Director, Incubation & Innovation - AI

JOB DESCRIPTION
Business Tasks/Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the incubator/innovation strategic vision and product roadmap aligned with company goals.
• Conduct research to identify emerging trends and relevant industry technologies.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and launch new service solutions.
• Facilitate brainstorming sessions and workshops to generate new ideas.
• Manage the innovation pipeline, ensuring ideas are evaluated for feasibility and potential impact of initiatives and progressed through the development phases.
• Develop and manage budgets for projects, monitor and report on performance of projects.
• Establish performance metrics to evaluate the success of the initiatives and make data-driven decisions for future projects.
• Foster a culture of innovation.

Leadership Tasks/Responsibilities

• Drive the performance and development of the team by creating and managing performance objectives, training and development plans.
• Manage employee performance through coaching, mentoring, development of performance expectations and goals; manage employee relations issues, identifying and addressing training needs.
• Drive engagement of the team by fostering recognition and rewards and creating an environment that motivates employees to give their best effort for continued success; understand the engagement results and share the scores with the team; involve the team in creating action plans; ensure actions continue to be on track.
• Communicate clearly and transparently with the team and encourage open, honest and inclusive on-going discussions.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Select key responsibilities of the role

• Develop and then deliver key milestones as new businesses and business offers are created in high growth technology areas (e.g. artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and modeling & simulation).
• Drive the performance and development of the team by creating and managing performance objectives, training and development plans.
• Manage budget and funding for incubator team; funding and staffing will largely be scaled based on milestone attainment in accordance with an agreed strategy and product roadmap.
• Manage employee performance through coaching, mentoring, development of performance expectations and goals; manage employee relations issues, identifying and addressing training needs.
• Drive engagement of the team by fostering recognition and rewards and creating an environment that motivates employees to give their best effort for continued success.
• Communicate clearly and transparently with the team and encourage open, honest and inclusive on-going discussions.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Marketing or related discipline is required.
• Master's degree or MBA is preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in innovation management, product development, related area or prior experience in an incubator/accelerator performing similar tasks
• Specialized training in design thinking, agile methodologies or digital transformation preferred.
• Certifications in industry specific technologies or processes a plus.
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills for complex challenges
• Strong business acumen
• Strong leadership abilities to inspire and lead teams
• Excellent communication to effectively convey ideas and strategies
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders and external partners
• Understanding of emerging technologies and knowledge of digital tools
• Proficiency in project management tools and methodologies
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams
• Creative thinking and passion for innovation
• Experience in market research and data analysis

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ABOUT US
A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers' product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers' products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.