Innovation Manager - Cleaning Careers

What is an innovation manager? To understand this first we need to know what the word ‘innovation’ means. The dictionary definition is ‘a new method, idea, product etc.’.

Each company will have an innovation strategy in place, and it will be the role of the innovation manager to keep the strategy in place and introduce new discoveries, methodologies, products, and services. By doing this it maintains the company’s competitiveness, allowing growth and new opportunities to develop.

As an innovation manager there Is a mixture of working independently and as part of a team. Being the manager of the team means that sometimes you must be the one to motivate them all and encourage their ideas but on the other hand sometimes they can become too fixated on their own ideas, and you have to be the person responsible to remind them of the bigger picture.

Useful skills to put in your CV:

To be able to be a successful innovation manager you will need a mixture of skills, varying from business skills, people skills and creativity:

Creativity: The ability to be able to aid and guide your team so you can achieve set goal

Innovative: The combination of being able to be creative whilst having the ability to solve problems.

Motivation: Have the ability to encourage and inspire colleagues and employees.

Communication: Is the ability to convey or share feelings/ideas effectively without any misinterpretation, misunderstandings, or misleading people.

Teamwork: Be able to work well within a team and work together to achieve the same goal.

Organisation: Be able to manage your time effectively, set goals and prioritise tasks o you are able to achieve set goals.

Negotiation: Being able to have a discussion with either a buyer or seller and resolve an issue that both parties find acceptable.

Leadership: The ability to be able to aid and guide your team so you can achieve set goal

Adaptability: Being able to adjust to any situation, sometimes with short notice and change and adapt your own actions as needed and not being phased by the change.

Independent working: The ability to work by yourself and achieve the goals you have set out.

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How Do You Get These Skills?

Vocational qualifications and work experience will help you build these skills over time.

Build Your Skills With the FREE Young Professional Programme

Qualifications and training

The qualifications that are needed to be an innovation manager is not as straightforward as taking a specific course in innovation unfortunately, but there are other qualifications that you can do to assist you in your journey to becoming an innovation manager.

Most employees when looking to hire someone in this role will select somebody who has a bachelor’s degree, even though most innovators tend to be self-educated and learn on the job. What the employer is looking for is anything that demonstrates technical and business management skills, the most common degrees are:

• Business
• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Economics
• MBA – The Master of Business Administration

If you search the UCAS website you can find various courses, degrees, and apprenticeships on each of the relevant subjects, more information can be found on course details, entry requirements etc.

Another option to explore would be doing a combined degree. Being an innovation manager requires you to envelop both your technical side but also envelop your creativity too, if you are able to do a combined course that allows you to focus on these two areas then you will stand a better chance at becoming and innovation manager.

https://www.ucas.com

Who can help?

Many professional bodies also offer a range of training opportunities, including activities that count towards continuing professional development (CPD). Find out more below:

The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc)

BICSc is the largest independent, professional, and educational body within the cleaning industry providing training and education, setting standards and procedures for cleaning. BICSc membership now stands at over 55,000 individual and corporate members in the UK and Internationally.

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM)

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) is the body for workplace and facilities professionals. IWFM empower and enable workplace and facilities professionals to expand their potential and have rewarding, impactful careers. The IWFM was established in 2018. It builds on the proud heritage of 25 years of the British Institute of Facilities Management.

Work experience is not always the easiest thing to find but it is worth not giving up on. Finding that experience in the job you want is priceless, you manage to gain knowledge of that industry and it is the perfect way to build on the relevant skills that will be needed in that job, but it is also a great way to work out whether it is the correct job for you.

Experience can come in different forms, if you are able to find someone to coach or mentor you this would be great experience, attending workshops and webinars also puts you above others. Anything that you can find to do that allows you to demonstrate and practise your leadership, strategic thinking and show you can be innovative will help you along in your journey. A lot of people take gap year when they finish education or an internship in the summer.

Innovation managers can work across numerous industries and as part of your journey you may wish to select an industry and simply focus on that sector. As well as gaining experience as an innovation manager you may also want to gain experience in those specific industries, not only will you have a basic understanding of that industry and how it works but you can see if you are suited for that industry. Let us have a look at some industries we can explore:

• Technology
• Hospitality
• Agriculture
• Construction

For more help with work experience – https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/types-of-work-experience

In all parts of the industry you can expect to:

Let us take a closer look into what goes into the day-to-day tasks:

• Identify opportunities for innovation.
• Develop and implement innovation strategies.
• Reimagine the experience for new customers in relation to the company’s products and services.
• Proposing and implement new experiences.

• Provide best practice in strategic design for new products and services.
• Integrate marketing and communication.
• Work closely with people from different areas of the company.
• Defining guidelines and policies regarding innovation.
• Introducing new products or services for internal and external customers

There are a few ways you can enter this job role, one of the ways is through your usual job search engines:

• Indeed
• Totaljobs
• Joblist
• Glassdoor
• Jobsite

It may be possible to work your way up within the company through promotions, the best way to do this is to become involved in the innovation team, attend various workshops, ask to be part of project, and join sales meetings if you can. There will be plenty of challenges within this job role but that only means you will have plenty of opportunities to grow and develop.

You can also take a look at our database of local opportunities to see if there are any relevant jobs, work placements, or careers events and workshops to help you get started.

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Click on an employer to find out more about them and the youth-friendly opportunities they offer, from work experience and apprenticeships through to graduate schemes.

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