Group Innovation Manager

Reporting to the Director, CEO Office, the Manager, Innovation & Technology drives gategroup’s global innovation and transformation agenda. The role develops and executes the Group Innovation Strategy, managing a portfolio of initiatives that strengthen competitiveness, enhance customer value, and shape the future of the industry.
Working closely with the Group PMO, the position ensures alignment between innovation, transformation, and strategic execution. Acting as a cross-functional interface between Strategy, Operations, Commercial, Finance, IT, and Communications, the role embeds innovation as a disciplined, value-driven capability across the organization.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

- Develop and maintain the Group Innovation Strategy, ensuring alignment with gategroup’s overall strategic direction and business priorities.
- Refresh the Innovation Strategy and Group Trend Radar annually, integrating insights from market, customer, and technology intelligence to inform strategic choices and portfolio priorities.
- Continuously monitor emerging trends, technologies, and business models, providing actionable insights and foresight to support strategic decision-making.
- Champion innovation internally and externally, fostering a culture of curiosity and creativity while representing gategroup in relevant industry forums, partnerships, and thought-leadership platforms.
- Support the Group Innovation Panel, preparing strategic materials, progress updates, and recommendations to enable transparent governance and informed portfolio management.
- Lead or support key innovation projects, from ideation through pilot and scale-up, ensuring delivery of tangible business impact and enhanced customer value.
- Collaborate closely with the Group Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure consistent governance, prioritization, and execution of innovation and transformation initiatives.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration with Operations, ESG, Commercial, Finance, IT, and Communications to identify, prioritize, and scale high-value opportunities.
- Support internal and external events, including innovation showcases, workshops, and partner engagements, to build awareness, alignment, and engagement across the organization and ecosystem.
- Monitor, analyze, and report on innovation portfolio performance, ensuring transparent tracking of progress, impact, and contribution to Group objectives.
- Identify and leverage public funding and partnership opportunities to accelerate innovation and technology initiatives.

Core Competencies and Requirements

Education

Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s in Business, Engineering, Innovation, or related field preferred.

Work Experience

- Minimum 5+ years in innovation related strategy, transformation, operations or project management activities.

- Proven track record in project/program management and cross-functional transformation.
- Experience in digital transformation, AI/automation initiatives, or new business model development.
- Prior experience in strategy consulting, Big 4, or corporate innovation environment preferred.

Technical Skills & Certifications

Certifications in Innovation Management, Design Thinking, Agile or similar methods are an advantage.

Core Competencies Required

- Innovation portfolio management and KPI dashboarding.
- Familiarity with AI, automation, data analytics, and emerging technologies.
- Strategic roadmapping and scenario planning tools.
- Business case modeling and financial analysis.
- Strong presentation, storytelling, and stakeholder-engagement skills.