Director, Growth Innovation
Director, Growth Innovation
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$ 158271 - 214132
1 Vacancy
Job Description
As the Director Growth Innovation you are a visionary and resultsdriven leader critical to driving the transformation and execution of our innovation strategy aligned with the companys longterm growth objectives.
This role is responsible for developing and managing a diversified innovation portfolio spanning core adjacent and transformational initiatives while ensuring alignment with strategic goals and maximizing ROI. You will lead humancentered innovation efforts by applying design thinking principles transforming new ideas and strategic choices into actionable concepts and driving successful execution across all phases of the innovation pipeline. The role also involves overseeing the evaluation and performance of innovation initiatives monitoring market trends and leveraging client insights to inform strategy and uncover new growth opportunities.
As a strategic leader you will collaborate across the organization engaging with senior leadership key business teams and external partners to ensure alignment drive change and scale innovation efforts. You will be a champion of innovation culture inspiring teams to challenge the status quo embrace experimentation and foster continuous learning. You will be responsible for driving a highperformance innovation team ensuring resource allocation and managing budgets timelines and stakeholder communications to deliver measurable and impactful results.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Primary Responsibilities
- Innovation Strategy: Lead the transformation of this function with a clear vision and strategic direction focused on driving enterprise growth. Develop and execute an innovation strategy aligned with the companys longterm objectives identifying opportunities to advance enterprise priorities and uncover new growth initiatives. Ensure the organization invests in the right projects that align with strategic goals and maximize innovation ROI. Define clear innovation objectivessuch as market leadership clientcentricity revenue growth client expansion and operational efficiencythat support the broader business strategy.
- Innovation Portfolio and Prioritization: Develop a balanced and diversified innovation portfolio that spans core adjacent and transformational initiatives aligning shortterm actions with longterm strategic objectives. Effectively prioritize initiatives based on criteria such as potential value impact complexity risk and alignment with enterprise strategic choices. Develop and implement innovation roadmaps that are wellrounded with shortterm lowrisk innovations for steady growth midterm projects for expansion or improvement and longterm innovations for transformative change and competitive differentiation. Allocate resources effectively and maintain portfolio agility by monitoring progress and adjusting for strategic shifts or external factors. Sequence efforts across multiple time horizons to ensure sustainable growth.
- HumanCentered Innovation & Execution: Drive humancentric innovation by applying design thinking principles throughout the innovation pipeline. Convert new ideas and strategic enterprise priorities into actionable concepts backed by robust business cases. Validate initiatives with target audiences through prototyping assessing performance gathering feedback and iterating to refine or pivot as needed. Ensure a smooth transition to implementation teams for launch and scaling while maintaining efficient execution and alignment with business objectives.
- Innovation Evaluation & Performance Management: Establish evaluation criteria based on market potential strategic alignment feasibility scalability risk and timetomarket. Define success through clear innovation metrics and develop frameworks to track progress and ensure measurable outcomes. Monitor the performance of innovation initiatives to ensure strong ROI through successful commercialization and market adoption. Manage budgets resources and timelines to deliver projects efficiently and maximize value. Provide transparency on spend for key initiatives making informed tradeoffs based on financial impact accuracy and likelihood of success.
- Market & Trend Analysis: Monitor market trends emerging technologies and the competitive landscape to identify innovative opportunities for differentiation and growth that advance enterprise priorities and vision. Leverage client insights to inform strategy and track trends both within and outside the financial services sector. Collaborate with client insights and competitive intelligence teams to uncover opportunity spaces and share key learnings.
- Strategic CrossFunctional Leadership: Collaborate with the internal strategy team to align efforts and maximize the value of innovation initiatives. Work seamlessly with peers and effectively manage relationships across the enterprise and with senior leadership. Engage key business and product teams in the innovation journey empowering them to take ownership of longterm implementation and scaling. Partner with client insights to develop products that exceed client expectations.
- Stakeholder Alignment & Communication: Collaborate closely with senior leadership and key stakeholders to align innovation efforts with enterprise priorities and business objectives. Communicate progress results and key insights effectively to executives and crossfunctional teams. Provide regular updates to senior leadership on milestones outcomes and lessons learned.
- External Collaboration and Innovation Program Development: Engage with external innovation programs such as PPS to uncover synergies new insights and potential partnerships. Build a network of external practitioners to stay aligned with industry trends and explore collaborative opportunities. Explore the design and implementation of internal innovation programs such as pitch competitions to highlight talent generate fresh ideas and foster an innovative mindset.
- Culture & Mindset: Cultivate a culture of innovation throughout the organization inspiring teams to challenge the status quo embrace experimentation and drive value creation. Encourage a mindset of agility adaptability and resilience in navigating ambiguity. Equip the broader organization by providing consulting and coaching on innovation methodologies and tools.
- Team Leadership & Development: Lead a highperforming innovation team of practitioners fostering an environment that encourages creativity collaboration and risktaking. Foster a culture of continuous learning and development within the team to drive individual growth and achieve innovation objectives.
Additional Responsibilities
Recruits develops and sustains a highperforming team while promoting a culture of shared accountability operational excellence and partnership across the organization.
Models Thrivents leadership competencies Model the Way Rally the Team and Deliver Outcomes.
Supports and/or develops an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement exceptional employee engagement and an unwavering commitment to our clients.
The Dir Growth Innovation reports directly to the VP Growth & Generosity Strategy & Enterprise Growth Innovation; Chief of Staff to CGGO role and interacts with key stakeholders across the organization. They will collaborate closely with leaders across the enterprise in multiple divisions and in particular with the Growth & Generosity Leadership Team (GGLT) Client Insights & Strategy Client Analytics Measurement and Reporting Finance and Communications.
QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:
Required:
Experience:
- Bachelors degree in business administration marketing engineering or a related field; masters is a plus but not
- 10 years in innovation product development or strategic leadership roles
- 5 years in a leadership capacity with team oversight
- Proven track record of leading highimpact transformative initiatives
Leadership Skills:
Strong leadership and mentoring abilities
Bias for action and a passion for driving innovation
Skilled in building and managing highperforming teams
Experience leading crossfunctional teams and driving alignment
Strategic Thinking:
Exceptional problemsolving and strategic thinking skills
Ability to develop and execute comprehensive innovation strategies
Expertise in business development processes (market research financial analysis testing new solutions)
Proficient in setting and communicating a clear vision for innovation
Innovation Expertise:
Proficiency in innovation practices tools and processes
Familiar with design thinking lean startup principles and Agile methodologies
Strong understanding of market trends emerging technologies and competitive landscapes
Execution and Value Realization:
Expertise in developing and executing innovation roadmaps and action plans
Ability to track and measure innovation success and ROI
Proven ability to drive value creation and business growth
Stakeholder and Communication Skills:
Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) with the ability to influence and inspire diverse teams and senior leadership
Proven experience in managing executivelevel relationships
Comfort presenting strategies and results to senior leadership and external partners
Agility and Adaptability:
Ability to thrive in a fastpaced changing environment
Comfort with managing risk and fostering a team that embraces experimentation
Demonstrated resilience and courage in navigating ambiguity
ResultsDriven:
Ability to create and implement test plans with clear measures and metrics
Highly analytical with the ability to turn insights into actionable strategies
Experience in financial modeling and ROI assessments for innovation projects
Cultural Leadership:
Ability to foster and sustain a culture of innovation within the organization
Skilled in conflict resolution decisionmaking and motivating diverse teams
Preferred:
Familiarity with financial services or fraternal benefit societies is a plus
Pay Transparency
Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race religion color sex gender identity sexual orientation pregnancy national origin age disability marital status citizenship status military or veteran status genetic information or any other status protected by applicable local state or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.
Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation please let us know by sending an email toor calland request Human Resources.
Required Experience:
Director
Employment Type
Full-Time
