Innovation Consultant
£44200
Hybrid
Must live in commutable distance to Manchester City Centre
Fixed term role until 31 March 2025

Do you have a background in innovation, R&D or Product Design?
Would you like to use this knowledge and experience to help local business growth?

Manchester’s business support team is looking to grow the team and need an experienced Innovation Consultant to join the Lead Generation team.
They are looking for an professional with experience in public funding, product development and R&D who is passionate about Innovation and who is keen help businesses achieve growth potential, secure public and private financing, improve their innovation capability and develop new products/services to grow in the UK and internationally.
This role is for an experienced business professional to drive investment in business innovation. You'll find and support high-growth innovative SME's, in Greater Manchester and understand their funding needs.
Key Responsibilities:

• Identify ambitious innovation-orientated SMEs with the potential to scale, who could benefit from public funding
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders and designated Local Authority becoming embedded in the local economic team to ensure alignment with local strategic priorities to target businesses not previously engaged with innovation business support.
• Work with the Data Analyst and Marketing team on targeted sales progression and lead generation campaigns focused on identified priority customers in key technology areas that align with the frontier sectors.
• Proactively use online research, supplied lists or leads from within the business to generate the pipeline and keep it current.
• Act as a customer engagement and lead generator for Commercialisation Specialists.
• Proactively target those clients with the greatest propensity for growth and will be able to utilise systems and processes to successfully identify these clients.
• Undertake an initial triage and carry out eligibility and suitability checks on identified businesses.
• The role holder will be required to confidently present to audiences at events and conferences to promote engagement with the programme.
• Navigate through prospective client businesses and recognise opportunities to create meaningful dialogues with the right people.

About You:
 • Understand what is required to help SMEs in this space.
• Proven knowledge and experience of the innovation support
• Have exceptional networking, business development and sales skills.
• A good understanding of structuring businesses for successful growth.
• Self-motivated and results-driven with a meticulous focus on quality.
• A strong Lead Generator, with concomitant communication, facilitation and presentation skills. Skills Required:
• A senior professional having grown their own business and/or worked in a senior position in a corporate or ambitious SME environment,
• Strong networks,
• Experience /understanding of networks in the private and public capital markets, IPOs, M&A etc.
• Good awareness of the benefits of the use of debt, equity, and grants.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a wider team.

Interested please send your CV to Annalee Wood at Aspire Recruitment today

This vacancy is being handled by Aspire Recruitment. Please be aware we receive a high volume of applications and regularly receive applications from candidates who exceed the job credentials. We will only contact you within the next 14 days if you are selected for interview. Should you apply for this role, we will process your data as detailed in our Privacy Policy and by applying for this opportunity I agree that Aspire Recruitment will keep me informed about potential employment opportunities regularly and that I can choose to opt out of receiving information at any time.