UK

United Kingdom · Corporate strategy · Director/VP (16-20 years)

Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

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  • Experience bandDirector/VP (16-20 years)
  • Direct reports3-5 reports
  • Reports toVP, Corporate Strategy
  • UK framework levelUsually a director, accountable for a division and its numbers

Also advertised as Head of Market Insights · VP, Strategic Intelligence · Director of Corporate Strategy & Intelligence · Senior Director, Commercial Insights

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Data Science OTHM Qualifications · Level 7 · covers 2 of 2 standards
NCC Education Level 5 Extended Diploma in Computing with Data Science NCC Education Limited · Level 5 · covers 1 of 2 standards
Level 6 Award in Data-led Decision Making Institute of Sales Professionals · Level 6 · covers 1 of 2 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing for England Pearson Education Ltd · Level 5 · covers 1 of 2 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Digital Technologies Pearson Education Ltd · Level 5 · covers 1 of 2 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Data Analysis and Visualisation OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Data Science
Introduction to Data Science and Big Data NCC Education Level 5 Extended Diploma in Computing with Data Science
Data-led Decision Making Level 6 Award in Data-led Decision Making
Apply the Concepts of Data Science to Computer Engineering NOCN Level 5 Diploma in Computer Engineering (Information Technology and Data Science)
Data Analytics Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing for England

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Automation Fluency building AI into how work runs
Foresight Fluency seeing round the corner
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Your Plan Illustration

Built for Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence

5 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Data Analysis and Visualisation OTHM Qualifications · covers 2 of 2 standards Level 7
  2. Introduction to Data Science and Big Data NCC Education Limited · covers 1 of 2 standards Level 5
  3. Data-led Decision Making Institute of Sales Professionals · covers 1 of 2 standards Level 6
  4. Apply the Concepts of Data Science to Computer Engineering NOCN · covers 1 of 2 standards Level 5
  5. Data Analytics Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 2 standards Level 5
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • AI-Powered Strategic Foresight
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence plan as you set up, starting with a Future Fluency module on using AI in your job. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

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3What this role really is

This role tracks markets and competitors, spotting trends and anticipating moves before they happen. It involves giving a strategy team a clear, accurate view of the market, shaping decisions on growth and risk.

4What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Bloomberg Terminal / Refinitiv Eikon / S&P Capital IQ Strategic

Justifying platform investment/renewal, understanding API integration capabilities for enterprise data lakes, and guiding your team on advanced financial and market data extraction for strategic analysis.

Crayon / Kompyte / SEMrush / Similarweb Architect

Selecting and implementing the enterprise-wide competitive intelligence platform for your business unit, defining the taxonomy, workflows, and integration points for the entire organisation.

Excel (Power Query, XLOOKUP, Pivot Tables) / SQL (PostgreSQL) / Python (pandas, Matplotlib) Strategic

Understanding how these tools fit into the broader data architecture (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks) to ensure data integrity, scalability, and efficiency for your team's analytical output. You'll review complex models, not necessarily build them from scratch.

Tableau / Power BI Strategic

Governing the BI environment for the strategy function, setting standards for executive-level reporting, and championing data visualisation best practices across your team and with stakeholders.

Qualtrics / SurveyMonkey / GLG / AlphaSights Strategic

Managing the budget and relationships with expert networks and research vendors, defining the annual primary research agenda, and ensuring ethical and effective data collection practices.

Confluence / Notion / MS Teams Strategic

Championing a culture of knowledge sharing, ensuring insights are accessible, well-organised, and actively utilised across the enterprise, not just within your team. You'll define the knowledge management strategy.

5What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Market Entry/Exit Recommendations No authority. Assists in data gathering. Proposes initial data-backed recommendations to manager. Leads the analysis and presents recommendations to senior leadership for review.
Market Intelligence Budget Allocation No authority. Submits requests for tools/resources. Proposes tool subscriptions or research projects to manager. Manages project budgets up to £20K. Recommends larger investments.
Team Hiring & Performance Management No authority. Provides feedback on peers. Provides input on junior hires. No performance management authority. Mentors junior analysts. Provides formal feedback to manager for performance reviews.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Strategic Decision Impact
Number of major strategic decisions (e.g., new market entry, significant product pivot, M&A target assessment) where market intelligence was a critical, documented input.
Target · At least 5 major decisions per year directly influenced by MI insights.

In Q2, MI team insights on competitor pricing shifts led to a £2M adjustment in our product roadmap, preventing potential customer churn.

Competitive Win Rate Improvement
Percentage increase in win rates for sales opportunities where competitive intelligence (e.g., battlecards, competitive training) was actively used by the sales team.
Target · 3-5% increase in win rates for targeted product lines or regions.

After a new battlecard programme, the win rate against 'Competitor X' improved from 35% to 39% in the EMEA region over 6 months.

Market Opportunity Identification
Number of new, validated market opportunities (e.g., underserved customer segments, emerging technology areas) identified by the MI team that lead to exploratory projects or new product initiatives.
Target · At least 2-3 validated opportunities per year, leading to concrete business exploration.

Identified a £10M untapped market for 'AI-powered compliance tools' in FinTech, leading to a new product discovery sprint.

Team Productivity & Efficiency
Measured by the average time saved on routine intelligence gathering tasks through automation and process optimisation, allowing the team to focus on higher-value strategic analysis.
Target · 20% reduction in time spent on routine data collection across the team.

Automated competitor news summaries now save each analyst roughly 4 hours a week, freeing up 160 hours per month for deeper analysis.

Executive Trust & Consultation
The extent to which senior leadership proactively seeks your and your team's input on critical strategic discussions, even before formal requests are made.
  • You're regularly invited to high-level strategic planning sessions, your opinion is sought on M&A targets, and executives reference your team's insights in board meetings without prompting. They'll call you directly for a quick chat on a market rumour.
Strategic Narrative Clarity
How well your team's insights are distilled into clear, concise, and compelling narratives that resonate with different executive audiences and drive consensus.
  • Leadership consistently praises the clarity and actionability of your presentations. Different departments (e.g., Sales and Product) use the same market language and frameworks provided by your team. People 'get it' quickly.
Team Leadership & Development
The effectiveness of your leadership in mentoring and developing your team, fostering a culture of rigorous inquiry and strategic thinking.
  • Your direct reports show clear career progression, take on more complex projects, and are seen as credible experts by other teams. There's a noticeable improvement in the quality and depth of their individual analyses over time. People want to work on your team.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Strategic Impact

You thrive on seeing your team's insights directly influence major business decisions, from product roadmaps to market entry strategies. You're motivated by the idea that your work helps steer the company's future.

Seeing a new product launch succeed because your team identified the unmet market need, or helping the CEO understand a critical competitive threat that changes our investment strategy.

Intellectual Challenge

You love tackling complex, ambiguous problems where there's no obvious answer. The thrill of connecting disparate data points and uncovering a hidden market truth is what gets you out of bed.

Unravelling why a competitor is suddenly gaining market share in a specific region, or forecasting the impact of a new regulation on our entire business model.

Team & Capability Building

You're energised by leading, mentoring, and developing a team of bright analysts and strategists. You get satisfaction from seeing them grow, take on more responsibility, and produce high-quality work.

One of your direct reports gets promoted, or the team successfully delivers a complex, high-visibility project that pushes their skills to the next level.

What frustrates people
  • The 'Drive-by' Request: An executive asking for a week's worth of analysis by tomorrow morning.
  • Confirmation Bias as a Service: Being asked to 'find the data' to support a decision that's already been made.
  • Death by a Thousand Contradictions: Trying to build a coherent market view when all your data sources tell different stories.
  • The 'So What?' Deflator: Presenting brilliant insights only to be met with a polite 'Great, but what does this mean for us this quarter?'
  • The Sales Team Stare-Down: Being told by a top salesperson, 'That's not what I'm seeing on the street,' after presenting carefully researched competitive intelligence.
  • Budgetary Whiplash: Your essential data terminals (Bloomberg, Capital IQ) are always on the chopping block during cost-cutting exercises.
What this role does not give you
  • A quiet, purely analytical environment with minimal human interaction.
  • Guaranteed implementation of every insight or recommendation you provide.
  • A role where you only focus on one specific market or product area.
  • A job with predictable, routine tasks and no urgent, shifting priorities.

8Who you work with

This role directly shapes the strategic direction and competitive positioning of a major business unit. You'll influence multi-year roadmaps, market entry/exit decisions, and significant investment choices. Your insights will help us identify new revenue streams, mitigate competitive threats, and optimise our go-to-market strategies, ultimately impacting the P&L by millions of pounds annually.

Inside the business
  • VP, Corporate Strategy
  • Business Unit GMs (General Managers)
  • Heads of Product Management
  • Sales Leadership (CRO, Regional Sales Directors)
  • CFO and Finance Leadership
  • Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Outside the business
  • Industry Analysts (Gartner, Forrester)
  • Key Research Vendors (e.g., IDC, Euromonitor)
  • Expert Network Providers (GLG, AlphaSights)
  • Strategic Consulting Firms (McKinsey, Bain)
  • Financial Press and Investors (indirectly)

9What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

  • Proven track record of leading and developing high-performing market intelligence or strategy teams.
  • Extensive experience (10+ years) in a senior analytical or strategic role within a complex, global organisation.
  • Demonstrable experience in presenting complex strategic recommendations to C-suite and board-level audiences.
  • Deep expertise in designing and implementing comprehensive market and competitive intelligence programmes.
  • Strong financial acumen, including the ability to interpret company financials and build robust business cases.
  • A history of successfully influencing major business decisions through data-driven insights, even without direct authority.
  • Experience managing significant budgets and vendor relationships (£250K+).

10What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Data Governance & Architecture for MI

As data sources proliferate and AI tools become more integrated, ensuring data quality, accessibility, and compliance across the intelligence function becomes paramount. Poor governance leads to flawed insights and compliance risks.

Data Lineage & Metadata Management · Data Mesh Principles · Cloud Data Platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks) · API Integration Strategy

  • This quarter: Meet with our Head of Data Engineering to understand our current data architecture and identify potential integration points for MI data.
  • Next 6 months: Develop a clear data governance strategy for your market intelligence function, outlining data ownership, quality standards, and access protocols.
  • Next 12 months: Champion an initiative to integrate key market intelligence data sources into our enterprise data lake, improving data accessibility and reducing manual effort.
  • Ongoing: Advocate for the necessary technical resources and investments to build a robust and scalable data foundation for market intelligence.

Quick win: Review your team's current data sources and identify the top 3 that cause the most data quality issues. Start a conversation with IT/Data teams about improving their reliability and integration, even if it's just for a small pilot.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry conferences and workshops focused on market intelligence, strategic planning, and emerging technologies (e.g., AI in business).
  • Participating in executive education programmes on leadership, strategic thinking, or advanced analytics.
  • Maintaining an active network within the market intelligence and corporate strategy communities, sharing insights and learning from peers.
  • Mentoring junior professionals outside your direct team, fostering a broader intelligence mindset within the organisation.

12The rising capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

AI-Powered Strategic Foresight

AI and advanced analytics are moving beyond just summarising data; they're becoming powerful tools for predicting market shifts and identifying 'black swan' events. Competitors will use these to gain an edge, and we need to be at the forefront.

  • Predictive Modelling with LLMs
  • Weak Signal Detection
  • Automated Scenario Generation
  • Ethical AI in Intelligence

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • TAM/SAM/SOM Analysis (Strategic Application)
  • Competitive Benchmarking & War Gaming (Programme Leadership)
  • Win/Loss Analysis (System Design & Actionability)
  • Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis (Strategic Foresight)
  • Porter's Five Forces / SWOT Integration (Executive Frameworks)
  • Primary Research Design & Vendor Management

14The pathway

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

  1. 1

    Head of Market Intelligence (from another company)

    Direct entry, assuming 15+ years of relevant experience.

    Skills to master

    • Understanding our specific industry nuances, building credibility with our executive team, and quickly assessing the current state of our intelligence capabilities.

    You're ready to move on when

    • A proven track record of building and leading successful MI functions in previous roles.
    • Strong references from former C-suite stakeholders on strategic impact.
    • Demonstrated ability to quickly adapt to new industries and organisational cultures.
  2. 2

    Senior Manager / Principal (from a top-tier consulting firm)

    Typically 1-2 years in a Lead Strategist role (L4) or Manager (L5) to transition, or direct entry if experience is highly aligned.

    Skills to master

    • Moving from project-based consulting to continuous, embedded strategic leadership. Building and managing an internal team rather than leveraging consulting resources.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Experience leading large, complex strategic projects for diverse clients.
    • Strong client management and executive presentation skills.
    • A genuine desire to build and sustain an internal capability rather than just advise.
  3. 3

    Lead Global Market Intelligence Strategist (L4) or Global Market Intelligence Manager (L5) at Zavmo

    Roughly 2-4 years of strong performance and demonstrated leadership at the L4 or L5 level.

    Skills to master

    • Expanding scope beyond specific programmes to an entire business unit, managing managers, and taking on full budget accountability.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently exceeding expectations in leading major intelligence programmes and influencing senior stakeholders.
    • Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop junior team members effectively.
    • Proactive identification and pursuit of strategic opportunities for the MI function.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This work can lead to roles such as Chief Strategy Officer, shaping overall corporate direction, or Chief Commercial Officer, leading sales and marketing functions.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

Also named as a next step, with no page in the catalogue yet:

  • Business Unit General Manager (GM)

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Data Analysis and Visualisation, worked against Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence.

Data Analysis and Visualisation Level 7

Applied to your work in Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence

1. To enable the learner to critically analyse the theoretical underpinnings of data analytics and their impact on decision-making in business management contexts. 2. To enable the learner to assess diverse data analysis activities, techniques, and tools applicable to business management scenarios. 3. To enable the learner to compare and contrast various predictive analytic techniques, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in forecasting future business events. 4. To enable the learner to evaluate how predictive analytic techniques can be practically implemented for forecasting purposes within the business sector. 5. To enable the learner to evaluate prescriptive analytic techniques, illustrating their application with relevant examples from the business management domain. 6. To enable the learner to apply a suitable programming language or data analysis tool to conduct data analysis and visualisation tasks related to business management problems.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

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See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence
  • TAM/SAM/SOM Analysis (Strategic Application)
  • Competitive Benchmarking & War Gaming (Programme Leadership)
  • Win/Loss Analysis (System Design & Actionability)
  • Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis (Strategic Foresight)
  • Porter's Five Forces / SWOT Integration (Executive Frameworks)
  • Primary Research Design & Vendor Management
This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

16The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

  1. VP, Corporate Strategy & Intelligence (L7)

    3-5 years as a high-performing Director.

    From shaping a business unit to driving enterprise-wide strategy.

    • Enterprise portfolio optimisation.
    • Global regulatory landscape navigation.
    • Long-term (3-5+ year) vision setting.
    • Crisis intelligence and reputation management.

  2. Business Unit General Manager (GM)

    4-6 years as a high-performing Director, often with a lateral move into a P&L ownership role first.

    From intelligence leadership to full P&L ownership and operational leadership.

    • Product lifecycle management.
    • Go-to-market strategy and execution.
    • Customer relationship management at scale.
    • Talent acquisition and retention for a full business unit.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

As a Director, your time is precious. You're not just doing the work; you're leading, strategising, and influencing. AI isn't here to replace you, but to give you superpowers, freeing you from the mundane and amplifying your strategic output. Imagine what you could achieve with an extra day or two every week.

In the world of market intelligence, AI is transforming how we gather, process, and synthesise information. For a Director, this means less time chasing data and more time focusing on high-level strategic interpretation, team development, and executive engagement. You'll be leveraging these tools to make your team more efficient and your insights sharper.

Automated Competitor Monitoring

Use AI agents to tirelessly scrape, summarise, and categorise competitor news, press releases, earnings call transcripts, and regulatory filings. The AI flags significant events and provides a daily, tailored summary brief directly to your inbox, letting you stay on top of the market without drowning in information. You'll instantly know about key moves.

Accelerated Thematic Analysis

Feed thousands of customer reviews, survey responses, or social media comments into an NLP model. It'll instantly identify key themes, sentiment drivers, and emerging product complaints or requests. This means you can quickly spot market shifts or unmet needs that would take weeks for a human team to uncover, giving you a massive head start on strategy.

First-Draft Generation & Synthesis

Use a generative AI assistant (like Claude or ChatGPT) with specific prompts and source documents to create the initial draft of a competitor profile, a market overview, or a trend report. This isn't about letting AI write your strategy, but about getting a solid first pass in minutes, which your team can then refine, validate, and add strategic depth to. It's a massive time-saver for report creation.

Executive Summary Synthesizer

After your team completes a detailed analysis, use AI to generate multiple versions of an executive summary. You can tailor it to different audiences (e.g., a short, punchy version for the CEO; a more detailed version for the Head of Product) ensuring your message lands perfectly every time. This saves crucial time in crafting those high-stakes communications.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence?

Common routes in include Head of Market Intelligence (from another company) (Direct entry, assuming 15+ years of relevant experience.), Senior Manager / Principal (from a top-tier consulting firm) (Typically 1-2 years in a Lead Strategist role (L4) or Manager (L5) to transition, or direct entry if experience is highly aligned.) and Lead Global Market Intelligence Strategist or Global Market Intelligence Manager at Zavmo (Roughly 2-4 years of strong performance and demonstrated leadership at the L4 or L5 level.). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence progress to?

This role can lead on to VP, Corporate Strategy & Intelligence (3-5 years as a high-performing Director.) and Business Unit General Manager (GM) (4-6 years as a high-performing Director, often with a lateral move into a P&L ownership role first.), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Director, Global Market & Competitive Intelligence?

Increasingly, AI-Powered Strategic Foresight. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

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17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 7

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in corporate strategy

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The analytical and strategic skills built in this role transfer across industries. Similar leadership roles exist in other technology sectors, fintech, healthcare, private equity and venture capital, where market insight drives investment decisions.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Start my plan, free What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.