East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) is a well-respected and award winning membership, representation and business support organisation that aims to enhance businesses and communities in the three cities and three counties. With more than 4,100 members and working with 12,000 businesses each year, we have established a reputation as the voice of the region’s business community.
Job title: Innovation & Growth Specialist
Salary: £42,500 to £45,000 per annum
Based at: Chesterfield, Derby, Leicester or Nottingham with agile working (Lincoln based applicants also considered). Additional travel required
Contract: Permanent, full-time (35 hours per week)
1. WHY THE POST EXISTS
Can you seek and identify businesses with ideas and ambitions to succeed on a global scale? Do you have experience of exceeding expectations and delivering impactful business support in the Midlands?
As part of the Chamber’s Innovation Services team, the Innovation & Growth Specialists focus on delivering bespoke business support to Innovate UK Business Growth clients who want to grow and scale at pace. Specialists are key to helping businesses realise their ambitions.
This role operates as an experienced coach, mentor, critical friend and champion for a group of clients. Knowledge of UK Government Future Economies is vital, as is an understanding of investment raising.
This contract is funded through Innovate UK until 31 March 2026.
2. THE KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
* Provide innovation and business advice to a portfolio of growth and scale clients.
* Make a significant contribution to the development of competitiveness of East Midlands businesses across the UK and global markets.
* Act as a strategic coach and mentor to SME clients to support them in developing their own long-term growth and innovation commercialisation plans.
* Provide an account management function for the delivery of business support services, that enable clients to enhance their innovation management capacity.
* Use business analysis tools to review client needs and provide tailored support through Innovate UK Business Growth services and wider Ecosystem of business support.
* Focus on supporting the most ambitious, high-growth potential, innovative SMEs to benefit from national and global opportunities.
* Provide information and guidance on exploiting innovation, signposting or referring to professional support as required.
3. IDEALLY APPLICANTS WILL POSSESS
* Business experience at a senior level within the high growth and R&D business environment.
* Strategic and management or consultancy experience in the commercialising of ideas, including IP, access to investment finance and internationalisation.
* Assessing risk through analysis of business plans, financial accounts, and other supporting information.
* Interpreting outputs of business diagnostic and benchmarking tools, developing action plans to support growth and scale.
* Critical appraisal of bids for innovation funding.
* Understanding of the business support landscape together with funding and support available through Innovate UK.
4. WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN RETURN
* 25 days holiday plus bank holidays each year (pro rata for part time).
* 8% non-contributory pension scheme.
* Wellbeing support including access to Westfield Health plan, Mental Health First Aiders, self help toolkits, discounts and more.
* Your Birthday off plus an extra day of leave after 5 and 10 years' service.
* Life assurance (death in service support scheme) for your beneficiaries.
* Dress for the day policy and agile working practices (role dependent).
* 2 CSR days to take per year (volunteering activity).
* Access to tax-free childcare and Bike2Work schemes.
* Special leave for bereavement, compassionate leave & dependent related time off.
* Learning and development opportunities.
* Flexibility to take unpaid leave, paid study leave & special leave for territorial army.
* Recognition and engagement schemes including our Our Stars.
* Tax free 45p per business mile for cars (up to 10,000 miles per year).
5. HOW TO APPLY
If you have an enthusiastic approach to your work and feel you could make a significant contribution to our organisation, we would like to hear from you.
Please visit East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) job vacancies website. Unfortunately we cannot accept applications from this platform for compliance purposes.
The closing date for applications is ongoing (we close ongoing adverts once sufficient applications are received).
6. COMPANY STATEMENT
East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) is an equal opportunities employer and Disability Confident Leader. All suitably qualified people are encouraged to apply for vacancies regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Applicants require current eligibility to live and work in the UK, they must also disclose any unspent convictions or cautions and company director disqualifications in their covering letter. Please inform recruitment@emc-dnl.co.uk of any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process. The business is dedicated to retaining talent and therefore it may decide to prioritise and support internal applicants.
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