Vice President, Primary Research – Capital Markets

About the Job
The Breakwater Capital Markets practice at Breakwater Strategy is seeking a research leader to join our growing team. The work sits at an exciting intersection of behavioral finance, corporate strategy, and capital markets. You'll design and execute primary research, drawing on insights from sophisticated institutional investors around the world and translate what you learn into findings that inform how public companies are perceived and valued. The work is intellectually demanding and consequential.

Why Join Us? 
Few roles give you this level of variety. You'll get insight across every sector, understand how institutional investors think about valuation, and translate those findings into strategic counsel for boards and C-suites. If you're intellectually curious about capital markets, corporate strategy, and investor behavior, you will find this work is genuinely fascinating. You’ll have the opportunity to work on high-impact projects, collaborate with talented colleagues, and contribute to a culture of support, integrity, and respect. 

Who Should Apply?
We're looking for someone who can move fluidly between research design and developing executive-level insights. There's no single path to this role. A background in primary research, equity research, investor relations advisory, or management consulting is relevant, but what distinguishes the right candidate is intellectual rigor and the ability to design impactful research, synthesize complex findings, and deliver clear recommendations for senior audiences.

Client demand drives the pace of our work. Successful candidates are comfortable with periods of intensity and find the variability and pace energizing. This role also provides the opportunity to engage across every sector of the public markets. This breadth is part of what makes the work interesting and candidates who thrive here tend to be people who love to learn and find that variety intriguing.

If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, a genuine interest in how markets work, and the drive to exceed client expectations, we'd like to hear from you.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead research projects, including designing, executing, and conducting investor interviews to uncover actionable insights, and developing high-quality client reports that synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into key recommendations.
• Provide strategic insight and thought leadership to clients, leveraging research findings to address investor sentiment, market trends, and capital markets strategies.
• Mentor and coach junior team members, fostering their professional growth and building expertise in research and advisory services.

ATTRIBUTES

• A BA/BS degree in Social Sciences, Business, Marketing, Market Research, or a related field. MBA preferred.
• 8 to 12 years of experience in primary research-focused roles, with a proven track record of designing and executing both qualitative and quantitative research projects
• Experience with the development of thought leadership
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to distill complex insights into clear, compelling recommendations for senior executives, including boards, CEOs, and CFOs 
• Ability to effectively manage internal project teams
• Equally comfortable operating at the strategic level and executing hands-on research
• Ability to rapidly develop sector fluency across diverse industries and client situations

Location
Flexible location in the following states, with travel to business development opportunities and client sites as needed: CA, CT, DC, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, VA.