At a Glance
- Tasks: Coordinate innovation strategies and manage cross-functional projects to drive impactful change.
- Company: Roke, a leader in tech innovation with a rich 70-year heritage.
- Benefits: Flexible working environment, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Work in beautiful locations with a supportive and dynamic team.
- Why this job: Be at the forefront of innovation, shaping the future with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Experience in project management and a passion for science and technology.
The predicted salary is between 56700 - 69300 £ per year.
Built on a 70-year heritage, Roke offers specialist knowledge in sensors, communications, cyber, and AI and ML. We change the way organisations think and act – through dynamic insights from the analysis of multiple layers of data. We take care of the innovative, technical stuff that keeps everyone safe – that’s our mission, passion, and motivation.
The Science & Technology (S&T) function within Roke Global Services is being established to provide a coherent coordination layer across innovation, strategy, road mapping and knowledge management. The function balances client demand, technology push and operational priorities to shape direction, accelerate innovation pull-through, maximise reuse of knowledge and intellectual property, and build future-ready capability across Global Services. This role will sit at the centre of that function, helping connect people, processes, information and priorities into a single, organised and effective operating rhythm.
We are looking for an experienced, organised and highly detail-oriented Delivery Manager to help cohere the whole S&T function. Reporting into the S&T leadership team, the role will coordinate the moving parts of the function, provide ownership of selected areas of activity, and ensure the right cadence, governance, reporting and follow-through are in place. The successful candidate will be comfortable operating across multiple stakeholders and topics, from applied innovation and strategic planning through to communications, knowledge sharing and cross-functional coordination. Experience with innovation, science and technology environments is essential; experience with Power BI and AI-enabled approaches would be highly beneficial to improve dashboards, reporting and knowledge analysis.
Job Purpose & Key Responsibilities
- Act as the central coordination point for the S&T function, ensuring coherence across applied innovation, road mapping, strategy and knowledge management.
- Establish and maintain the operating rhythm for S&T, including governance, planning cycles, reviews, reporting, action tracking and stakeholder engagement.
- Own selected parts of the function as required, driving them forward from concept through implementation and into business-as-usual operation.
- Coordinate the interfaces between S&T and Engineering, Product, Sales, Accounts, Partner Services, Operations and wider leadership to ensure alignment and progress.
- Support the management of innovation activity, including tracking ideas, coordinating gate reviews, maintaining portfolio visibility and helping ensure pull-through into deliverable capability or product outcomes.
- Maintain a clear programme-level view of priorities, risks, issues, dependencies, resource demand and delivery progress across the S&T function.
- Develop dashboards, reporting views and management information to support decision-making, transparency and performance tracking across S&T.
- Coordinate knowledge management activities across S&T, including the flow, curation and distribution of insight from problem books, IP, Communities of Interest, roadshows, show-and-tells and lunch-and-learns.
- Support the creation and maintenance of integrated roadmaps covering future skills, tooling, technology direction and capability readiness.
- Help shape and coordinate strategic initiatives, including AI-related activity, communications planning, academic engagement and thought leadership where appropriate.
- Build trusted working relationships with senior stakeholders, sub-function leads and contributors across the business, ensuring actions are understood and followed through.
- Ensure artefacts, plans, trackers, decisions and outputs are well structured, version controlled and maintained to a high standard.
- Provide timely and accurate reporting, including progress updates, KPIs, risks, issues and recommendations for intervention or escalation.
- Identify opportunities to improve how S&T works, including the use of automation, AI-assisted analysis, Power BI dashboards and improved knowledge management practices.
- Uphold Roke policies, governance requirements and good delivery discipline while remaining pragmatic, collaborative and outcome-focused.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
- Strong programme or senior project management experience in complex, cross-functional environments.
- Experience working in science, technology, innovation, engineering or adjacent delivery settings where multiple workstreams and stakeholders must be coordinated.
- Excellent organisational skills with a very high level of attention to detail, able to track many moving parts without losing sight of the bigger picture.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to bring together contributors from different disciplines and levels of seniority.
- Demonstrable experience of turning ambiguity into structure through plans, governance, reporting, prioritisation and follow-through.
- Strong analytical capability, able to interpret information, identify themes, connect dependencies and support evidence-based decision-making.
- Experience creating dashboards, reports or management information using tools such as Power BI would be highly desirable.
- Familiarity with AI tools, AI-enabled workflows, or knowledge management approaches would be beneficial, particularly where these improve insight, efficiency or decision support.
- Good understanding of innovation processes, technology trends, and how ideas progress into operational value, products or customer outcomes.
- Comfortable working across strategy, planning, knowledge sharing, coordination and delivery support rather than within a single narrow project scope.
- Proactive, self-starting and adaptable, with the judgement to escalate when needed and the discipline to drive actions to completion.
- Relevant project, programme or portfolio management qualifications are desirable (e.g. APM, MSP, Prince2, PMI or similar).
Where you’ll work
Romsey (HQ) - You’ll find our Romsey site located within beautiful Hampshire countryside, close to the picturesque New Forest District and not far from a superb stretch of the south coast. This is no corporate concrete jungle; this is a manor house site, with ample parking an on-site gym and a driveway full of daffodils in the spring.
Woking - You’ll find our Woking site in a modern building on the outskirts of London. Rated excellent for sustainability by BREEAM & Fitwel certified – you’ll feel better for visiting. This site provides key links to our customers in London, is a 5-minute walk from the train station, has secure parking nearby and dedicated cycle storage.
Clearance
Due to the nature of this position, we require you to be eligible to achieve DV clearance.
Innovation Portfolio Manager in Woking employer: Roke
Roke is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment that fosters collaboration and innovation within the National Security sector. With a strong commitment to employee growth, we provide access to flexible benefits, professional development opportunities, and a supportive culture that values diversity and inclusion. Join us in a role where your contributions directly impact project success while being part of a community that shares your passion for technology and excellence.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Innovation Portfolio Manager in Woking
✨Leverage Innovation Hubs
Tap into local innovation hubs and research centres. These places often host events and workshops where you can meet like-minded people and industry leaders. Plus, they might have job openings that aren't widely advertised, so keep your ears open!
✨Showcase Your Projects
Turn your past innovation projects into compelling stories. Create a portfolio showcasing your creativity and problem-solving skills. This can give hiring managers a real flavour of what you can bring to the table at companies like Roke.
✨Connect at Industry Conferences
Make it a point to attend industry conferences and seminars focused on R&D and innovation management. These events are fantastic for networking and often have job boards or career fairs where you can connect directly with firms looking for talent.
✨Use Your University’s Resources
If you're fresh out of university, don't forget to tap into your institution's career services. They often have exclusive partnerships with companies seeking new talent in R&D, especially for full-time roles. It's a good shortcut to landing a gig at places like Roke.
We think you need these skills to ace Innovation Portfolio Manager in Woking
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Creative Thinking:In innovation and R&D management, it's all about thinking outside the box. Make sure your CV highlights any projects or experiences that showcase your creative problem-solving skills. Use specific examples to illustrate how you've developed and implemented innovative ideas in previous roles.
Tailor Your Experience to R&D:When you're crafting your CV, focus on your experience in research and development. Highlight any relevant projects you've worked on, including methodologies used and results achieved. This will show us at Roke that you understand the R&D process and can contribute meaningfully to our projects.
Let Your Passion Shine in the Cover Letter:For a full-time role like this, your cover letter should reflect your genuine passion for innovation and development. Share your excitement about the opportunity to work at Roke and touch on how your goals align with our mission. This helps us see your motivation for wanting to join our team!
Quantify Your Achievements:Numbers speak volumes in R&D! Whenever possible, quantify your achievements in your CV. Whether it’s a percentage improvement in project outcomes, the budget size you’ve managed, or the number of successful products you've launched, these figures will help paint a clearer picture of your impact and capabilities.
How to prepare for a job interview at Roke
✨Show Off Your Innovative Thinking
In an Innovation R&D Management role at Roke, they're going to want to see how you approach problem-solving. Be ready to discuss previous projects where you introduced a new idea or process. Highlight your ability to think outside the box and provide examples where your innovations drove significant results.
✨Familiarity with Tools and Technologies
Make sure you're clued up on the latest tools and technologies related to innovation management, such as project management software and data analysis platforms. Being able to discuss specific tools you’ve used or have experience with will show Roke that you’re ready to hit the ground running.
✨Demonstrate Collaboration Skills
Since this is a full-time gig, emphasising your teamwork skills will be essential. In innovation, collaboration often sparks the best ideas, so be ready to talk about how you've worked effectively within cross-functional teams in your past roles. Have concrete examples at the ready!
✨Prepare for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect some scenario-based questions in your interview that reflect real challenges you might face in the role. £At Roke, they might want to see how you handle tight deadlines or manage conflicting ideas within a team. Prepare some responses that demonstrate your critical thinking and decisiveness in high-pressure situations.
