Remote Director: Services Innovation & Special Projects

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 171,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Director of Services Innovation & Special Projects to lead the strategy for a bold portfolio of services initiatives. This remote role partners across functions to evaluate ideas, build business cases, and move validated concepts into accountable ownership.

Responsibilities include prototyping, portfolio governance, P&L management, and horizon-scanning to inform senior leadership. A strong executive presence and proven cross-functional leadership are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• Significant leadership experience in telecommunications services, innovation, or portfolio management.
• Proven ability to lead teams and manage complex cross-functional programs under uncertainty.
• Strong skills in business-case development, investment analysis, and financial management.
• Experience creating complex opportunity P&Ls and interpreting portfolio-level financial performance.
• Familiarity with experimentation, prototyping, and customer validation processes.
• Credible executive presence with the ability to influence across organizational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the services innovation strategy and portfolio.
• Establish decision forums with key stakeholders across departments.
• Oversee market evaluation, customer needs assessment, and strategic fit analysis.
• Direct rapid prototyping and customer co-creation initiatives.
• Govern the innovation portfolio and manage R&D investment recommendations.
• Create and analyze P&Ls for innovation opportunities and special projects.
• Track financial performance across the innovation funnel and report on key metrics.
• Ensure smooth transition of tested concepts to accountable portfolio owners.
• Facilitate horizon scanning and scenario-planning activities for strategic insights.
• Encourage reuse of tools and automations developed across Services.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional leadership

Financial analysis

Business-case development

Executive presence

Portfolio management

Experimentation

Prototyping

Education

Bachelor’s degree (Engineering, Business Admin, or equivalent)

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Ladders is seeking a Director of Services Innovation & Special Projects to lead the strategy for a bold portfolio of services initiatives. This remote role partners across functions to evaluate ideas, build business cases, and move validated concepts into accountable ownership.

Responsibilities include prototyping, portfolio governance, P&L management, and horizon-scanning to inform senior leadership. A strong executive presence and proven cross-functional leadership are required.