Innovation Manager

About the role

The Innovation Manager is a critical position contributing to the execution of Christman’s corporate-wide Innovation strategy. This role oversees the daily execution of the Opportunity Mapping mechanism and the operation of the Innovation Programs within Christman’s Innovation Studio. They act as the coordination link between governance, field teams, and execution groups, ensuring the program runs smoothly and captures learning to promote ongoing system improvement.

Responsibilities

• Execute the Opportunity Mapping mechanism.
• Execute Innovation programs aligned with governance goals.
• Drive deadlines to ensure timely completion of desired outcomes.
• Facilitate collaboration across Innovation Project Teams, Liaisons, and the Innovation Studio.
• Provide leadership, motivation, supervision, and guidance to regional Innovation Liaisons and innovation teams while maintaining a positive work environment.
• Enforce process discipline across project teams, actively preventing teams from advancing to the solution phase before achieving a verified, evidence-backed understanding of the core customer problem.
• Lead rapid hypothesis and assumption mapping, guiding teams to rigorously surface, document, and prioritize leap-of-faith assumptions before development begins.
• Design and oversee iterative testing cycles, mandating and facilitating mid-way experimentation and MVP testing to validate concepts with real users.
• Maintain a centralized performance dashboard to track timelines, KPIs, and outcomes, reporting to the Innovation Director and Senior Vice President of Planning & Innovation.
• Implement operational changes and improved processes based on feedback from the Innovation Director.
• Take a leadership position in communicating and coordinating with external partners and vendors.
• Oversee timely and accurate processing of all innovation project information documents.
• Participate or co-lead regional innovation strategic planning sessions.
• Support execution of the post-pilot handoff protocol, including transfer to regional operations.
• Complete assigned and required training for this role.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field.
• Minimum five (5) years of experience in a leadership role reflecting progressive leadership responsibilities.
• OR equivalent combination of the above education, training, and experience.

Qualifications

• Advanced understanding of innovation methodologies, creative brainstorming, and workshop facilitation.
• Ability to manage time, plan, schedule, organize, and prioritize responsibilities to consistently meet deadlines.
• Strong hypothesis and risk mapping skills: ability to systematically decompose complex business ideas into testable, prioritized leap-of-faith assumptions.
• Ability to challenge senior stakeholders, resist organizational "solution-bias," and advocate for process integrity without alienating project teams.
• Entrepreneurial focus and the ability to see the big picture while simultaneously focusing on details and timelines.
• Must be able to write and communicate clearly and quickly to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to perform under pressure or opposition and handle stress in a manner acceptable to others and the organization.
• Must be able to lead, work well with others, and build relationships with Innovation project teams, resolving conflicts or jobsite issues as they arise.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to communicate solutions.
• Passion for team-based planning and problem-solving and a wholehearted commitment to building strong partnerships to support project goals.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 including Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise in Lean Startup and Customer Development: Deep, practical knowledge of Steve Blank’s Customer Development framework, Lean Innovation principles, and the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop.
• Advanced framework certifications: Professional certification or formal training in Design Thinking (e.g., IDEO, Stanford d.school), Lean Startup, Agile, or Scrum methodologies.

Schedule

Full-time position. Occasional extended hours and weekends may apply.

• Minimal travel required; depending on the project, travel to other areas may be required.
• Majority of travel done during work hours; overnight stays may be required.

Benefits

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• HSA contribution.
• 401K contribution.
• Professional development and tuition reimbursement.