Jamie O'Sullivan - Qualitative Team Leader

We take great pride in our commitment to delivering high-quality, authentic data and this achievement is made possible by the talented individuals who form the core of RONIN. Today, we’re proud to spotlight Jamie O’Sullivan, our Qualitative Team Leader. Jamie’s passion for uncovering deep insights helps deliver the impactful research our clients trust. Read on to learn more about Jamie’s journey and approach at RONIN.

Can you describe your role as Qualitative Team Leader at RONIN and what a typical day looks like for you?
A typical day for me involves attending meetings with clients and internal stakeholders to align on project objectives, timelines, and recruitment. I liaise closely with project stakeholders, ensuring communication is clear and expectations are managed proactively, which helps projects stay on track and ensure clients feel supported.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job as Qualitative Team Leader?
Seeing how our work gives a voice to real people and turns their stories into insights that drive significant change is the most rewarding part for me.

Can you tell us about your journey to this role at RONIN?
I started at RONIN as a Quant and Qual Project Manager, managing a mix of studies across both disciplines. Over time, I found myself drawn to the qualitative side, especially the part where we get to really listen to people and bring their stories to life for our clients. After delivering multiple successful qual projects, I was given the opportunity to head up our team of qualitative PMs. It’s been a rewarding journey, moving from managing projects to supporting a team, while keeping my love for uncovering human insights at the heart of what I do.

What drew you to qualitative research, and what keeps you passionate about it?
It lets me uncover the stories and emotions behind people’s choices. What keeps me passionate is seeing how these human insights can guide brands to make meaningful decisions.

What’s the most unusual or creative qualitative study you’ve worked on here?
One of the most unusual and rewarding qualitative studies I’ve worked on involved conducting focus groups with pub landlords to understand their snack purchasing patterns for their venues. Pub landlords are a notoriously hard-to-reach audience due to their busy schedules, but we managed to recruit and complete four focus groups within a tight timeframe.

Despite the challenges, we delivered high-quality participants and insightful findings. The client described it as their ‘research project of the year’ because of the value it brought to their business, and it led to further project opportunities for us. It was a creative and challenging study that required persistence and adaptability, and it was rewarding to see the impact it had for the client.

How do you approach engaging hard-to-reach participants or niche audiences in your projects?
Well I don’t want to give away our secret sauce. I would say relationship building is key!

What’s a skill you feel has helped you in this role?
Organisational skills have been a massive part of delivering qualitative projects to our clients, and I’ve found that building strong relationships with both clients and internal teams has been just as crucial. Also working well under pressure, ensuring projects stay on track even when timelines are tight.

If you could learn a new skill overnight, what would it be and why?
It would be to learn 2-3 languages, which would help me understand cultural nuances and give me a better understanding as to why people think the way they do.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
'Stay curious, not certain.’ It’s a reminder that the moment you think you know everything, you stop listening, and it’s in listening that you keep growing.

What’s an interesting or unusual hobby you have outside of work?
I’m really interested in aqua scaping and plan to build my own landscape for tropical fish in the future.

If you could have a conversation with your younger self, what advice would you give?
I’d tell my younger self not to rush. You don’t need to have everything figured out at once, and it’s okay to grow at your own pace.

What do you think the future of qualitative research will look like? Are there any emerging trends or technologies you’re particularly excited about?
I think the future of qualitative research will always be about people, but with better tools to help us listen and learn faster. Technology will change how we gather and sort insights, but the real value will stay in how we understand and interpret human stories. That’s what I’m excited about, using new tools without losing the human connection at the heart of what we do.