Head of Regional Innovation Partnerships (Glasgow)

Application Deadline: 6 April 2026

Department: Built Environment & Local Growth

Location: Glasgow

Compensation: £80,000 – £89,000 / year

Contract type / Duration: Permanent

Working hours: Full time (9day Fortnight companywide)

Band: 4.3

Reports to: Regional & Local Growth Director and Intelligence Hub Manager (GCC)

Internal job code: RC073

Closing date: 9am on the 14th April 2026

The Role

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

• Led by the GCR Innovation Action Plan, build partnerships across the Glasgow City Region (GCR) 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 the Glasgow City Region, the Scottish Cities Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government, Innovate UK in Scotland 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 understand 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/engagements.
• Lead stakeholder management and relationship building at senior levels to ensure buy‑in to innovation delivery.
• Recognised thought leadership.
• 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 the contracting with Legal and Commercial team.
• Assure the quality of client delivery.
• Act as Senior Responsible Officer on delivery programmes and projects.
• Oversee programme budgets.
• Ensure dissemination and feedback on Connected Places Catapult standard internal communications.
• Support the development of others in your professional community\’s skills to ensure consistency of service delivery and expertise.
• Coach and mentor junior colleagues.
• Drive high attendance at internal 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.
• You may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.

Required Competencies

• Provide coaching and feedback that drives development, innovation, creativity, and delivery in the 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 prioritise tasks and delegate 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.

Benefits

• 9 day fortnight for everyone, we have a full company shutdown every other Friday.
• 23.5 holiday entitlement for everyone, with pro‑ration 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‑ration 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.