Position: RA2234 Title: Director Innovation Management, Technology and Software Salary: OPEN Location: IL - Chicago (Remote) Description:
The Software division of a Safety Science firm with a focus on Supply Chain, ESG, and Regulatory compliance b2b software products is looking for a Director of Innovation who will report into the Head of Product Management. The goal of this role is to Establish a clear and concise innovation strategy for the organization. The Director Innovation Management works with senior management to assist and direct the development and execution of innovation initiatives that enhance client value and drive revenue growth. Innovation such as the use of AI across their portfolio of software that can use 130 years of private data and help with customer outcomes, do predictive and multivariate analytics, prioritize use cases, take manual processes and digitize work flows. This role will analyze data and trends around services offering innovation that helps us identify and implement best practices, while exploring new technologies (i.e. AI / AR / MR) and disruptive capabilities to enhance solutions and offerings. So if you can connect the dots from products to solve end client issues through thought leadership around compliance and sustainability this could be a great role for you. The job will work with 20 product managers and have 1-2 people to manage to start. The idea person is someone who has experience leading innovation now and has launched a product and brought it to market. The role can be remote anywhere in North America.
Responsibilities:
Manages, along with Senior Leadership, global innovation development initiatives.
Directs the development of new and innovative products and services from technical and business perspectives.
Manages budget for innovation resources, initiatives, market discovery, and establishment of innovation infrastructure, along with initial pricing and revenue generation for pilot engagements or customer-driven innovation.
Collaborates with UL Solutions process owners to ensure the new service development process is well-understood, embraced, and supported company-wide, and that communication and process coordination is handled as smoothly as possible.
Convenes cross-functional teams to explore holistic solution or portfolio innovation with implications across operating units, service delivery infrastructure, and business models.
Assists in global communications strategies around business imperative for innovation, corporate innovation projects and initiatives, as well as their ties to the company’s strategic vision and plans.
Establishes training programs, capacity building resources, and incubator programs to build innovation skillsets and culture across the broader organization to streamline innovation process from concept validation to market launch and scalable business lines.
Drives continual improvement in company execution of new organic service offering development and helps company establish and refine associated benchmarks, performance metrics, and revenue goals over time.
Identify, develop and execute high-impact innovation strategy and roadmap aligned to strategic business goals and growth priorities for the business.
Works closely with the business teams and product management to create viable business models and commercialization strategies for mature innovations.
Builds an ecosystem of aligned partners, network providers, and external stakeholders to continually support innovation, inorganic growth, and solution validation.
Manages the performance of direct reports by developing accountabilities, establishing performance objectives, providing career counseling, feedback and guidance and ensuring that all policies are understood and adhered to
Requirements:
12+ years relevant experience in innovation, technology and / or solutions development.
Demonstrated success in defining a culture of innovation and driving dramatic growth through new revenue sources.
Strong technical understanding to turn complex technical information into simplified and creative stories to package to internal and external stakeholders.
Self-starter with ability to work autonomously on a team and within a matrix environment.
Ability to lead groups of internal and external senior leaders and executives of all sizes towards desired outcomes to meet business objectives.
Ability to conduct discovery sessions with clients, prospects, and stakeholders to diagnose business opportunities, elicit requirements and conduct other types of research.
Formal training and/or certification in Innovation management is a plus.
University Degree (Equivalent to Bachelor’s degree) in Computer science, Business, Engineering, Marketing, Finance or related disciplines. MBA or equivalent advanced degree is preferred.
