Director of Innovation
About this role
Job Description:
Lead innovation and investment strategy through identifying emerging trends, conducting market and customer research, developing new product and service concepts, and evaluating early- to growth-stage companies for potential investment or acquisition. Conduct preliminary and detailed due diligence, develop valuations, and support term sheet negotiations. Collaborate with internal stakeholders across Publishing, Sales, Technology, and Marketing to align innovation initiatives with organizational goals. Lead and mentor a multidisciplinary team including investment analysts, product managers, and product owners. Guide prototype development and testing cycles, and transition validated concepts into scalable products. Develop integration plans for acquired entities and provide ongoing strategic support, including Board participation where applicable. Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and report on product performance and user experience. Maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and ensure compliance with relevant legal and regulatory standards.
Requirements:
- Master’s degree in Business Administration, Communications, or a closely related field.
- 10 years of experience in product management, innovation, or strategic business development, including work with startups, scaleups, and corporate innovation.
- 5 years of experience leading cross-functional product or innovation teams, including direct management of product managers, analysts, and technical staff, which may have been gained as part of or in addition to the 10 years of experience in product management, innovation, or strategic business development, including work with startups, scaleups, and corporate innovation.
- Other experience and skills must include:
- Corporate venture capital (CVC) and strategic investments.
- Proven track record in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), including deal sourcing, due diligence, and integration.
- Building and scaling ventures through venture studio models.
- Product management platforms including Jira, Aha!, or Productboard.
- Market research and analytics tools including Qualtrics, Tableau, or Power BI.
- CRM systems including Salesforce.
- Experience leading teams using Agile methodologies.
- Experience with digital transformation and marketing technology platforms including DAM, DSP, and data warehouses.
- Experience leading innovation initiatives in both startup and corporate environments.
- Experience in international business development and global market expansion.
- Experience bridging the European and U.S. tech and academic ecosystems, leveraging cross-cultural insights and networks to identify and scale high-potential ventures.
- Up to 20% domestic and international travel required to attend industry conferences, meet potential investment and acquisition targets, and collaborate with stakeholders.
- May work remotely two (2) days per week.
- Must have current authorization to be employed in the U.S. without employer sponsorship.
Employer: The American Chemical Society
Annual Salary: $200,000 - $250,000
Work Location: 1155 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Apply Online at: https://jobs.acs.org/
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Company at a glance
The American Chemical Society (ACS) was founded in 1876 and is a congressionally chartered independent membership organization that represents professionals at all degree levels and in all fields of the chemical sciences.
With more than 200,000 people in its global community, ACS is one of the world’s largest scientific societies and leading sources of authoritative scientific information. A nonprofit organization, ACS is at the forefront of the evolving chemistry enterprise and is the premier professional home for chemists, chemical engineers and related professionals around the globe.
ACS is dynamic and visionary, committed to improving all lives through the transforming power of chemistry.
Its vision, a world built on science, was developed and adopted by the ACS Board of Directors, and fully complements its mission: advance scientific knowledge, empower a global community and champion scientific integrity.
ACS publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. It also gives more than $22 million every year in grants for research in petroleum and related fields. ACS plays a leadership role in educating and communicating with policymakers and the general public about the importance of chemistry in everyone’s lives.
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