Innovation Manager

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday

Pension schemes

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Newcastle University is redefining its Knowledge Exchange with Newcastle Innovations, and we are seeking two ambitious Innovation Managers to join the team and help deliver our business, innovation, partnership and place ambitions.

You will embed open innovation across faculties and partnerships, help academics, professional services and external partners co-create solutions, and build a pipeline of funding bids and strategic projects.

Qualifications

• Experience in innovation management, business development, knowledge exchange or partnership development within higher education or related environment.
• Knowledge of open innovation approaches, stakeholder engagement and collaborative project delivery.
• Experience of supporting strategic projects, partnerships or funding activities.
• Experience of leading major funding bids.
• Understanding of the UK innovation ecosystem, funding landscape and university–industry collaboration models.
• Strong communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to work across organisational boundaries, identify opportunities and help turn ideas into impactful projects.
• A proactive, adaptable and collaborative approach, with a passion for delivering innovation that benefits society.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and delivery of innovation and engagement projects aligned to university priorities.
• Embed open innovation approaches and collaborative working practices across faculties, professional services teams and external partnerships.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of high-quality innovation opportunities, funding bids and strategic projects.
• Conduct horizon scanning and intelligence gathering to identify emerging funding opportunities, stakeholder needs and innovation trends.
• Support academics and partners in the development of innovation-focused funding applications and collaborative initiatives.
• Work across Newcastle Innovations to improve systems, processes and delivery mechanisms that accelerate innovation and engagement activities.
• Contribute to the development of innovation roadmaps, partnership opportunities and place-based initiatives that deliver measurable impact.
• Help capture, measure and communicate the outcomes and impact of innovation activities.

Skills

Innovation management

Open innovation

Strategic projects

Funding bids

UK innovation ecosystem

Communication

Cross-boundary collaboration

Proactive collaboration

Job description

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Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 with progression to £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 4 October 2026

From Newcastle. For the world.

Help shape the next generation of innovation

At Newcastle University, we are redefining what it means to be a world‑class civic university. Through our Next Generation Newcastle transformation, we are making a generational commitment to shape a better future—delivering research, education and innovation that creates real-world impact locally and globally.

This is a moment of exciting change. We are strengthening our focus on partnerships, place and innovation to unlock the full value of our research and talent—working with business, government and communities to tackle the challenges that matter most.

As part of this, we have transformed our Knowledge Exchange function and created Newcastle Innovations —bringing together expertise in commercialisation, partnerships and engagement into a more integrated, ambitious and outward-facing model. We are building a dynamic innovation ecosystem that accelerates the journey from discovery to impact, connecting our strengths in health, energy, data and creative practice with real-world needs and opportunities.

If you are ambitious about innovation with purpose—and want to shape how a leading university delivers growth, impact and societal benefit—this is your opportunity.

We are seeking to appoint two ambitious and collaborative Innovation Managers to join Newcastle Innovations and play a key role in helping the University deliver its business, innovation, partnership and place ambitions. Working closely with Senior Innovation Managers, you will support the development and delivery of innovation programmes, partnerships and funding opportunities that create meaningful economic and societal impact.

You will help embed open innovation practices across the university, enabling academics, professional services colleagues, businesses, public sector partners and communities to co-create solutions to complex challenges. You will also play an important role in identifying opportunities, supporting strategic projects and helping to strengthen the systems and processes that enable innovation to thrive.

Working closely with Senior Innovation Managers, you will:

• Support the development and delivery of innovation and engagement projects aligned to university priorities
• Embed open innovation approaches and collaborative working practices across faculties, professional services teams and external partnerships
• Build and maintain a pipeline of high-quality innovation opportunities, funding bids and strategic projects
• Conduct horizon scanning and intelligence gathering to identify emerging funding opportunities, stakeholder needs and innovation trends
• Support academics and partners in the development of innovation-focused funding applications and collaborative initiatives
• Work across Newcastle Innovations to improve systems, processes and delivery mechanisms that accelerate innovation and engagement activities
• Contribute to the development of innovation roadmaps, partnership opportunities and place-based initiatives that deliver measurable impact
• Help capture, measure and communicate the outcomes and impact of innovation activities

About you

You will bring:

• Experience in innovation management, business development, knowledge exchange or partnership development within higher education or a related environment
• Knowledge of open innovation approaches, stakeholder engagement and collaborative project delivery
• Experience of supporting strategic projects, partnerships or funding activities
• Experience of leading major funding bids
• Understanding of the UK innovation ecosystem, funding landscape and university‑industry collaboration models
• Strong communication, influencing and relationship‑building skills
• The ability to work across organisational boundaries, identify opportunities and help turn ideas into impactful projects
• A proactive, adaptable and collaborative approach, with a passion for delivering innovation that benefits society

You will be part of a university that is:

• A trusted civic partner with global reach
• Committed to turning research into real-world impact
• Investing in a bold, integrated approach to innovation
• Focused on delivering economic, social and environmental benefit

Together, we are building the next generation of innovation—connecting people, ideas and opportunities to shape a better future

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.