Innovation Lead

Cleo; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 102,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a visionary Innovation Lead to drive creative ideation and strategic innovation. In this dynamic role, you will challenge conventional thinking and explore opportunities that align with the company's mission. You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to prototype new concepts and validate them through data-driven insights. This position offers a unique chance to shape the future of financial well-being for millions while enjoying a flexible work environment. If you're ready to make a significant impact and thrive in a fast-paced startup culture, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Competitive compensation package

Flexible working hours

25 days annual leave

6% employer-matched pension

Private Medical Insurance

Enhanced parental leave

1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years

Regular social activities

Online mental health support

Lunch provided on Thursdays

Qualifications

• Proven track record of developing innovative concepts.
• Experience in consumer-facing products, especially fintech.

Responsibilities

• Lead the generation of innovative concepts aligned with Cleo’s mission.
• Collaborate to uncover market opportunities and validate ideas.

Skills

Creative Ideation

Strategic Thinking

Market Analysis

Collaboration

Customer-Centric Mindset

Product Development

Communication Skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Tools

Research Tools

Prototyping Tools

Job description

We strongly encourage applications from people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, parents, carers, and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

If there’s anything we can do to accommodate your specific situation, please let us know.

About Cleo

Most people come to Cleo to do work that matters. Every day, we empower people to build a life beyond their next paycheck, building a beloved AI that enables you to forge your own path toward financial well-being.

Backed by some of the most well-known investors in tech, we’ve reached millions of people to support them throughout their financial lives, from their first paycheck to their first home and beyond. We're hitting headlines too. This year, Forbes named us as one of their Next Billion Dollar Startups, and we were crowned the 'Hottest Tech Scaleup' at the Europas.

As Innovation Lead, you’ll be at the forefront of driving Cleo’s diversification strategy, leading the discovery of high-impact New Bets that redefine our product offering and expand our revenue streams. You will thrive in ambiguity, marrying imaginative creativity with sharp strategic thinking to generate and validate ideas that have the potential to shape Cleo’s future.

This isn’t just about process—it’s about envisioning what’s next. You’ll be a creative powerhouse and a catalyst for innovation, bringing bold, unconventional ideas to life and fostering a culture of experimentation. Success in this role is measured by the strength and originality of the concepts developed, as well as their potential impact on Cleo's customers and business.

What You’ll Do

• Drive Creative Ideation: Lead the generation of innovative, ambitious concepts that align with Cleo’s mission and inspire cross-functional teams.
• Shape the Vision: Challenge conventional thinking to explore opportunities that align with Cleo’s mission and the evolving needs of our customers.
• Uncover Opportunities: Collaborate with Research and Product Marketing to dive deep into market and customer research to uncover unmet needs, whitespace opportunities, and emerging trends that fuel ideation.
• Prototype the Future: Develop and iterate on early-stage product concepts, building compelling value propositions and clear paths to commercialization.
• Facilitate Collaboration: Lead targeted ideation sessions, drawing on the expertise of cross-functional teams to refine and strengthen ideas.
• Test and Validate: Work scrappily with research, analytics, and commercial teams to validate concepts, scrupulously testing early-stage ideas to ensure they are both innovative and grounded in data.
• Invent the Future: Shape and define the long-term vision for Cleo’s experience, bringing bold ideas to life while driving alignment and buy-in from cross-functional stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate

• Visionary Thinking: You’re a creative force with an innate ability to generate and champion bold, transformative ideas.
• Strategic Innovator: You combine imagination with sharp analytical thinking to identify opportunities and shape them into actionable strategies.
• Thrives in Complexity: You excel in navigating unstructured environments, bringing clarity and focus to undefined challenges.
• Dynamic Collaborator: You bring people together to co-create, driving alignment and inspiration across teams.
• Customer-Centric Mindset: You deeply understand and empathize with customer needs, crafting ideas that deliver both delight and tangible value.
• Proven Innovator: You have experience in 0→1 product development and have a track record of originating innovative concepts which drive to successful outcomes.
• Action-Oriented: While you’re a dreamer, you’re also a doer, eager to translate big ideas into tangible, testable concepts.

What We’re Looking For

• A proven track record of originating and developing groundbreaking ideas that have led to impactful business outcomes.
• Exceptional communication and storytelling skills to inspire and align diverse stakeholders.
• A mix of creative instinct and rigorous problem-solving to balance boldness with feasibility.
• Experience in consumer-facing products (B2C); fintech experience is a plus.
• Familiarity with customer research, market analysis, and strategic validation methods.

What’s the Process Like?

We aim to move as fast as possible. Usually 2-3 weeks is enough time for us all to get to know each other.

• Step 1: 30 mins video call with a member of our Talent Team to find out more about your experience and why you’re potentially interested in Cleo.
• Step 2: 1 hour with the Hiring Manager - Tom May, Product Director - New Ventures.
• Step 3: Take home task interview, presented to our Product Director and VP Growth
  • 30 mins with our Research/Product Marketing team
• Step 4: 45 minutes each with two cross-functional peers

What do you get for all your hard work?

• A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with reviews every 8 months. You can view our public progression framework and salary bandings here: https://cleo-ai.progressionapp.com/ - This position is a PM4 level and we can pay £102,535 - £127,707 depending on experience.
• Work at one of the fastest-growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms like Sofina, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
• A clear progression plan. We want you to keep growing. That means trying new things, leading others, challenging the status quo and owning your impact. Always with our complete support.
• Flexibility: We treat you as humans first, employees second. Because we can’t fight for the world’s financial health, if we’re not healthy ourselves. This means all the usual perks but it also means flexibility. We take pride in being a flexible workplace that trusts our Cleople to deliver their best work, giving you the autonomy to structure your day around morning drop-offs to school or daily dog walks.
• Hybrid-first: Join our hybrid-first team, where we blend the best of both remote and in-office work. We expect our team members to be in our London office 1-2 times a week. On Thursdays, we buy you lunch but you can come to the office on whichever days work best for you!
• Other benefits:
  • 25 days annual leave a year + public holidays (+ an additional day for every year you spend at Cleo)
  • Check out our new benefits package here: https://web.meetcleo.com/blog/big-benefits-energy-the-latest-cleo-employee-benefits
  • 6% employer-matched pension in the UK
  • Company-wide performance reviews every 8 months e.g every 2 terms, in line with our termly cycles (Jan-April, May-Aug, Sept-Dec):
    • Generous pay increases for high-performers and high-growth team members
    • Equity top-ups for team members getting promoted
  • Private Medical Insurance via Vitality, dental cover, and life assurance
  • Enhanced parental leave
  • 1 month paid sabbatical after 4 years at Cleo
  • Regular socials and activities, online and in-person
  • We'll pay for your OpenAI subscription
  • Online mental health support via Spill
  • And many more!

Apply for this job

* indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Resume/CV

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

School Select...

Degree Select...

Select...

Select...

Start date year

End date month Select...

End date year

LinkedIn Profile

Website

Why have you applied to Cleo?

Can you share an example of how you turned a creative vision into a tangible prototype or product? *

How do you approach the process of identifying and validating truly creative and innovation new opportunities in a rapidly changing market? *

Can you describe a specific example of a groundbreaking idea you developed that significantly impacted a business outcome? * Select...

Tell us about a time when you had to align senior leadership around a controversial decision. How did you approach stakeholder management, and what was the outcome? *

What are your salary expectations? We only ask this to make sure we're in the same ballpark before asking you to commit your time to interviewing with us. Feel free to leave blank if you'd prefer not to answer at this stage - note this role is PM level 4 - access to our bandings is below https://cleo-ai.progressionapp.com/teams/product-pi6vvgfyemvv *

Where did you hear about us? *

Someone at Cleo reached out to me

LinkedIn Jobs

LinkedIn - Cleo Post

LinkedIn - Employee Post

Cleo Blog

Data Science Festival

Silicon Milkroundabout

Women in Product Meetup

Conversational AI London

ProductTank Meetup

Brighton Ruby

Referred by a friend

Prefer not to say

If you’ve heard about us from multiple sources, you can check multiple boxes.

Do you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK? * Select...

Are you able to travel to our London office at least 1-2 times a week? *

Let's make sure you know how we handle your data *