Innovation Consultant - Established Behavioural Scientist in Cambridge

Role Level: Mid-level role, with proven experience

Role type: Permanent

About Innovia

Innovia Technology makes innovation breakthroughs happen for the world’s leading companies. We solve complex innovation challenges and create new opportunities so our clients can outperform competitors and change the world for good.

Our clients include Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, LEGO, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Haleon, Shell, IWC Schaffhausen, Kenvue, Kraft Heinz, and The North Face. Clients work with Innovia Technology because our work leads to products and services that customers prefer - reaching markets faster and more efficiently than any realistic alternative.

The Opportunity

Deeply knowledgeable about human behaviour and ready to deliver real-world impact for clients? We have a mid-level consulting role that is suited to candidates who are looking to broaden their professional experience, taking on client and project responsibility. The role is ideal for someone with a strong academic background and applied experience who is motivated to pursue a consulting career in a creative, exploratory, and holistic environment.

What’s different about a role at Innovia is that you won’t join an isolated behavioural science department, but instead will jointly own complex problems with colleagues of a wide range of backgrounds - from product design to veterinary medicine, theoretical physics, plant science, engineering, business strategy, and many more. Consultants at Innovia work at the front-end of innovation - ideation, experimentation, concept testing, prototyping, and idea development.

Whilst experience in managing innovation projects is not a prerequisite for this role, we are looking for someone with the motivation to take full ownership of complex multidisciplinary innovation projects and the ability to take ownership of substantial tasks. We'll work with you to support your development - depending on your past experience this might involve shadowing experienced managers, mentoring or initially taking ownership of less demanding assignments.

You don’t need direct experience of innovation or consultancy but it is important that you have the skills and motivation to build relationships with clients and work within the constraints of business and commerce such as tight deadlines, uncertainties, and adapting to client needs.

What You'll Work On

From improving adherence to over‑the‑counter medicines, to reshaping retail experiences, supporting healthier ageing, or developing interventions that reduce drink‑driving, you will work on tackling real‑world challenges our clients face. We apply structured thinking and behavioural insight pragmatically to help clients reduce uncertainty, make better decisions and move ideas forward at pace, across sectors including healthcare, transport, energy, food, and sustainability.

Key Responsibilities

• Apply behavioural science expertise to solve innovation problems across a wide range of sectors.
• Structure ambiguous problems using analytical and creative thinking to generate and evaluate early‑stage ideas aligned with client objectives.
• Contribute to our primary research capabilities: planning studies, analysing and interpreting data.
• Contribute behavioural insight to projects through pragmatic application of behavioural theory and existing evidence.
• Collaborate closely with consultants from different fields, integrating perspectives and contributing to shared problem ownership.
• Take on project management responsibilities for innovation projects, with ownership increasing over time and support or training as needed. This will involve planning, supplier and client liaison, team coordination, and day‑to‑day delivery.
• Work within defined ethical guidelines, applying appropriate standards of rigour to commercial project work.
• Contribute to selling new projects, including creating compelling proposals and work programmes, and embedding awareness of client‑business issues into project delivery.

The Candidate

Essential Capabilities

Technical and research expertise

• A postgraduate degree (PhD or MSc) in behavioural science, psychology, or a closely related applied field.
• A strong understanding of human behaviour and motivation, with curiosity about how behavioural insight can be applied in practice.
• Experience applying behavioural science in health, medical, technology, or related fields through prior roles, qualifications, or applied outputs.
• Some experience working in a clinical, industrial, or commercial setting.
• Experience designing and delivering quantitative and/or qualitative research appropriate to the problem context.
• Confidence using some quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques (e.g. multiple regression, Bayesian analysis, thematic analysis), with judgement about appropriate levels of rigour.

Consulting and commercial capability

• Have provided behavioural insight or advice to stakeholders to support decision‑making.
• Be able to present insights and recommendations clearly to clients or internal stakeholders.
• Show awareness of commercial, regulatory, and organisational constraints and work within them.
• Be broadly aware of sociopolitical issues impacting individuals, businesses and societies.

Collaboration and ways of working

• Work effectively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Be motivated to engage with projects and sectors where behavioural science may not be the dominant discipline.
• Show curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to apply core principles pragmatically to unfamiliar problems.

Desirable Experience

It would be an advantage (but not essential) if you also have experience:

• Addressing challenges within complex systems such as public or private healthcare.
• Providing professional services within health-related or technology-led organisations.

Important Practical Considerations

Office attendance: For this role, we offer hybrid working on Mondays and Fridays, but a new joiner is expected to come to the office more frequently in the first few weeks to attend induction meetings and meet with relevant stakeholders.

Remote working: Unfortunately, this role is not suitable for applicants who wish to work 100% remotely.

Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Role type: Permanent

Tech: We primarily use Apple laptops in our business.

Applications deadline: apply as soon as you can to have the best chance of success.

Right to work: The successful candidate must, by the commencement of employment, have the right to work in the UK.

Visa sponsorship: Innovia Technology may be able to sponsor a visa for this role, subject to Home Office eligibility requirements.

Confidentiality: Our clients trust us to work on their most complex and challenging projects. As a Innovation Consultant, you’ll be working directly on commercially sensitive projects. You will need to maintain confidentiality at all times. This means you won’t be able to share detailed information about your work in articles, social media, or public talks unless this is discussed and agreed with Innovia Technology.

Interview Process

Throughout the entire process, we'll explore:

• Your deep knowledge and understanding of behavioural science fundamentals
• Your skills in creativity and innovation
• Your aptitude to lead and manage complex interdisciplinary innovation projects

Stage 1: 30-minute technical interview via Zoom, exploring your understanding of subject-specific fundamentals.

Stage 2: If you are selected, you'll be invited to an in-person interview in our offices in Cambridge to further explore your technical skills. The interview will last up to 2.5 hours.

Stage 3: If you are selected to progress to the final stage, you’ll be invited to an in-person consultancy aptitude interview. The interview will last up to 1.5 hours.

How to Apply

Go to the ‘Apply for this job’ button. You’ll answer a few questions and need to upload two documents:

• Your CV and Academic Transcripts (which should list the modules with grades you've obtained on your degree)
• Your Cover Letter (no more than 1 page long). Your covering letter should briefly describe your skills, motivation and interest in the role.

CV and cover letter files must be up to 15MB to upload.

Benefits

• Free buffet lunch provided daily
• Casual dress code
• Innovation and consultancy training
• True multidisciplinary working and collaboration
• Closely integrated into project teams
• Fully accessible office and adaptations to interview - tell us about your needs
• Free parking and bike racks monitored by CCTV

For more information on our benefits please visit our website: https://www.innoviatech.com/insight/the-benefits-of-working-at-innovia/

Reasonable adjustments

If you are invited to an interview, please let us know if you have any special requirements to support you with by emailing us at hr@innoviatech.com

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Our commitment

We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive workplace, are actively seeking to improve the diversity of our teams and welcome applications from under-represented groups. We treat people equitably regardless of their age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, or political views. We especially encourage applications from people who are members of protected groups.