Innovation Analyst

Innovate UK has the following secondment opportunity available for employees of Innovate UK Business Connect. The Innovation Analyst will provide support to the Innovation team and wider Senior Management Team.

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context: Innovate UK is Ofgem’s delivery partner for the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund is the largest UK energy innovation fund, established in 2021 as a £450 million funding programme designed to drive innovation and transformation in energy networks. From 2026, this funding is increasing by a further £500m. Innovation is critical to ensuring networks can facilitate decarbonisation across Britain's energy system.

Job Purpose: The Innovation Analyst will provide support to the Innovation team and wider Senior Management Team. You will have a keen interest in the energy sector and enthusiasm to build capabilities in engineering, whole system thinking, energy sector digitalisation and effective policy and regulation. You will bring knowledge and experience of programme management, good written and verbal communication skills and familiarity with tools such as MS Excel, PowerPoint and Mural.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Support the preparation of slides and documentation for project Stage Gates and other meetings led by the Head of Innovation and Innovation Leads.
• Lead the organisation and administration of meetings, workshops and events such as Innovation Delivery Groups, Stage Gates, application decision meetings, team workshops etc.
• Attend meetings as required, including note/minute taking demonstrating your ability to distil information into key insights, decisions and action points from discussions.
• Support Innovation Leads with the creation of Project Insight Cards and Programme Insight Notes to disseminate learnings from across the SIF portfolio.
• Attend external events and disseminate key discussion points and learnings to the Innovation Leads.
• Build and maintain good working relationships, setting expectations and improving co-operation.
• Gather project data on costs, benefits and benefits realisation to support the work of the Impact Lead.
• Work with the wider SIF team to lead the Innovation team activities on application cycles.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Person Specification: This position requires an organised and proactive person with great interpersonal and communication skills alongside a technical background and interest in developing expertise in the energy system. We need someone who is comfortable managing multiple priorities, happy to be flexible and can make an impact quickly.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Essential – Degree or post-graduate qualification in a subject relevant to clean growth, energy, engineering or a related technical discipline or significant proven experience.
• Experience in energy system decarbonisation, grid innovation, or network operations.
• Experience in report writing and presentation slides development.
• Experience in translating technical outputs into accessible insights for non-technical audiences.
• Proven track record to build effective collaborative relationships with internal and external colleagues.
• Experience in using MS Excel and MS PowerPoint.
• Good technical and analytical skills, capable of interpreting complex data and project outputs and identifying and summarising key points.
• Ability to prioritise a workload across multiple work streams.
• Excellent attention to detail, delivered consistently to a high standard.
• Excellent communication and self-organisation skills.

Competencies: All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as: Thinking and Problem Solving, Stakeholder management, Communication skills, Influencing, Self-awareness/self-management, Strategic awareness, Working with others, Project management.

Travel Requirements: Field-based: There will be a requirement to travel, mostly national, and there is some flexibility in this. Innovate UK staff make extensive use of telepresence tools for meetings to minimise unnecessary travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met.

Employee Benefits: We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Pre-employment Screening: To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.