Manager: Research and Innovation

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

Are you a visionary leader with a passion for innovation and strategic research? We are seeking a dynamic individual to drive organisational innovation strategy and enhance our client’s competitive edge.

Position Purpose:

• To lead efforts to drive the culture of organisational innovation, strategy research, and initiatives that advance the company’s strategic objectives and enhance its competitive position in the market.

Key Responsibilities:

Innovation Strategy and Culture:

• Develop and execute the company’s innovation strategy and culture, aligning with business goals, macro environmental trends, and key stakeholder needs.
• Identify opportunities for disruptive innovation, product development, and process improvement that drive growth and differentiation.
• Foster a culture of innovation and creativity across the company, encouraging experimentation, risk-taking, and knowledge sharing.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, customer insights, and competitive dynamics through ongoing market research and intelligence gathering.
• Translate market insights into actionable recommendations and strategic initiatives that drive business growth and enhance competitiveness.

Strategy Research and Development:

• Lead strategy research initiatives to explore emerging macro environmental trends (incl. economic, demographic, technological, natural, social and cultural, legal and political trends) which have an influence on the company’s strategic choices and decision making and have an impact upon its performance.
• Establish the strategic considerations that should be undertaken by the company in a short, medium and long term basis to leverage success in the changing environment.
• Undertake regular stakeholder and market research to understand the key needs and expectations of the company’s stakeholders
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define strategy research priorities, design experiments, and analyze data to generate actionable insights.
• Manage the end-to-end strategy research process, from hypothesis formulation and data collection to analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of findings.

Development of Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration:

• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships with research institutions, academia, startups, and industry collaborators to leverage external expertise, resources, and capabilities.
• Collaborate with external partners to co-create innovative solutions, pilot continuous improvements (including new processes and technologies), and drive collaborative research projects that deliver value to the company and its stakeholders.
• Identify and evaluate potential strategic partnerships, alliances, and opportunities that align with the company’s strategic objectives.
• Foster strong relationships with key stakeholders, industry partners, and external advisors to support strategic initiatives and business development efforts.

Develop / Introduce Systems and Technology Platforms to Enable Organisational Innovation:

• Monitor industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive landscapes to identify opportunities and threats that impact the company's innovation agenda.
• Evaluate potential systems and technology platforms that may be deployed in the company to promote innovation.
• Make recommendations to senior leadership on strategic priorities, resource allocation, and investment decisions based on sound analysis and insights.

Qualifications and Experience:

• B Degree in Engineering, Business Science, Economics or related field
• Postgraduate qualification in Engineering, Business Science, Economics or related field
• Advanced Excel skills
• 5 – 7 years’ experience in a role supporting Investment Banking/Agricultural Finance
• 3 years working experience in statistical analysis and statistical packages
• 3 years’ experience in Financial Modelling
• 3 years’ experience in market research
• 3 years’ experience in product management

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