbooks that make it easy to conduct high-quality research.
• Building research capability across the marketing organisation through education, coaching and knowledge sharing, championing rigorous research approaches that deliver actionable insights and staying ahead of emerging methodologies.
• Partnering closely with the Head of Marketing Strategy to identify how research will inform our strategic approach, translating strategic questions into research plans and ensuring insights flow effectively into decision-making.
• Building and connecting the research community by bringing researchers together as a craft, fostering connection and knowledge sharing, and creating regular forums for learning and problem-solving.
• Owning global research programs like our Global Brand Health Metrics, designing research initiatives that span markets and provide organisation-wide insights while ensuring they meet local needs.
• Taking direct ownership of the research function in markets where we're building out capability or upskilling team members, providing hands-on research support while developing local researchers to eventually own the work fully.
• Driving research quality and impact by ensuring outputs are rigorous and actionable, creating standards for how we present findings, helping teams move from insights to action, and building cross-market learning loops.

What we're looking for

We're looking for someone who's passionate about research craft and has a track record of building research capability across organisations. You're excited by the challenge of creating infrastructure that allows research to scale, and you understand that great research is as much about how insights are communicated and used as it is about methodology.

• 7-10+ years of experience in marketing research, with demonstrated experience leading research functions and building research capability across organisations
• Deep expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, with a proven track record of establishing research standards and frameworks
• Experience partnering with senior stakeholders to translate business questions into research strategies, with the ability to credibly influence decision-making
• Strong leadership and coaching skills, with the ability to build communities and influence without direct authority
• Outstanding communication and storytelling skills, able to synthesise complex data into clear insights and present compellingly to audiences across all levels
• Experience managing global research programs and working across markets, with cultural sensitivity and understanding of how to balance global standards with local needs
• Knowledge of brand health tracking, marketing effectiveness measurement and emerging research methodologies including AI-enabled tools
• An innovator who's willing to roll up your sleeves and get into the details while also thinking strategically about how research capability needs to evolve

About the team

The Marketing Strategy Centre of Excellence exists to transform how Canva approaches marketing across all markets and channels. As a small, dedicated team, we create the strategic frameworks, decision-making models and measurement systems that help Canva's marketing scale with clarity and impact. We partner closely with teams across Marketing, Growth, International and Product to codify what makes our marketing approach unique, connect strategy and research to our highest priority work, and ensure we're making the best possible decisions for Canva. Our focus is on creating leverage through better decisions and bigger impact, building the infrastructure that allows marketing to compound over time.

As Head of Marketing Research, you'll be the craft lead for research across Canva's global marketing organisation, setting the foundations for how we approach marketing research and establishing standards that elevate our work. You'll partner closely with our Head of Marketing Strategy to ensure research insights underpin our strategic approach, while building a thriving research community across our regional teams. You'll own global programs of work like our Global Brand Health Metrics, and bring together researchers across the business to share knowledge, solve problems and continuously raise the bar on research quality. This is a unique opportunity to shape how research shows up at Canva and build something world-class.

What’s in it for you?

Achieving our crazy big goals motivates us to work hard — and we do — but you’ll experience lots of moments of magic, connectivity and fun woven throughout life at Canva, too. We also offer a range of benefits to set you up for success in and outside of work.

Here’s a taste of what’s on offer:

• Equity packages — we want our success to be yours too
• Inclusive parental leave policy that supports all parents and carers
• An annual Vibe & Thrive allowance to support your wellbeing, social connection, office setup and more
• Flexible leave options that empower you to recharge and make an impact

Check out lifeatcanva.com for more info.

Other stuff to know

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance Canva and our culture. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

We celebrate all types of skills and backgrounds at Canva, so even if you don’t feel like your experience perfectly matches what’s listed above, we still want to hear from you.

Please note that interviews are conducted virtually.