Innovation Manager

Do you want to help the NHS find and adopt innovations that improve lives, while also supporting cutting-edge companies to bring the right solutions into health and care? We are looking for an Innovation Programme Manager to work at the interface of the NHS and industry across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, helping turn real health and care challenges into practical opportunities for innovation, adoption and impact. You will work closely with NHS organisations, clinicians and system partners to understand priorities, unmet needs and adoption barriers, while also supporting health technology companies, SMEs and innovators to navigate the NHS and develop strong routes to market.

You will build partnerships, review and triage innovations, provide advice on commercialisation and real-world validation, and help design programmes and workshops that support both system needs and business growth. We are looking for someone with commercial insight, strong stakeholder skills and the confidence to work across both NHS and industry environments. You may have experience supporting SMEs, working with clinicians or healthcare partners, or helping organisations adopt innovation in complex systems.

Main duties of the job

• Build and manage strong relationships with NHS organisations, clinicians, industry partners, academic institutions and funding bodies.
• Work with NHS partners to understand service priorities, unmet needs and opportunities where innovation can improve care, experience and efficiency.
• Support companies and innovators with NHS access, market access, commercialisation, regulation and growth.
• Identify, assess and triage promising innovations that can address regional health and care challenges.
• Design and deliver programmes, workshops and events for innovators, industry and NHS stakeholders.
• Prepare reports, briefings and presentations, and contribute to performance tracking and impact reporting.
• Travel across Kent, Surrey and Sussex as required.

About us

Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is the health innovation network for the Kent and Medway, Surrey and Sussex regions. There are 15 health innovation networks across England, established by NHS England in 2013. We transform lives through innovation by supporting health and social care teams to find, test and implement new solutions at scale to the NHS's greatest challenges, driving economic growth. We connect citizens, NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry to facilitate change across whole health and social care economies. Our impact comes from our ability to bring people, resources and organisations together, delivering benefits that could not be achieved alone.

Candidate profile

You will be confident operating at the interface between NHS priorities and industry capability, able to work independently and collaboratively, and motivated by the opportunity to improve health outcomes through innovation. You will either bring commercial experience, ideally including support for SMEs, or have worked in the healthcare sector, and have demonstrated skills in delivering results in one of these sectors. You must have sufficient experience to have the credibility to work effectively with NHS leaders, clinicians and service teams. Experience of working with innovators, healthcare partners or health and social care systems would be highly desirable, as would knowledge of investment routes, stakeholder engagement and project delivery.

General responsibilities

• To act as 'one team'.
• To promote the values of Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex.
• To share knowledge and work collegiately to mutual benefit with national and local voluntary sector organisations particularly relevant to the work theme.
• Facilitate and support colleagues working on other Health Innovation KSS programmes as required.
• To ensure effective communications within and between teams, be involved in and participate in meetings, team briefings, development days, corporate events etc.
• To engage in regular performance reviews against agreed objectives.
• To be responsible for actively identifying own development needs and committing to a personal development plan based on continuous learning.

Experience

You will be confident operating at the interface between NHS priorities and industry capability, able to work independently and collaboratively, and motivated by the opportunity to improve health outcomes through innovation. You will either bring commercial experience, ideally including support for SMEs, or have worked in the healthcare sector, and have demonstrated skills in delivering results in one of these sectors. You must have sufficient experience to have the credibility to work effectively with NHS leaders, clinicians and service teams. Experience of working with innovators, healthcare partners or health and social care systems would be highly desirable, as would knowledge of investment routes, stakeholder engagement and project delivery.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.