Manager, Innovation Management Office Job Details | National Grid

About us

Every day we deliver safe and secure energy to homes, communities, and businesses. We are there when people need us the most. We connect people to the energy they need for the lives they live. The pace of change in society and our industry is accelerating and our expertise and track record puts us in an unparalleled position to shape the sustainable future of our industry.

To be successful we must anticipate the needs of our customers, reducing the cost of energy delivery today and pioneering the flexible energy systems of tomorrow. This requires us to deliver on our promises and always look for new opportunities to grow, both ourselves and our business.

About the role

Sitting within the Strategy, Innovation and Market Analytics (SIMA) directorate, the Innovation & Venture Acceleration (IVA) team seeks to serve as a catalyst to allow National Grid to meet upcoming challengers around decarbonisation, decentralisation, and digitalisation. It does so by identifying and validating opportunities for new technologies and business models that can chart a path towards this future, bringing along both internal and external stakeholders to ensure scale-up and impact. Such opportunities must have clear and plausible economic, environmental, and / or societal benefits which will be valued by both National Grid and our customers.

The Funding Manager is a key member of the Innovation Management Office (IMO) team. Reporting to the IMO Senior Manager, the Funding Manager is responsible for overseeing the successful delivery of the IVA funding strategy (US & UK), identifying & sharing new R&D/ innovation funding opportunities, establishing & building relationships with external funders to influence future funding call scope, developing new internal capability to develop compelling funding proposals, coordinating and submitting external innovation funding applications across NG's businesses, capturing & sharing insights to improve success rates, providing funding governance and meeting the reporting requirements of funders supporting effective & impactful delivery of IVA projects, ensuring that National Grid is at the heart of a clean, fair and affordable energy future.

What you'll do

• Leading and driving the development of a new innovation fund raising function in the IVA team, to support and accelerate activities with the addition of external opportunities and funds.

• Owning and continuously improving IVA's innovation funding model, including the development and implementation of best practices, tools, techniques and resources for successful proposals.

• Identifying future opportunities for funding and contributing to effective decision making around prioritisation of pipeline projects.

• Developing, maintaining and managing a repository of R&D/ innovation funding opportunities in the US & UK and library of successful funding proposals and compelling content.

• Working alongside Innovation Managers and other colleagues to write compelling and successful funding proposals.

• Effective management and coordination of multiple applications and meeting the requirements of external funders through project delivery.

• Analyzing funding data, understanding likelihood of success, sharing insights and lessons learnt. · Delivering good governance for impactful innovation through supporting the IVA team to deliver against the objectives of the Group Innovations Strategy. · Developing appropriate KPIs to monitor the progress and successful delivery of the IVA funding strategy. · Developing and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders to identify and influence new funding opportunities and business needs for funding. · Championing the culture of innovation through all of National Grid's businesses.

What you'll need

• 3+ years' experience in funding, working for a research funder, or in a bid writing/ assessing capacity, or for a consultancy applying for energy research funding.

• Proven track record of securing external funding/ assessing funding proposals.

• Excellent strategic thinking and analytical skills, with the ability to evaluate and prioritize opportunities based on multiple criteria.

• Strong project management skills with experience in agile methodologies.

• Excellent written, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex ideas and concepts in an engaging manner to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Experience working with external partners and stakeholders, motivating others towards a goal and influencing cross-functional teams.

• Able to work in a fast-paced environment, able to pivot and adapt as priorities change.

• A self-starter who is comfortable to lead on tasks, but also happy working collaboratively with colleagues.

• In depth knowledge of US and/or UK research funding programs.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.

• Agile programme/project management qualification or similar.

It'd be great if you had

• Master's degree in a relevant field.

• Member of a relevant professional association.

What you'll get

#LI-NK1 #LI-HYBRID

Annual Salary

$160,000-$188,000

Salary commensurate with experience.

This position has a career path which provides for advancement opportunities within and across bands as you develop and evolve in the position; gaining experience, expertise and acquiring and applying technical skills. Candidates will be assessed and provided offers against the minimum qualifications of this role and their individual experience.

National Grid is an equal opportunity employer that values a broad diversity of talent, knowledge, experience and expertise.  We foster a culture of inclusion that drives employee engagement to deliver superior performance to the communities we serve.  National Grid is proud to be an affirmative action employer. We encourage minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans to join the National Grid team.