Key Responsibilities

About the Role

The Innovation & Market Development Executive will develop and deliver activities, events, and collaborations that will strategically support the growth of commercial creative enterprises and support ecosystem development and enterprise growth for entrepreneurs and businesses in the creative industries sector (CreaTech) across the western seaboard.  

Working closely with the CEO, the Programme & Community Manager, and the Board, the Innovation & Market Development Executive will be responsible for developing a range of projects and activities to support an increased rate of start-up businesses and to accelerate the growth of existing businesses to advance the progress of creative digital entrepreneurs and enterprise within the region. 

The Innovation & Market Development Executive will play a key role in developing a network of practice along the Atlantic region building relationships with the Creative Industries community as well as policy makers, government, and other enterprise support providers.  Additionally, the Innovation & Market Development Executive will develop new, and build upon existing, international partnerships to support the globalization of Ireland’s Creative Tech sector.   

Main Objectives 

• Develop and deliver initiatives for members of the creative digital start-up ecosystem across the West, Northwest & Southwest of Ireland 
• Onboarding and supporting CREW members. Be their voice, promote, connect, and advocate. 
• Provide mentoring for companies in the creative digital sector located throughout the region with a focus on developing international export markets. 

• Accelerate introductions – adding value to members through relevant introductions. 
• Develop bespoke initiatives for partners and the wider creative digital technology community in the region. 
• Orchestrate a collaborative partnership between our client and strategic regional, national, and international partners. 
• Work closely with members of the team to deliver on strategy and KPIs. 
• Project Applications, Proposals, Grant Management, preparation of and monitoring of budgets. 

• Stakeholder management, alumni engagement and growing our client’s network. 
• Help build an engaged national and international community of thought leaders, domain experts and industry innovators to support initiatives. 
• Assist the executive team with the acquisition and onboarding of new partners including corporate clients. 
• Coordinate and manage events, projects and initiatives that foster a culture of innovation.  
• Support the team in running the Innovation Hub operation on a day-to-day basis, always looking for continuous improvement. 

• Proactively engage with the community including academia, industry, investors, and the public sector to understand their needs and offerings in relation to the creative digital tech innovation and start-up ecosystem. 
• Contribute to other activities to support the efficient and effective delivery of initiatives to support the regional start-up ecosystem. 
• Public speaking, representing our client at conferences and events. 
• Desk research, reporting and continuous engagement with international best practice.  
• Social Media support to increase the visibility and reach.

About You 

• You think outside the box, are highly self-motivated, solution focused and are passionate about innovation and startups. 
• Embedded and well-networked you have a strong working knowledge of the Creative Industries and start-up world. 
• Passionate about the potential for platforms to enable entrepreneurship, and excited about playing a role in accelerating the creative entrepreneurship start-up ecosystem. 

• A strong team player, you excel in leveraging the skills and resources of multiple team members to deliver activities on time and to a high standard, embracing teamwork, and fostering a collaborative and positive environment. 
• You are agile and thrive on working in a challenging, fast-paced, and dynamic environment, are dependable and consistent, and strong in planning, priority setting and execution.
• You are a team player: flexible around job responsibilities and willing to jump in and help where needed. 
• You have strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate to a variety of audiences. You are skilled at translating complex ideas and concepts into high quality decks and presentations. 
• You are a great organiser with a strong ability to multitask to meet deadlines. You know how to manage projects effectively and engage people to meet milestones. 
• You have a strong presence and the ability to act effectively as a brand ambassador.  

• With a constant curiosity and a desire to learn new things, you are prepared to highlight when you need help. Independently driven, you are always looking to improve your productivity by learning new tools and methods. 
• A strategic thinker with the ability to synthesize research and ideas into meaningful and powerful presentations and possess dynamic problem-solving skills. 
• With experience in event management and coordination, you have a persuasive presence and can adjust your communication style depending on the audience and context. You are comfortable speaking in front of people. 
• Excellent attention to detail, keeping the big picture in sight. You are able and willing to work on a variety of tasks. You understand the commercial reality of business and can shape offerings and strategies that fit with given constraints. 
• Ability to use modern technology platforms, and learn quickly (Office 365, Trello, Slack, Google Docs/Slides, XERO, Office R&D, Mailchimp, etc.) 
• The ability to speak Irish or have an interest in the Irish Language would be an advantage.