Innovation Manager South East Asia

We are a global team of technologists designers strategists and behavioural scientists united by a commitment to harnessing technology for transformative impact. We love collaborating with those who are frustrated by the status quo and ready to address some of the worlds most pressing challenges. With our clients and partners we create bold innovative strategies & programmes to tackle urgent and preventable issues and drive impact in education health climate and more.

We want to build a diverse team with people from a range of backgrounds. You might deploy user research design thinking or service design approaches in an innovation lab. You might work for a startup or grassroots organisation eager to bring an understanding of impact and metrics to a broader portfolio of work. Or you might work for a philanthropy investor or funding institution and want to move closer to the chalkface supporting promising ideas to be tested in context and scale.

The Role:

A sharp practical innovation coach whos excited about working with government units and innovators in the Philippines and Viet Nam. Youll be the hands-on support behind two of Brinks major portfolios:

1. A UK-funded global education technology and research programme - EdTech Hubs goal is to empower people by giving them the evidence they need to make decisions about technology in education. Some of the challenges you will be tackling include:
   1. How can Lean Impact be used by government institutions in South East Asia to improve the implementation of their AI and EdTech policies and programmes in education
   2. How can a hypothesis-driven approach using strategic foresight and experimentation help narrow the learning divide in the age of AI in the global South
2. A UK-funded frontier technology programme: Frontier Tech Hub (FT Hub) is a global platform with over 10 years of experience supporting emerging tech innovation in developing markets through catalytic financing agile coaching and design-thinking methodologies business and impact modelling and storytelling. FT Hub specialises in testing risky hypotheses generating learning and supporting the development of ideas into business opportunities. Some of the challenges you will be tackling include:
   1. How can we transform climate adaptation from a perceived cost into an investment opportunity by piloting climate intelligence tech (early warning systems predictive weather data) in Viet Nam and the Philippines
   2. How might frontier technologies like robotics and AI tackle some of the biggest challenges in development globally

Youll support a mix of government start-up and non-profit organisations to define and refine their innovations test and validate them with users and build their readiness to grow. Youll know what it takes to go from early wins to sustainable scale not just through pitch decks & presentations but through deeply understanding what works and why.

When needed youll act as a coach unlocking progress and insights through deep listening and questions. At other times youll be willing to dive in and work alongside teams designing experiments engaging key stakeholders and taking them along the journey (ranging from government partners to funders) and running events to build a connected ecosystem and showcase successes.

What were looking for in an ideal candidate

1. Entrepreneurialism on behalf of the team and the problem

• An understanding that innovation is about managing uncertainty and risk accountably and measurably. As such you are able to hold teams to account while always being on their side
• Scientific but human mixing an understanding of how people tick with a desire to test ideas thoroughly and with rigour
• Able to act strategically on behalf of teams making connections and joining useful dots for them. You retain this strategic mindset even when faced with numerous and constantly shifting priorities
• Know Lean Startup inside out and back again you know how that it is both broad and thin and how to weave in human centred design research and creativity to experimentation in a way that results in velocity (You also know the difference between speed and velocity. You are not a busy fool)

2. Communication and influence

• Natural facilitator with the confidence to help teams tease apart their facts opinions and guesses. Enjoys enabling innovation in others
• An effective communicator able to relay messages clearly and influence across different organisational and geographical contexts and virtually over audio and video

3. Global outlook and experience

• Enjoys problem-solving with others in different contexts from global governments to grassroots innovators in developing countries
• Curious about the latest trends in technology and innovation and how these may impact emerging markets
• Culturally sensitive able to understand and empathise with international contexts and explore how values and beliefs play a role in innovation

4. Interpersonal skills

• Growth mindset: keen and eager to experiment and learn comfortable with not knowing all the answers yet and happy to let stuff go when it doesnt quite hit the mark
• Is interoperable: quickly establishes rapport with all kinds of people
• Enjoys making others shine: Brink is a low-ego zone that thrives on making our colleagues clients and collaborators shine
• Self-starter: proactive can get on with it has a sense of agency and a point of view

In addition to the above we would be excited to see:

• Experience or networks in emerging tech and AI in South East Asian countries (ideally in any of these areas: climate and finance tech coastal nature based enterprises in Viet Nam and the Philippines or education tech & AI in South East Asia particularly the Philippines).
• Experience of working with governments in low and middle income countries particularly in government as a scaling pathway for new ideas or how to support governments to apply evidence in decision making.
• Experience of different approaches to designing funds including an understanding of different financial instruments and grant structures.
• Evidence of thinking out loud. This could be an active social media presence a personal blog or newsletter or presence at events and conferences. We are particularly excited to see someone with a desire to grow into a thought leader in the world of technology and AI for impact.

Timeline for recruitment

• Application Launch: 6 October 2025
• Closing date: 19 October 2025 (12AM PHT)
• First stage interviews: w/c 20 October 2025
• Second stage interview (if needed): 27 - 29 October 2025
• Final offer by: 31 October 2025
• Start date: 3 November 2025

How to apply

If youre interested in joining us please click on our apply to position button. This will take you to an online application form where we will ask you to upload your CV as well as a one page letter that includes:

• Your story and why you believe this is the right role for you
• A case study or piece of work youre proud of - include links out to websites videos or other places where we can see your work. Ideally this work will be live and out in the world
• A recommendation for a book article podcast or something else thats shaped your thinking lately
• Confirmation of your location in South East Asia and right to work
• Your salary expectation or day rate

FAQs

How many years of experience do I need to have

We dont like to score people based on the number of years or higher education qualifications they have to show. We do think this role needs someone whose career is underway though and we certainly need to see evidence of the key skills weve mentioned as well as ability to work directly with clients.

Is this a fixed-term role or a permanent one

Currently it is a fixed-term role but we hope that this role can one day grow into a permanent position as we grow our regional portfolio.

Where is this role based

Brink is a remote team and we work all over the place from London Manila Nairobi Cape Town Kigali and Barcelona. For this role our preference is for Manila or Viet Nam based applicants however we will consider anyone in the South East Asian region.

Please note that we are unable to employ anyone that does not have the right to work in the country they live in and work from.

Our commitment as Brink

We hire people that dont just fit in but instead actively seek to help build and shape our culture. Thats why diversity and inclusion matters to us. We work globally across geographies contexts and organisations so embracing diversity being inclusive and treating people with equity are central to what we do; we take pleasure in being that way.