Innovation Director
The Nucleus Business & Innovation Centre, Dartford

Package: Salary £50,000 (FTE) plus benefits
Part-time (0.2 FTE) permanent position
Working hours – 7.5 hours per week (flexible to meet the needs of the business)

Reporting to: Deputy Managing Director

About us
Founded by the Oxford Trust in 1987, Oxford Innovation (OI), is the UK’s leading provider of innovation centres, supporting the growth of early business stages through flexible and affordable workspace – office, workshop or laboratory – and a network of Innovation Directors providing information and guidance. We are now seeking to appoint an Innovation Director to add to our network and support the customers at The Nucleus, Dartford.

What will you do?
The Innovation Director will provide pragmatic, high quality strategic business coaching and innovation support to businesses – our customers - based in the Centre, with the objective of enabling business growth, innovation development and commercial success, and developing a local eco-system of relevant partners.

What are you like?
A strategic thinker with strong relationship-building skills. You’ll have a proven track record in business; either working at senior director level within large corporates or as a small business owner. Whilst direct experience of providing quality business coaching to early stage businesses is favourable, we would consider candidates with the inherent skills and aptitude to develop this capability within the role.

What will you bring?
Crucial to being successful in this role will be the ability to bring - and build upon - relevant business, investment and innovation networks for the Centre, and to proactively drive the benefits of collaborative working. We’re looking for someone with local knowledge and local connections.

What’s in it for you?
• Salary up to £50,000 FTE (note this is a part-time position)
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Life assurance 4x salary
• Permanent Health Insurance
• 25 days’ holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Charity Days

Flexible benefits package comprising:
• Contributory pension with up to 5% matching employer contributions
• Ability to increase or decrease the amount of annual leave
• Purchase of private medical and dental insurance
• Bicycle purchase
• Charitable giving
• Friendly, informal and flexible working environment

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Key Responsibilities
Contract Business Support Management
• Work with key strategic partners, including Universities and other research organisations on ongoing initiatives and on designing and implementing new initiatives and projects which benefit the Centre customers.
• In addition to delivering 1:1 collaboration, actively seek to develop a high quality centre business support programme that places The Nucleus at the heart of SME tech activity in the economic sub region.
• Contribute data relating to the business support activity in The Nucleus and participate in review meetings with the client.
Business Growth & Innovation Services Delivery
• Report to the Deputy Managing Director on progress regularly and on any possible new development opportunities.
• Provide business coaching, strategic support and specialist consultancy directly to Nucleus customers, in order to support their business innovation development and performance growth.
• Develop case studies and testimonials whenever possible for the centre’s marketing material and campaigns.
• Utilise your network of business specialists, support associates and third-party support providers to assist in the delivery of this high quality, pragmatic Business Support Service to Nucleus customers and users.
• Identify opportunities to engage the student and academic communities in employability initiatives, such as placements, internships, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and research projects aligned to their studies in the businesses supported by The Nucleus.
Innovation Director Team
• Attend ID Team meetings, sharing best practice with other team members, extracting the benefits of any relevant service improvements (e.g. support tools, reports, process improvements) they might develop.
Centre Performance
• Work with the Centre team to ensure that the business support activities and outputs actively contribute to the successful delivery of their targets and KPIs (revenue streams, occupancy, licence fees, cash collection, cost management etc.)
• Work with the Centre and central marketing team to contribute to the building of a strong alumni network for companies that have successfully graduated from The Nucleus, insofar as it contributes to the OI Strategic Plan.