Innovation Strategy Manager

Körber Pharma Packaging AG; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 3,500,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work setup

Job summary

Körber invites an Innovation Strategy Manager to shape group-level innovation and technology agendas across Business Areas. You will bridge strategy, technology, and execution, turning opportunities into scalable outcomes with engagement across senior leaders and engineers.

Based in Bengaluru in a hybrid setup, you will drive portfolio prioritization, business-case development, and executive-ready communications, while collaborating with global teams and partners to advance AI/ML, Digital Twins,

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in innovation strategy or related roles.
• Experience with AI/ML, Digital Twins, Industrial IoT, robotics or related technologies is beneficial.
• Strong ability to communicate strategic concepts to both technical and executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Enable executive decision-making by crafting insight-driven proposals linking technology trends to strategic priorities.
• Shape group-level innovation strategy aligned with central technology roadmap.
• Prepare concise updates and executive-ready presentations for steering committees.

Skills

Innovation strategy

Technology strategy

Management consulting

Portfolio prioritization

Business case development

KPI definition

Agile/Hybrid PM

English communication

German language

International travel

Job description

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Pioneeryour career! Körber is the home for passionate people who innovate, collaborate, and love what they do. Entrepreneurial spirit is our joint DNA. We develop future technologies and support talents to deploy their skills and reach their full potential. Together, we aim to be the first to do the right thing at the right time.

Join the home for entrepreneurs!

We are seeking an experienced professional tocoordinate a broad range of internal and external stakeholders. The role requires strongexpertiseinstrategic and conceptual work,consolidatinga broad range ofstakeholderperspectives, understandingbothbroadly usedand upcoming technologieswith the related industrial use cases.With the ability to driveprojects,tomonitorprogress, andto enable effectivecommunicationon top management leveland to thepublic.

Location: Hybrid work setup (Bangalore-based) Team: Körber Group Function Innovation & Technology Reports to: Executive VP Group Innovation & Technology,locatedin Europe

Körber is a global technology group with deep industrialexpertiseand a strong innovation agenda. Weoperateacross three Business Areas–Pharma, Supply Chain, and Technologies–delivering high-tech machinery, software, digital, and service solutions that are critical to our customers' success.Within the Group Innovation function, we define and drive the central innovation and technology roadmap for the Group.Our focus is on advancing strategic technology topics, enabling cross-business collaboration, and creating scalable innovation programs that support long-term, sustainable growth.

Role Overview

We are seeking an Innovation Strategy Manager to help shape and advance Körber'sglobal,group-level innovation and technology agenda across Business Areas. This is not a traditional strategy role limited to slideware, nor a pure program management role focused only on execution. Youwilloperateat theintersection of strategy, technology, and implementation:identifyingrelevant technology and innovation opportunities, structuring them into clear priorities and roadmaps, and aligning stakeholders around how to turn them into scalable outcomes.

You will be the bridge between Körber's central innovation frameworksandthe teams translating them into products, capabilities, ventures, and strategic initiatives. You must be able to move fluidly between a discussion with senior leadership and a detailed conversation with engineers, architects, product managers,venture teams, and domain experts. Youcandig deep and understand technical details, extract the key notions needed, and communicate the bigger picture clearly to a broad variety ofinternal and publicaudiences.

Your work will cover opportunity identification, portfolio and initiative prioritization, business case development, strategic framing, and implementation support. You will regularly synthesize input from technical experts, project and product managers, and colleagues from sales, marketing, and business functions. Where required, you willinitiatechange and alignment activities across teams, set up projects to generate insights or prepare decisions, andmonitorexecution against strategic intent and measurable outcomes. You will do this without direct line management authority, which meansthatinfluence, structure, and credibility are your primary tools.

Key Responsibilities

• Enable executive decision-making and organizational change bycrafting compelling, insight-drivenproposalswhichconnect technology trends,innovation opportunities, and strategic priorities.
• Shape and evolve group-level innovation strategy aligned with the Group's central technology and innovation roadmap, with focus areas such as AI/ML, Digital Twins, Industrial IoT, Robotics, Autonomous Systems, and related emerging technologies.
• Develop clear and engaging narratives that translate technology trends, innovation topics, and strategic change initiatives intoactionable and measurable roadmaps, workstreams, business cases, decision papers, pilots, and scale-up plans. To this end,identify, assess, and prioritize innovation opportunities, strategic themes, and use cases across Business Areas by combining technology, customer, market, and business perspectives.
• Prepare concise updates, reports, and executive-ready presentations for steering committees, reviews, and senior leadership decision forums.
• Support senior leadership with high-impact content for internal events and change initiatives, ensuring consistent messaging and strategic relevance.
• Ensureeffective planning, coordination,and execution of key Innovation &Technology initiatives and governanceforums,as central mechanisms fortechnology strategy and cross-businessinnovation.
• Set up,supportand further develop thekey strategic innovationprojects of the Group, ensuring transparency on priorities, progress, and impact.Serve as a credible interface between Group Innovation and the Business Areas, able to engage meaningfully with engineers, architects, product leaders, venture teams, and senior business stakeholders.
• Plan and coordinateour leading governance bodyrepresentingall operational units,coordinatinginputs from Business Areas, Group Functions, and innovation initiatives to ensure coherent, group-wide perspectives.
• Facilitate structured collaboration, stakeholder alignment, and change activities across cross-functional and cross-business teams in a matrixed environment.
• Develop andmaintainglobalgroup guidelines for Group Function Innovation & Technology.
• Steer external communications andthought-leadership positioningfor GroupInnovation & Technology with customersand technology partners, strengtheningKörber’s profile as a leading innovationand technology partner in its ecosystems
• Shape and coordinate external messaging on innovation and technology topics in close collaboration with Group Communications
• Develop and support thought-leadership content (e.g., keynote presentations, articles, panels) for external conferences, customer events, and ecosystem platforms.
• Build andmaintainrelationships with key customers, technology partners, and relevant external networks to support Körber’s innovation positioning and collaboration opportunities
• Closely cooperate on all of this with Körber’s Executive VP for Innovation and Technology,locatedin Europe.

Your Profile

• 5-10 years of experiencein innovation strategy, technology strategy, management consulting, innovation management, product strategy, or similar roles with a strong technology mandate.Previousexperience in management consultingis a clear benefit.
• Ability to understand technology, even in cases of no priorexposureand to extract the key strategic implications quickly and accurately.Previousexposure tothefollowingtechnologieswilldefinitely behelpful for the start:AI/ML, Digital Twins, Industrial IoT, Robotics, Autonomous Systems, cloud-based digitalsolutionsor related advanced manufacturing / Industry 4.0 technologies
• Ability to create the big strategic picture and communicate it clearlyto a broad variety of audiences, including technical experts, development teams, managers, senior executives, and thegeneral public.
• Ability to engage with people without the help of hierarchical structuresand to align stakeholders through influence, credibility, and structured communication.
• Ability to set up, run, monitor, and completeprojectsturning ambiguous topics into clear plans with milestones, owners, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience in portfolio prioritization, business case development, KPI definition, and benefit trackingis highly desirable.
• Familiarity with agile or hybrid project management methodologiesis a plus.
• Excellent English communication skills(written and verbal); German is an advantage.Needs to interact with people all over the world, across all time zones.International travelexpected3-4 times per year.
• Proactive, hands-on mindsetwitha strong senseof ownership, curiosity about technology, and the ability to move from strategic thinking to practical execution.

What You'll Gain

• Direct exposure to Körber's group-level innovation strategy and technology roadmap
• Opportunity to work across AI, Digital Twins, Robotics, IoT, and other frontier technology topics spanning multiple industries
• A central rolein enabling collaboration and execution within a global innovation ecosystem
• Hybrid work setup (Bangalore-based)
• A dynamic, international environment with strong opportunities for learning and professional growth

Can you find yourself in this profile? Then you are right at Körber. We are looking forward to getting to know you! Reach us at: [e-mail]

Körber is a global technology company for intelligent manufacturing and supply chain solutions. As a reliable innovation partner, Körber turns entrepreneurial thinking into customer success by providing leading technology to fuel what’s next – from end-to-end pharma production and advanced supply chain solutions to high-tech machinery and process equipment. Körber combines deep domain expertise with integrated hardware, software, and digital services, to help customers take the next step.