Innovation Lead - Consumer

Cleo; London; On-site; GBP 102,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job description

About Cleo

At Cleo, we're not just building another fintech app. We're embarking on a mission to fundamentally change humanity's relationship with money. Imagine a world where everyone, regardless of background or income, has access to a hyper-intelligent financial advisor in their pocket. That's the future we're creating.

Cleo is a rare success story: a profitable, fast-growing unicorn with over $200 million in ARR and growing over 2x year-over-year. This isn't just a job; it's a chance to join a team of brilliant, driven individuals who are passionate about making a real difference. We have an exceptionally high bar for talent, seeking individuals who are not only at the top of their field but also embody our culture of collaboration and positive impact.

If you’re driven by complex challenges that push your expertise, the chance to shape something truly transformative, and the potential to share in Cleo’s success as we scale, while growing alongside a company that’s scaling fast, this might be your perfect fit.

Follow us on LinkedIn to keep up to date with new product features and insights from the team.

The Role

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 reach into new experiences and customer behaviours.

You’ll thrive in ambiguity, combining creative firepower with sharp strategic thinking to generate and validate ideas that push boundaries—and shape the future of Cleo. This role isn’t just about iterating on what exists—it’s about imagining what could be. You’ll bring bold, unconventional ideas to life and foster a culture of experimentation across the business.

We’re especially looking for someone who lives and breathes consumer innovation: someone with a deep understanding of how to influence behaviour, who’s passionate about AI, and who’s constantly plugged into the latest in consumer product design, social apps, games, wellness tools, and everything in between.

What You’ll Do

1. Develop deep understanding of user problems, the competitive landscape, and Cleo’s right to win in new space.

2. Run ideation and brainstorming sessions to generate early-stage concepts focused on consumer behaviour change, gamification, AI interaction, and new modes of engagement.

3. Engage with internal and external experts to sharpen thinking and improve the quality of concepts.

4. Collaborate with cross-functional partners (design, research, engineering, analytics, commercial) to shape and evolve ideas.

5. Map key assumptions and coordinate scrappy testing plans with research and analytics to validate early-stage concepts.

6. Build compelling, data-informed cases for why Cleo should invest in the concepts you’ve developed.

7. Challenge conventional thinking and surface bold ideas aligned with Cleo’s mission and the emerging needs of our customers.

8. Uncover opportunities by partnering with Research and Product Marketing to identify unmet needs, whitespace, and emerging trends—particularly around AI, social experiences, and new consumer patterns.

9. Prototype new ideas that tap into social dynamics, personalisation, and habit formation—helping Cleo go from assistant to indispensable.

10. Draw on the expertise of our cross-functional teams to refine and strengthen concepts throughout the process.

Ideal Candidate

1. Creative Visionary: You’re constantly exploring ideas—through reading, talking, building, or experimenting—and have a strong point of view on what’s coming next in the consumer product landscape.

2. Behavioural Designer: You understand how to nudge, motivate, and support users towards healthy long-term habits—and can build products that do exactly that.

3. Plugged Into Consumer Culture: You’re across emerging formats—from wellness tech to social tools, gamified finance, AI companions and more.

4. Thrives in Complexity: You bring clarity and focus to undefined challenges and aren’t afraid to explore unfamiliar terrain.

5. Dynamic Collaborator: You co-create easily with product, design, engineering, and insight teams—bringing energy, inspiration, and direction.

6. 0→1 Experience: You’ve developed novel ideas from scratch and driven them to successful outcomes.

7. Action-Oriented: You don’t just dream—you build. You know how to test quickly, learn, and keep momentum up.

What We’re Looking For

1. A proven track record of originating and developing breakthrough consumer product ideas—especially those focused on behaviour, engagement, or virality.

2. Exceptional communication and storytelling skills to inspire and align stakeholders.

3. A mix of creative instinct and rigorous problem-solving to balance ambition with feasibility.

4. Deep experience in consumer-facing apps (B2C), especially those focused on behavioural outcomes or community experiences.

5. Curiosity and fluency in emerging technologies, particularly AI.

6. Familiarity with customer research, market analysis, and rapid validation methods.

Diversity and Inclusion

We strongly encourage applications from people of color, 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.

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.

1. 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.
2. Step 2: 1 hour with the Hiring Manager - Tom May, Product Director - New Ventures.
3. Step 3: Take home task interview, presented to two of our Product team.
4. Step 4: 45 minutes each with two cross-functional peers.

What do you get for all your hard work?

1. A competitive compensation package (base + equity) with reviews every 8 months. You can view our public progression framework and salary bandings here: Progression Framework - This position is a PM4 level and we can pay £102,535 - £127,707 depending on experience.
2. Work at one of the fastest-growing tech startups, backed by top VC firms like Sofina, Balderton & EQT Ventures.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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!
6. 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: Benefits Package
   • 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!