Innovation & Engagement Senior Manager

Salary: £48,337 to £51,258 with progression to £57,666 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: 18 November 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.

Innovation and Engagement Senior Manager

We are seeking an experienced innovation and engagement leader to join Newcastle Innovations and play a pivotal role in turning our innovation ambitions into action. Working across academic and professional services teams, you will be a senior specialist adviser and delivery partner, helping colleagues connect ideas, capabilities and external needs to create meaningful economic and societal impact.

Working closely with the Head of Innovation Ecosystem, Business and Innovation Senior Partners and colleagues across the University, you will build connections between academia, industry, government and communities; translate ecosystem priorities into high-quality programmes and partnerships; and embed open, mission-led innovation practice across Newcastle University.

In this role, you will:

• Connect and catalyse relationships across academia, industry, government and communities, building vibrant communities of practice and innovation networks and brokering strategic partnerships.

• Develop innovation-led growth programmes, using insight, co-design and design-thinking approaches to develop solutions that respond to stakeholder needs.

• Build a strong pipeline of high-quality innovation projects and investible propositions, bringing together cross-functional and transdisciplinary teams and aligning opportunities with University and external funding priorities.

• Develop innovation roadmaps, horizon scanning and funding intelligence, identifying opportunities from sources including UKRI, ARIA, Innovate UK, Horizon Europe and industry-led open innovation calls.

• Lead or support business cases, major proposals and complex bids, ensuring initiatives are impactful and financially sustainable.

• Embed collaborative innovation and engagement skills and practice across the University through programmes, events and direct delivery.

• Strengthen systems and processes that enable the University to respond quickly to innovation demand, including contract research, facilities, LLP and CPD opportunities, and ensure outcomes and impact are effectively captured and communicated.

• Provide leadership and line management for Innovation Managers, Engagement Project Managers and the Community Engagement Manager, creating a collaborative, high-performing team.

About you

You will bring strategic perspective alongside a strong delivery mindset, with the confidence to work across organisational boundaries and influence senior stakeholders. You will be able to move from insight and opportunity to practical programmes, partnerships and propositions, while building trust across academic, industry and public-sector communities.

• A strong background in innovation management, strategic planning and stakeholder engagement, with experience of business development, innovation leadership or knowledge exchange in higher education or a related sector.

• A proven track record of developing complex innovation activities, projects or proposals by matching external opportunities and needs with organisational capabilities.

• Deep theoretical and practical knowledge of open innovation approaches, including design thinking, and experience of leading complex, agile projects.

• A strong understanding of UK innovation policy and funding, university-industry collaboration, the higher education landscape and regional innovation ecosystems.

• Excellent partnership development, negotiation, communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to influence senior decision-makers.

• Excellent leadership and team-management skills, together with the ability to encourage experimentation, collaboration and iterative development.

• A degree or equivalent qualification, or significant relevant experience gained through progressively demanding roles.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to work at the centre of Newcastle University’s evolving innovation ecosystem and help shape how we connect research, talent and ideas with external partners and opportunities. You will have the scope to build new networks, develop major collaborations and strengthen innovation capability across the institution, contributing directly to the ambitions of Next Generation Newcastle.

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

For more information abut this opportunity or for a confidential discussion, please reach out to Estelle Blanks, Director of Business Development & Enterprise- [email protected]

To apply, please upload your CV and cover letter, evidencing how your skills and experiences align to the person specification as outlined within the job description.

Key Accountabilities

• Work with the Head of Innovation Ecosystem to connect and catalyse relationships between academia, industry, government and communities
• order to build vibrant communities of practice and innovation networks. Translate ecosystem priorities into programmes and activities and feed insights back into our strategies. Broker and manage strategic partnerships, including contract negotiation, governance and performance. Represent Newcastle Innovations and Newcastle University at events led by the Innovation Ecosystem team or external partners.
• Lead on innovation-led growth programmes working closely with the Head of Innovation Ecosystem. Embed the use of a structured approach to innovation that utilises insights and design-thinking to co-develop innovative solutions
• Working with the B&I Senior Partners, develop and deliver plans for engagement and innovation in collaboration with faculties and central services.
• Work with the Innovation Ecosystem team to develop a pipeline of high-quality business and innovation projects and investible propositions. Ensure collaborative and trans-disciplinarity approaches are embedded and that projects involve co-design and quadruple helix participants. Design and lead cross-functional teams to deliver innovation projects, ensuring alignment with university strategy and external funding priorities.
• Working with the Faculties, Newcastle Innovations and colleagues across the University identify innovation roadmaps for institutional priorities to identify and support new and significant external opportunities to develop innovation activity and leverage new income. Set up a process for Horizon Scanning.
• Working with colleagues in the Innovation Ecosystem team implement a process of Innovation funding intelligence and information sharing including horizon scanning for UKRI, ARIA, Innovate UK, Horizon Europe, open innovation calls from industry working closely with the Innovation Managers and the Research Funding Development team.
• Lead or support the development of business cases for new initiatives and investible propositions, ensuring financial sustainability and impact. Lead or support the development of large and complex proposals and bids.
• Lead on and collaborate across Newcastle Innovations teams to devise a programme of work aimed at embedding collaborative innovation and engagement practices across the University and designed to better equip colleagues with innovation and engagement skills. Directly deliver elements of the programme and plan for colleagues’ participation.
• Working with the Head of Ecosystem, co-develop Newcastle Innovations events plan for innovation and engagement. Ensure Engagement and place activities are delivered throughout the programme taking into account Community Engagement activities.
• Set up systems and processes to accelerate our ability to meet demand for innovation (via for example contract research, facilities, LLP, CPD) working closely with the Innovation Intelligence Manager to implement this effectively.
• Work with the Innovation Intelligence Manager to deliver, report, disseminate outcomes and impact.
• Line management for the Innovation Managers, the Engagement Project Managers and the Community Engagement Manager. Agree on team’s objectives and activities in conjunction with the Business and Innovation Senior Partners.

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• The ideal candidate will have a strong background in innovation management, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience in developing complex and innovative activities/projects/proposals by connecting opportunities/needs to our University offer/capabilities
• Highly experienced and agile project manager
• Proven experience in business development, innovation leadership, or knowledge exchange within HE or a related sector.
• Strong understanding of UK innovation policy, funding landscape, and university-industry collaboration models.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills.
• Ability to lead complex projects and influence senior decision-makers.
• Strong track record of developing strategic partnerships and delivering impactful projects.
• Deep theoretical and practical knowledge of open innovation practices including design thinking.
• Deep understanding of the UK higher education landscape, including funding mechanisms and policy frameworks of innovation and engagement
• Knowledge of regional economic development and innovation ecosystems

Attributes and Behaviour

• Strategic thinking: ability to align innovation initiatives and university-wide goals
• Ability to identify long-term opportunities for ecosystem growth
• Ability to build trust and strong relationships across academic, industry and public sectors
• Ability to work effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders
• Encourage experimentation and iterative development
• Excellent leadership and team management skills
• Excellent communication, negotiation and stakeholder management skills

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent level qualification or significant experience, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding relevant roles.

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.

Requisition ID: 29882