Innovation Strategy Specialist

Role Overview: The Innovation Strategy Specialist plays a critical role in researching technology and market trends and translating them into strategic innovation directions, with the aim of identifying new growth drivers for the business. This role sits at the intersection of business strategy, technological capabilities, and market opportunities, helping to identify, nurture, and commercialize high-potential initiatives that drive organizational innovation and long-term growth.1. RESPONSIBILITIES: Trend Research & Growth Opportunity DiscoveryAnalyze emerging trends in technology and industry shifts to uncover potential innovation opportunities.Conduct market research to identify whitespace, unmet needs, and areas for value creation.Propose strategic innovation themes aligned with SmartLabs’ and SmartOSC’s business goals.Innovation Strategy DevelopmentCollaborate with SmartLabs leadership to shape and refine the overall innovation strategy.Define short- and long-term innovation priorities and link them to R&D programs, initiatives, or external collaboration opportunities (e.g., open innovation).New Innovation Program Design & InitiationDevelop plans and mechanisms to foster the generation of new ideas and mobilize internal resources, ensuring a seamless and continuous innovation pipeline.Develop evaluation frameworks and criteria to support transparent and effective assessment of internal innovation initiatives across key stages: idea sourcing, screening, validation, and experimentation.Coordinate cross-functionally with product, delivery engineering, and business teams to facilitate the implementation of MVPs or proof-of-concepts (PoCs), ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and operational feasibility.Innovation Portfolio ManagementDevelop frameworks to track progress, risk, and potential impact of innovation initiatives.Recommend strategic allocation of resources to the most promising initiatives with long-term business value.R&D Ecosystem DevelopmentDevelop strategic partnership plans to build a robust R&D and innovation ecosystem, which help identify, evaluate, and engage with external partners (startups, research institutions, universities, innovation hubs, and tech communities), based on strategic fit, complementary capabilities, and co-innovation potential.Develop frameworks to prioritize and structure partnerships (e.g., joint development, knowledge exchange, venture collaboration) that can accelerate innovation outcomes and expand the opportunity pipeline.Collaborate with HR and internal communications to foster a strong innovation culture and drive internal engagement in co-creation initiatives with external partners.