Lead Specialist, Innovation Portfolio

Why This Role Matters
The Lead Specialist – Innovation Portfolio enables the organization to maximize the value of innovation investments by establishing a structured, transparent, and strategically aligned innovation portfolio. The role ensures that innovation initiatives are prioritized, governed, and managed as a balanced portfolio that supports long-term business growth, operational excellence, and transformation objectives.
By applying disciplined portfolio management practices, the role improves investment decisions, accelerates the delivery of high-value initiatives, and strengthens the organization’s ability to translate innovation opportunities into measurable business outcomes. This includes driving value realization across financial, operational, sustainability, and strategic dimensions.
The role also provides leadership with data-driven insights, portfolio transparency, and decision support, enabling effective allocation of resources and the development of a sustainable pipeline of innovation opportunities that support future competitiveness.

What You Will Deliver

• Portfolio Strategy & Governance
  • Establish and continuously enhance innovation portfolio governance frameworks, prioritization models, and investment criteria.
  • Align innovation investments with business strategy, transformation priorities, and long-term value creation objectives.
  • Strengthen executive decision-making through effective governance forums and portfolio review mechanisms.
• Innovation Investment & Prioritization
  • Optimize innovation investment decisions by evaluating opportunities based on strategic fit, value potential, risk, scalability, and feasibility.
  • Develop robust business cases and recommendations that support informed funding and portfolio allocation decisions.
  • Maintain a balanced innovation portfolio across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.
• Portfolio Performance & Value Realization
  • Define and implement portfolio performance frameworks and value realization measures.
  • Improve portfolio outcomes through continuous monitoring of innovation performance, benefits, and strategic contribution.
  • Drive portfolio optimization using performance insights, lessons learned, and measurable business impact.
• Innovation Pipeline Management
  • Build and maintain a sustainable pipeline of innovation opportunities and emerging technology initiatives.
  • Enhance portfolio resilience through balanced management of initiatives across varying maturity levels and risk profiles.
  • Accelerate progression of high-potential concepts through validation, piloting, and portfolio review processes.
• Stakeholder Alignment & Delivery Enablement
  • Foster collaboration across Innovation, Technology Operations, Data & AI, and business functions to accelerate innovation delivery.
  • Resolve portfolio dependencies, resource constraints, and execution risks that affect portfolio performance.
  • Promote alignment among sponsors, initiative owners, and delivery teams to improve execution effectiveness.
• Strategic Insights & Executive Reporting
  • Deliver executive-level portfolio reporting that provides visibility into performance, risks, opportunities, and investment effectiveness.
  • Generate actionable insights that support strategic planning, budgeting, and innovation roadmap development.
  • Influence leadership decisions through evidence-based portfolio recommendations and performance analysis.

What Success Looks Like

• Innovation investments demonstrate clear alignment with strategic business priorities.
• Portfolio governance frameworks enable transparent and effective decision-making.
• Innovation initiatives deliver measurable financial, operational, sustainability, and strategic value.
• A balanced pipeline of innovation opportunities is maintained across multiple maturity levels.
• Leadership receives timely, accurate, and actionable portfolio insights.
• Portfolio resources are optimized to maximize innovation outcomes and business impact.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Technology, Innovation Management, or a related discipline.

Experience

• 10–12 years of progressive experience in innovation management, strategy execution, technology portfolio management, PMO, or transformation environments.
• Experience managing complex cross-functional initiatives and stakeholder environments.
• Experience supporting strategic investment decisions, portfolio governance, and value realization initiatives.
• Experience within mining, industrial, manufacturing, energy, or other technology-intensive sectors is preferred.

Skills That Matter

• Functional Expertise
  • Innovation Portfolio Management
  • Portfolio Governance & Stage-Gate Frameworks
  • Strategic Prioritization
  • Investment Planning & Business Case Development
  • Value Realization Management
  • Innovation Pipeline Management
• Business & Delivery
  • Strategic Planning
  • Portfolio Performance Management
  • Executive Reporting & Dashboarding
  • Budgeting & Investment Analysis
  • Risk Assessment & Portfolio Optimization
  • Data-Driven Decision-Making
• People & Collaboration
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Influencing & Communication
  • Facilitation & Alignment
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Business Acumen