Manager, Ideation & Innovation Management

Role summary

Innovation strategy and portfolio

• Define and operate structured processes for idea capture, curation, challenge definition, proof-of-concept governance, pilot management, and scale-up.
• Translate digital transformation priorities into an executable agenda spanning utility operations, customer experience, field service, and asset management.
• Track pipeline stages, outcomes, innovation velocity, and business impact; report portfolio performance to the VP, Digital Transformation & Enablement.
• Balance near-term operational improvements with longer-term transformational opportunities.

Technology and ecosystem

• Scan emerging technologies, including generative AI and LLMs, industrial IoT, digital twins, AR/VR, analytics and AI for grid management, and quantum computing awareness.
• Maintain a technology radar that categorizes technologies as invest, explore, watch, or hold, and provide actionable briefings to leadership.
• Partner with academic institutions, vendors, startups, and UAE innovation bodies, including Hub71, DIFC FinTech Hive, and ADGM Innovation Hub.
• Represent TAQA at UAE and GCC innovation forums, conferences, and emerging technology events.

Ideation and experimentation

• Lead innovation challenges, hackathons, design thinking workshops, and ideation forums with employees, operational teams, partners, startups, and external networks.
• Promote innovation literacy, leadership sponsorship, psychological safety, and a culture of digital experimentation.
• Facilitate executive technology briefings, emerging technology workshops, and innovation portfolio reviews.
• Lead proof-of-concept and pilot design and execution, defining hypotheses, success criteria, MVP scope, and validation methods.
• Apply lean startup, design thinking, and agile methods to test ideas rapidly and support evidence-based scale-up or discontinuation decisions.
• Transition validated innovations into the Digital Factory development pipeline with documented learnings, design decisions, and business case evidence.

Investment and people responsibilities

• Develop investment cases covering strategic alignment, NPV, ROI, payback, risk, dependencies, feasibility, and expected business impact.
• Establish investment thresholds, stage-gate approvals, portfolio rebalancing, and governance for discontinued initiatives.
• Support continuous improvement and professional development, promote integrity and transparency, and contribute to team talent development.
• Promote organizational values, a collaborative and innovative environment, clear communication, and informed team decision-making.

Technical competencies

• Innovation management frameworks and pipeline governance; emerging technology evaluation; proof-of-concept design and rapid prototyping.
• Emerging technology areas include generative AI, IoT, digital twins, AR/VR, analytics, and AI tools.
• Business case development for innovation investment; technology horizon scanning; and digital value realization.

Strategic competencies

• Innovation ecosystem management and external partnerships; strategic alignment; stakeholder engagement; and innovation culture leadership.

Essential requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or equivalent.
• Nine years of relevant working experience.

Desired requirements

• Master’s degree in Information Technology or equivalent is desired.
• Twelve years of relevant working experience is desired.