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(Field Survey Coordinator, Survey Field Manager, Field Survey Supervisor, Field Research Manager)
Science & Research
Salary
€35,000 - €65,000/yr
Level
Professional
Outlook
Stable
Sector
Science & Research
As a Field Survey Manager you organise and oversee on-the-ground data collection for market research, environmental, or social research projects. You recruit and train teams of field investigators, allocate workloads, and ensure that surveys are carried out accurately, on time, and in line with client or sponsor requirements. Day-to-day you monitor fieldwork progress, troubleshoot problems that arise in the field, and maintain strict confidentiality around the data being gathered. You regularly liaise with sponsoring organisations, project directors, and analysts, and prepare detailed reports on survey findings and operational performance. Employers range from market research agencies such as Ipsos MRBI to public bodies including the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and environmental or social research consultancies.
Listen: a day as a Field Survey Manager
You are at your desk by 8:15 on a Tuesday morning, checking the project management dashboard your agency uses to track the progress of a national household survey running across three counties. Overnight, two field investigators in County Roscommon have flagged that several addresses on their quota sheets are derelict, so you update the sampling frame before the morning briefing, swapping in reserve addresses that were agreed with the client in advance. By 9:00 you are on a video call with the project director and the client's research lead to run through last week's response rates. The target was 60 completed interviews per day across the team; you hit 54. You talk through the reasons honestly, including bad weather and one investigator calling in sick, and agree a revised field schedule for the rest of the week.
A Level 7 or Level 8 degree in a relevant discipline is the typical entry route; useful subjects include Geography, Statistics, Business, Psychology, or Environmental Science, available at institutions such as UCD, University of Galway, TU Dublin, or SETU. Leaving Certificate subjects that strengthen your application include Mathematics, Geography, Business, and a science subject at Higher Level. Some practitioners enter through a QQI Level 5 or 6 PLC in Business or Social Studies followed by a degree, while others progress from field investigator roles where considerable experience may compensate for a lower qualification level. Postgraduate study at NFQ Level 9 — for example a Master's in Market Research, Social Research Methods, or Environmental Management — is increasingly valued for senior positions. No statutory registration body governs this role, though membership of professional bodies such as the Marketing Institute of Ireland or the Irish Market Research Society can enhance credibility.
Many Field Survey Managers begin their careers as field investigators or research assistants, building practical knowledge of survey methods before moving into a supervisory role. With a relevant degree and a track record of successful projects, progression to Senior Research Manager or Project Director level becomes achievable within five to eight years. In larger agencies or public bodies such as the CSO, there are structured pathways into research management, statistics, or policy analysis roles. Some experienced managers move into specialist consultancy, setting up independent fieldwork operations for clients across multiple sectors.
AI tools are increasingly used to automate aspects of data cleaning, response validation, and pattern detection, reducing some of the manual checking that field survey managers have traditionally overseen. Predictive analytics can help forecast response rates and optimise sampling strategies, making fieldwork planning more efficient. However, the coordination of human fieldwork teams, relationship management with clients, and the design of contextually appropriate survey instruments remain firmly human responsibilities. Field survey managers who develop familiarity with AI-assisted research platforms will be better placed to oversee hybrid data collection approaches that combine traditional fieldwork with digital and automated methods.
→ Field Survey Manager (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Dublin 2
Manages national survey fieldwork teams for market and social research.
Dublin 2
Oversees field data collection for Irish consumer and social research projects.
Dublin 4
Coordinates fieldwork teams delivering consumer insight surveys nationwide.
Swords, Co. Dublin / Cork
Manages field interviewers conducting national census and household surveys.
Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford / Nationwide
Manages environmental monitoring and field data collection survey teams.
Dublin 4
Organises and supervises field research teams for social and commercial surveys.
Beggars Bush, Dublin 4
Coordinates field survey teams collecting geological and geophysical data.
Newbridge, Co. Kildare / Nationwide
Manages ecological and environmental field surveys across Irish peatlands.
Dublin 2
Oversees environmental and infrastructure field survey projects across Ireland.
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