Innovation manager (Innovatiemanager)
Information on this skill...
An innovation manager is responsible for starting up and supervising innovation projects. In short, innovation can best be described as renewal of certain processes or services within an organization. In other words, an innovation manager is responsible for developing and guiding new ideas, which will make the organization more innovative. Innovation is a broad concept, because actually all improvements can be classified as innovation. An innovation manager is therefore responsible for innovation processes. Innovation processes include the totality of actions aimed at renewing, for example, products, services, production processes or a combination of these. The elaboration of innovation processes is also called innovation diffusion. Innovation diffusion in turn relates to all steps within innovation processes such as the primary stage, the diffusion stage, the condensation stage and the final phase. Because innovation processes will in many cases run through each other, people sometimes speak of innovation waves. Innovation is not just about technical improvements. Other improvements can also be seen as innovation, such as improving management or further improving the services of organizations. The profession of innovation manager should therefore be seen as fairly general, because innovation within various types of companies, organizations and institutions can apply in different ways. In general, an innovation manager will be involved in innovation processes in a broad way, where creativity and inspiration are important words. Stimulating new ideas to become tangible is also important as an innovation manager.
Because innovation in all cases has to do with changes, an innovation manager can also be regarded as a change manager. In addition, innovation in many cases has to do with anticipation, so that an innovation manager can also be seen as a quartermaster. A quartermaster is a scout who tries to estimate how certain cooperation and / or changes will take place within the organization. It's not that an innovation manager should be seen as an inventor of new ideas, because innovation doesn't just relate to possible new ideas. Innovation also relates to the further improvement of certain services and/or production processes. In addition, in many cases it is not the innovation manager who comes up with innovation, because an innovation manager is responsible for making innovation possible. Coming up with possible new innovation can also be done by other employees within the organization, for example by engineers.
WORKING AS AN INNOVATION MANAGER
It is the innovation manager who, together with the management and manufacturers, will investigate how certain innovations can best be put on the market. In addition, other specialists may be involved in the process. Think, for example, of industrial designers who must technically be able to make certain products. Marketers can also be part of the process, because marketers ultimately have to market the products in the right way. Most organizations that use an innovation manager do this because other employees cannot be engaged in innovation processes full-time. It is therefore the innovation manager who is working full-time on innovation. In general, as an innovation manager, you work in a broad way within the organization. Innovation usually does not relate to a specific department. As an innovation manager, you will therefore have to deal with different department managers, because innovation concerns the entire organization.
WORK OF AN INNOVATION MANAGER
It is not the case that an innovation manager is responsible for coming up with innovations. An innovation manager is responsible for making innovations possible. An innovation manager therefore works together at management level with various other colleagues to make innovation possible. Think, for example, of the financial manager, the brand manager and market researchers. Because innovations within organizations are very important, an innovation manager can in many cases also be seen as a kind of trend keeper.
TASKS AS INNOVATION MANAGER:
- Managing employees;
- Supervising innovation projects;
- Testing innovation for feasibility;
- Starting up innovation projects;
- Organizing and participating in meetings;
- Translating innovation into profitability;
- Monitoring the objectives;
- Watching over the budget.
WHAT DOES AN INNOVATION MANAGER DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME AN INNOVATION MANAGER
If you aspire to a career as an innovation manager, it is best to opt for an additional hbo degree in the field of innovation management. Within the additional innovation management programme, attention is paid to change management, corporate storytelling (translating innovation) and business development. Furthermore, it is not possible to name a specific full-fledged hbo programme, because an innovation manager can work for various types of companies that can ask for specific training. The profession of innovation manager should be seen as a profession at at least hbo level. In addition, there are also plenty of external training institutes where you can follow a course. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE AN INNOVATION MANAGER CAN WORK
An innovation manager generally works for the larger companies that focus on commercial activities, for example. But an innovation manager can also work for other types of companies, because innovation does not only relate to commercial services. For example, innovation can also relate to improving the services of organizations. As an innovation manager, you can therefore work for different organizations. Think, for example, of small and medium-sized businesses, hotel chains and manufacturers. As described earlier, innovation is important in different ways. Consider, for example, universities that are engaged in innovation. An innovation manager can also work as a consultant for a consultancy firm. In that case, an innovation manager can also be regarded as an interim manager.
COMPETENCES INNOVATION MANAGER
The most important competence of an innovation manager is that the innovation manager has general management skills, because an innovation manager will manage several employees. Another important competence may be that the innovation manager must be able to be seen as an inspiration, because innovation and inspiration cannot really be seen in isolation. Communication can also be regarded as an important competence, because an innovation manager will have a lot to do with other people. Generally important words are vision, courage, critical, motivating, coaching, knowledge, planning, organizing, vigilance, control and of course innovative. Finally, it is also important to mention that an innovation manager can be regarded as a futurist.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN INNOVATION MANAGER
The labour market perspective as an innovation manager is not very large, because it concerns very specific activities. Those who have the right training will sooner or later certainly be able to find work as an innovation manager, but in most cases it is important to first gain sufficient work experience. In many cases, it is not possible to just become an innovation manager. The career opportunities as an innovation manager cannot simply be indicated because the career opportunities will be highly dependent on the company in which you work. In addition, the profession of innovation manager is already a profession at management level.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY INNOVATION MANAGER
There are no examples of the employment conditions as an innovation manager, because an innovation manager can work for various types of companies, governments and institutions that use different collective agreements. An innovation manager who has a bachelor's degree will generally earn a salary between 5000 and 8500 euros gross per month depending on age, education and further responsibilities. A higher salary is conceivable within this profession if you have many responsibilities.
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