Head of Regional Innovation Partnerships (Cardiff)

Contract type/Duration: Permanent

Working hours: Full time

Band: 4.1

Salary: £68,980 to £77,147 (depending on office location and proven ability)

Reports to: Head of Regional and Local Growth

Technical Location: Cardiff (minimum of two days a week in the office. You can do more than two days if preferable)

Closing date: 10am 28th of May 2026

Connected Places Catapult (CPC) is partnering with Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) to look for a new Head of Regional Innovation Partnerships in the Regional & Local Growth Directorate. This postholder will have two core priorities:

• Led by the Cardiff Capital Region Innovation priorities, build partnerships across the region which drive business growth and speed up the journey of local innovation businesses from discovery to commercialisation. This could mean anything from driving new investment, bidding for R&D grants or providing opportunities for tech transfer.
• Lead CPC's relationship with Cardiff Capital Region, the Welsh Government, the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, Innovate UK in Wales and stakeholders across the region. You will help regional stakeholders to reach into CPC's breadth of experience running programmes across transport, the built environment and cities.

Within CPC, the role is a leadership role and might be asked to oversee, support and line manage individuals embedded in other regional innovation economies across the UK. You will be a member of the Regional & Local Growth Directorate's leadership team, working with other Heads across the business - especially the Head of Regional Delivery - to shape and deliver new programmes that unlock local business growth through innovation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deeply understanding the needs of relevant partners with respect to bridging the gap between innovation and the market.
• Shape, lead and deliver value through guiding innovative delivery projects/strategy and engagements.
• Lead stakeholder management and relationship building at senior levels to ensure buy-in to innovation delivery.
• Develop and produce recognised thought leadership.
• Assure the quality of client delivery.
• Oversee programme budgets.
• Act as Senior Responsible Officer on delivery programmes and projects.
• Support the development of others in your professional community's skills to ensure consistency of service delivery and expertise.
• Coach and mentor junior colleagues.
• Ensure dissemination and feedback on Connected Places Catapult standard internal communications.
• Drive high attendance at professional community activities and events.
• Maintain own professional development.
• Ensure an ethos of equity, inclusivity and diversity underpin your work activity, contribute to inclusive innovation across all Catapult activities.

Working closely with your peers in Regional & Local Growth Directorate and Cardiff Capital Region:

• Support the team to meet revenue targets.
• Lead the development of collateral to support ‘go to market’ propositions and service offerings.
• Work with account leads and teams to support opportunity identification, qualification and contracting.
• Oversee and ensure compliant use of CRM process and system.
• Ownership of pipeline management for accounts and business development.
• Manage contracting with Legal and Commercial team.

You may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise:

• Provide coaching and feedback that drives development, innovation, creativity, and delivery in team using key metrics and data points, offers challenge and support as required to maintain high performance.
• Use emotional intelligence to create an environment where team members feel safe to experiment, challenge and try new things.
• Seek, encourage and create the conditions for continuous improvements in processes, systems, behaviours and ways of working.
• Build motivation and engagement in the team through understanding of the person, their aspirations and development needs.
• Manage performance through effective goal setting based on business and role objectives and development needs or desires.
• Complete regular one-on-one discussions and performance reviews that ensure clarity over performance levels and development areas.
• Provide clarity of expectations and take ownership of wider team performance.
• Managing change, navigating the team through the 'transition fog', mitigating resistance, and ensuring everyone's on board with the new direction.
• Organise the work and team around multiple simultaneous initiatives, with reference to key policies, practices and procedures, effectively prioritises tasks and delegates effectively.
• Use management information to understand trends, gaps, challenges and opportunities and make commercial decisions.
• Actively build an inclusive and sustainability focused team culture that celebrates the value of diverse experiences and perspectives, ensures team compliance with policies, and apply equalities impact assessments on all aspects of work at CPC.
• Working in triple helix innovation environments.
• Ownership of innovation projects and/or programmes of at least £1m, and experience of programmes greater than £25m.
• Exposure to public sector procurement and subsidy control processes.
• Working with multi-layer governance and boards for advice and decision making.
• Practical understanding of the complete innovation pipeline.
• Working with up to C-level executives across both public and private sector.
• Established regional networks, and reach into public sector innovation related bodies for example UKRI.

Benefits:

• 9 day fortnight for everyone, every other Friday.
• 23.5 holiday entitlement for everyone, with pro-rata calculations for part-time employees, along with a Christmas shutdown period for additional days off.
• Competitive pension, up to 10% company contribution to help you save for your future.
• Two paid days of volunteering leave per year (pro-rata for part-time employees) to support charitable activities.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing 24/7 confidential work/life support services to you and your immediate family members.
• Cycle to Work Scheme encouraging a healthy and sustainable commute.
• Cash Health Plan, offering reimbursement for a wide range of essential and everyday healthcare expenses, promoting your well-being.
• Payroll Giving scheme, allowing regular charitable contributions from pre-tax income, maximizing the impact of your donations.
• Discounts and offers from a wide variety of retailers, enhancing your purchasing power and providing savings opportunities.
• Mortgage Advice benefit, delivered in partnership with Charles Cameron & Associates – provides employees with free, expert mortgage advice and end-to-end mortgage support from the application process through to completion.

Employment here is based solely upon individual merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. We strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy status, sex, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, mental or physical disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics protected by law. We also make all reasonable accommodations to meet our obligations under laws protecting the rights of the disabled.