Senior Project Manager Innovation Strategy (m/f/d)

Munich
Global Reinsurer

The Company

Our client is one of the world's leading reinsurance companies with more than 11,000 employees at over 50 locations around the globe.

The Global Strategy Department within the division Strategy & Innovation drives strategy development and implementation for the Reinsurance Segment and the Group.

Our client is expanding its innovation activities in the core reinsurance and specialty businesses. Innovation (e.g. new products, technologies, services, market segments) are decisive for the future growth. The focus of the newly established Innovation Team is to facilitate developing an innovation strategy and provide innovation excellence to the organization.

We are looking for a strong innovation professional (m/f/d) with strategic expertise in the financial services branch, as well as excellent methodological skills and multi-year experience in leading projects and developing networks within the innovation community.

Your Tasks

  • Lead projects and advise business units and innovation topic champions on how to approach the innovation process
  • Partner with the business units to identify and generate innovation ideas and projects
  • Provide innovation management excellence: Secure that the Innovation Team members support the specific initiatives/projects with effective innovation methodologies and technics, including project management
  • Provide innovation consulting to the specific units and initiatives
  • Provide group-wide thought leadership and direction setting for innovation methodology, processes and best practices (innovation framework)
  • Design, conduct and facilitate idea generating initiatives (e.g. Design Thinking ideation workshop)
  • Act as mentor and methodology expert to internal innovation project teams (e.g. on validating customer needs, developing a business model, etc.)
  • Further evolve the approach and framework to innovation from ideation over incubation to acceleration
  • Develop, manage and maintain an active global innovation community across the Reinsurance and Specialty Group
  • Develop and implement an innovation community strategy (incl. ambition, key stakeholders, formats, etc.)
  • Connect to the various worldwide innovation teams and leaders in order to initiate change and build connections

What You Bring With You

  • Excellent university degree
  • Profound expertise in innovation, proven by relevant professional experience as an innovation professional
  • Relevant experience working in management consulting with focus on financial services
  • Multi-year experience in leading projects and advising clients; consulting background would be an advantage
  • Passion for innovation and excellent understanding of an innovation framework
  • Sound methodological skills and practical experience in ideation and innovation techniques as well as in moderating ideation workshops/events
  • Tech-savvy; proven experience in enhancing business models and/or processes by using technology and/or data
  • Excellent networking skills, an integrative personality which knows how to bring together diverse groups of thinkers as well as strong leadership skills to advise business units and innovation project teams
  • Dynamic, dedicated and committed to working independently on rapidly changing innovation initiatives as well as highly creative and able to “think outside the box”
  • Highly developed soft skills, especially strong communication and intercultural skills with a pronounced ability for knowledge transfer
  • Agile personality, willingness to travel
  • Excellent command of English, German is an advantage