Culture and Trend Forecasting Senior Analyst

This individual will play a crucial role in identifying, analyzing, and articulating Disney cultural & creative signals and broader consumer/industry trends into actionable, relevant, consumer-centric opportunity spaces across all categories for the Disney Parks Retail organization.

 This role will report to Sr Mgr - Retail Innovation & Design

A portfolio submission is required with your application. Please highlight your sketching, drawing, and ability to ideate. We are looking for drawings including people, characters, animals, including full body turns. 

 You Will:

Identify Cultural Research

• Track signals and identify trends within Disney Park culture.
• Utilize social listening platforms to explore patterns, ownable trends and opportunities for products and experiences.
• Curate and synthesize primary and secondary data and research to identify new ownable spaces across the business.
• Synthesize cultural and consumer trends into concise POVs that inform the innovation pipeline, overall organization, and long-term planning.
• Partner with insights and platform partners to continuously refine and expand the tools and methodologies used.
• Understanding emergent behaviors driven by cultural and societal shifts and the ability to delineate and communicate a range of futures and make them impactful for multiple areas of business.
• Knows where to find the Visionaries whose behavior and attitudes today can provide an indication of where societies are heading in the future.

Drive Consumer Centricity

• Partner with consumer insights team on primary research needs when required.
• Utilize social listening platforms to analyze specific conversations and audiences to identify new retail opportunity spaces from specific consumers.
• Create design muses that drive consumer alignment.

Inspire Product/Design

• Explore and identify how broad, evolving culture and emerging consumer trends translate into relevant product needs
• Provide consumer-centric creative and cultural support to merchandise, design, and creative teams via research deep dives, POVs and trend direction.
• Identify and translate relevant creative trends for cross-category development.
• Act as thought partner to product design, merchandising and creative with consumer POVs to help shape products with a consumer-centric, future-focused approach.
• Ensuring insights not only inspire great creativity but ladder back broader STEEP factors.
• Help with the creation of regular culture and trend reporting for the broader organization, helping teams stay fluent in fast-changing cultural conversations.

You Have:

• 3+ years of experience trend forecasting, consumer insights at a retailor or trend platform.
• Proven ability to track and translate cultural signals and trends into actionable opportunities via multiple formats (video, images, presentations, writing)
• Naturally curious with a deep passion for understanding how cultural shifts, human behavior, and design impact retail.
• Knowledge of Disney parks, experiences, and IP
• Experience with trend and research services
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with the ability to distill ambiguity into clarity.
• Deep understanding of modern culture, media behaviors, and consumer mindsets—especially in the Gen Z and Millennial cohorts.
• Proven experience of research, analysis, writing, and creating compelling trend content.
• Proven track record of applying cultural and consumer insight to influence creative development and strategic decision-making.
• Keen eye for design and products with ability to create compelling mood boards.
• Skilled at combining research and field observations and utilizing a variety of tools and sources to track emerging lifestyle shifts.
• Deep understanding of trend and insights research and methodologies
• Strong fluency with social listening tools (e.g., Meltwater, Sprinklr, etc..), research platforms (Kantar, Mintel, WGSN),
• demonstrable ability to interpret and present consumer and trends research which results in relevant insights to drive consumer knowledge and product creation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proven knowledge working in the consumer trends across various industries such as fashion, toys, consumables, collectibles, etc.
• Proficiency in adobe creative suite, keynote, and PowerPoint

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Communications, Design Strategy, Data Science, Cultural Studies, Journalism, Anthropology, Sociology, or related field; advanced degree a plus.

Additional Information

Benefits and Perks: Disney offers a rewards package to help you live your best life. This includes health and savings benefits, educational opportunities, and special extras that only Disney can provide. Learn more about our benefits and perks at https://jobs.disneycareers.com/benefits.

#DCPJobs

The Walt Disney Company is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with the following business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. The Parks, Experiences and Products segment includes Disney's iconic travel and leisure businesses, which include six resort destinations in the United States, Europe and Asia, a top-rated cruise line, a popular vacation ownership program, and an award-winning guided family adventure business. Disney's global consumer products operations include the world's leading licensing business across multiple product categories; the world's largest children's publisher; Disney store locations around the world; and the shopDisney e-commerce platform.

This position is with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., which is part of a business segment we call Parks, Experiences and Products.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.