Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect: Applications must be submitted by 22-04-2025 Head of Scale-up Proposition The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Portfolio Proposition team, part of the Product and Services Directorate, led by IUK Chief Product Officer. This is a new role in a recently created team. Please note this advert will close on the 21st April 2025 at 23:59pm. Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here. Title: Head of Scale-up Proposition Band: UKRI Band G (UKRI Ts & Cs) Salary: £68,525 gross per annum Reports to: Portfolio Proposition and Product Capability Director Location: Field based Contract: Permanent Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements. Context: At Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency, we empower and enable businesses to innovate and grow, driving the development and commercialization of groundbreaking products, processes, and services. We also work to help develop and support an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate. We acknowledge that scale-ups are at the heart of the UK's economic growth and wider developments, and we are committed to breaking down barriers to help them innovate and scale successfully. This is an exciting time to join us as we now seek to define and evolve our value proposition for scale-ups, ensuring our portfolio of funding, support, and ecosystem services continues to deliver measurable impact. We particularly welcome female applicants as women are under-represented within Innovate UK in this type of role. Job Purpose: The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK Portfolio Proposition team, part of the Product and Services Directorate, led by IUK Chief Product Officer. This is a new role in a recently created team. As Head of Scale-up Proposition, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering our proposition delivered through a new targeted package of services, to support innovative scale-ups in UK to grow. We have a wide range of services across the entire Innovate UK system that can support them on their scaling journey. The role will bring these together and evolve them, curate and package services into a targeted coherent offer and value proposition, deliver and evolve it in line with business needs and market failures. Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities: You will lead the development of a clear, compelling proposition that addresses market needs and failures, and which empowers innovative scale-ups to thrive on their journey. This includes leveraging insights, strategic planning, proposition design and validation, packaging and integration of products and services, defining exceptional customer experiences, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management. Proposition Strategy, Design and Development, Testing/Validation Develop, validate and implement Innovate UK's proposition for innovative scale-ups Defining the vision and strategy for the start-up proposition Defining the proposition: designing, curating and packaging services to meet the key needs of various scale-up business segments and associated market failures, designing the customer experiences for them, as well as the value proposition, in line with our strategy Scope includes both Innovate UK service packages as well as links to external partners’ support services (where Innovate UK offers signposting and referrals for scale-ups) Leveraging key business insights around business needs and market gaps, deep understanding of our product and services and the UK’s innovation ecosystem Working closely with other Product and services teams accountable for scale-up success Ensuring these propositions leverage Innovate UK capabilities and partnerships to create compelling and differentiated experiences that enhance customer value, perception of Innovate Uk and satisfaction as well as delivering impact for UK economy and society. Role-modelling a customer-first approach to proposition development, experience design. Cross-functional Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement and Advocacy Build strong relationships with senior leaders, customers, internal and external stakeholders and partners to champion and deliver the scale-up proposition, ensuring alignment with our strategy, the Products and Services Directorate and team objectives and with wider stakeholder objectives Working horizontally across the Innovate UK system to ensure the proposition is fit for purpose: fit with the corporate strategy and wider teams’ objectives (Domains, Place, Global) Working across Product and Services, Operations and other teams to leverage significant resources to develop and sustain the future proposition and customer experience. Leveraging Innovate UK’s partnerships to embed external support for scale-ups Communicating the value and impact of our proposition effectively (internal and external). Operational Excellence Owns the delivery, communication and performance and impact evaluation of the proposition Developing a strategic roadmap for proposition development and delivery, communications and customer experience to operationalize and deliver the proposition Ensuring the proposition is developed in an appropriate manner, meeting policy, regulatory, public system and Innovate UK requirements with clear risk management oversight Ensuring the proposition delivers impact for the UK economy, in line with the mandate, purpose and strategy of Innovate UK. Defining clear KPIs and milestones to track performance and impact. This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training. Shortlisting criteria (S) – Assessed at shortlisting (I) – Assessed at interview (S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview Person Specification: This role combines strategic thinking with packaged proposition development and is pivotal in designing, developing, packaging and evolving the proposition for scale-ups. We’re looking for someone with strong strategic thinking, proposition development and delivery experience, entrepreneurial skills and a proven track record of successfully launching products and ideally working in a start-up/scale-up environment. Experience & Qualifications: Essential – Essential: Significant experience in proposition development, validation and delivery, product and/or service design, product strategy and product management. Or equivalent relevant experience (S&I) MBA or Design Thinking qualifications desirable. Or equivalent relevant experience (S) Proven track record in defining, testing and launching impactful services and propositions; Experience in designing scalable solutions through cross-functional collaboration, leveraging product and service design and innovation methodologies and a customer-led approach (S&I) Experience in developing customer journeys with clear focus on customer experience, satisfaction (S&I) Excellent strategic marketing skills with strong experience translating customer needs into offerings (I) Desirable – Experience in packaging multiple services into a successful proposition, designed for scale (S&I) Experience in public services, strategy consulting or in entrepreneurial ventures/ VC organizations (S) A passion for start-ups and deep understanding of the scale-up and innovation ecosystem (I) Competencies: All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as: Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification. Travel Requirements: Field-based: There will a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles. Equal Opportunities: We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which will be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required. UK Research and Innovation: Innovate UK is partner organisation within UK Research and Innovation. If successful in securing the position, your employer will be UK Research and Innovation. More information can be found online http://www.ukri.org/. Employee Benefits: We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes. Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Flexible Working: We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants. Pre-employment Screening: To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process. The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment. UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check. Applications must be submitted by; 22-04-2025