Innovation Lead

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Institute for Sustainability
Location:  Guildford
Salary:  £36,024 to £44,263 per annum
Post Type:  Full Time
Closing Date:  23.59 hours GMT on Sunday 17 March 2024
Interview Date:  Monday 25 March 2024
Reference:  011824

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research. We are ambitious: our culture empowers people to collectively, and individually, make a real difference, shaping ourselves into one of the best universities in the world.  

The role

This is a great opportunity within the Institute for Sustainability for someone who is passionate about innovation, sustainability, and fostering industry-academia collaborations. The Sustainability Innovation Hub will be your unit to own and develop and will provide you with lots of creative opportunities to shape the Institute's 'action' and 'impact'. The Sustainability Innovation Hub is a centre of activity that brings together researchers from across all disciplines and organisations to nurture ideas, encourage collaboration and support the adoption of sustainable practices, products, or services. Our programme has been designed to help organisations (business, government, and/or social enterprise) develop and/or fast-track the adoption of sustainable solutions. We embrace agile innovation practices, collective intelligence, and systems thinking approaches to address complex change, transformation, and innovation. In effect, the Hub is a precursor to growing both Spin in and Spin out activities in sustainability.

With a community of 230+ scientists we lead innovative approaches to make a positive impact with our collaborators. We have a bold vision of what we want to achieve so your work will make a real, impactful difference.

About you

Equipped with a good understanding of sustainability challenges, experience of commercial deal making, strong communication, and project management skills, you will be ready to act as the key contact for all sustainability-related innovation challenges: identifying, securing, and growing collaboration between external organisations (businesses, social enterprises, local government) and fellows.

You will also identify as an effective collaborator, networker, relationship builder, and trusted advisor to stakeholders and will be ready to share practical examples at interview on how you can foster collaborations to build social and environmental impact. It may be that you have worked in an environmental consultancy firm or within an innovation team.

We are happy to consider applications from those interested in working on a part-time or job share basis.

What we can offer

In addition to salary, you will receive a yearly incremental pay rise, generous annual leave entitlement of 25 days holiday plus 7 university closure days and 8 bank holidays (pro rata for part time roles), a generous pension, access to world-class leisure facilities on campus, a range of travel schemes, and supportive family friendly benefits including an excellent on-site nursery.

How to apply

To apply please submit a CV. You will also be asked some brief questions to help us understand your suitability for the role.

For an informal chat about the role please contact Nathalie Hinds via [email protected]

Interviews will be held on campus on Monday 25th March.

The University of Surrey is committed to providing an inclusive environment that offers equal opportunities for all.  We place great value on diversity and are seeking to increase the diversity within our community.  Therefore we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups, such as people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and people with disabilities.