Innovation Associate in Harrow

This role supports Plexal’s Growth Partnership programme, delivering 1‑to‑1 growth support to start‑ups, scale‑ups and SMEs. As an Innovation Associate you embed in high‑potential companies, working cross‑competency projects with Innovation Services.

What You'll Do

• Engage with SMEs to understand needs and design growth plans.
• Implement bespoke support (investment, sales, brand, product, organisation, culture).
• Undertake quantitative analysis, market research and data collection.
• Support design and delivery of innovation programmes and related content.
• Monitor start‑up and innovation landscape and engage promising innovators.
• Maintain project documentation and handle financial queries.
• Manage regular interaction with external stakeholders.
• May require business travel across Plexal sites.
• Manage and influence through face‑to‑face and virtual team environments.

Subject to Security Clearance (British Citizen or 5‑year UK residency).

Essential Skills

• Highly organised with an understanding of barriers to start‑up growth and innovation practices.
• Effective customer and stakeholder engagement.
• Understanding of business strategy.
• Effective planning and prioritisation skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deliverables.
• Analytical, with the ability to think critically and articulate complex concepts and requirements.
• Competent at producing high‑quality deliverables and presentations for external audiences.
• Excellent Project Management, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Financial acumen.
• Higher Education degree, or relevant professional certifications, or equivalent knowledge gained via work experience.

Essential Experience

• 2 years' experience working in an innovative environment such as a startup, incubator, accelerator, VC, or consultancy.
• Experience with working with multiple stakeholders, such as startups and corporate clients, with an understanding of the practicalities of working in a growing company.
• Experience in facilitating and delivering external workshops or events to a high standard, both virtually and in‑person.

Desirable

• Experience and understanding of innovation processes such as lean startup.
• Experience in innovation programme delivery.
• Experience in startup mentorship.

Who You Are

• Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and operating in a constantly changing environment.
• Energised by the challenges and opportunities presented working for a high‑growth company.
• Excellent communicator with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with diverse stakeholder groups.
• Team player and motivated self‑starter who can take initiative with workload and tasks.
• Passionate interest in digital and emerging technologies with a drive to continually learn.

Why us?

• Mission: We inherit the mission of UK government and deliver it in an agile and creative fashion.
• Collaboration: We believe in the power of working together.
• Equality: We strengthen ourselves as a team by embracing the different.
• Care: People are at the heart of what we do; we care about our customers, members and colleagues.

In Return We Will Offer You

• Salary: £30,000 - 40,000 depending on skills and experience.
• Annual bonus scheme.
• A generous pension scheme (with a company contribution of up to 10%).
• Private healthcare, life assurance and critical illness cover.
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.
• Volunteering day.

Equal Opportunity

Plexal is an equal opportunities employer and we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We are a Disability Committed employer and are willing to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

About Plexal

Plexal is the innovation and growth company helping to strengthen the UK’s technology capabilities through collaboration. With teams in London, Manchester and Cheltenham, we work closely with government, industry, startups and academia to drive economic growth and reinforce national security. Founded by Delancey in 2017, Plexal delivers four core services: creating workspaces for innovators, running innovation programmes and consultancy, building regional tech clusters and helping SMEs scale strategically. By closing the gap between early‑stage and established organisations – across public and private sectors at home and abroad – we’ve impacted over 1,200 businesses, added £731m to the UK economy and helped create 9,400 jobs. Headquartered at Here East on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Plexal partners with organisations including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the National Cyber Security Centre, Airbus, Amazon, Barclays Eagle Labs, Google Cloud, TfL, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Oxford.