Innovation Lead

Innovation Lead / Kaiārahi Auahatanga

Full-time

**Company Description**

We believe that if we want to be a world class Kiwi Company, we shouldn’t just employ people, divide them into functional departments and tell them what to do. Instead, we defined a purpose - to solve what matters for our customers and their moving world - and go about achieving this by setting clear goals and expectations and embracing diversity of thought.
At Z, Customer Experience is at the heart of everything we do - our strategy, capability development and investment decisions. We're creating and continually developing products and digital channels our customers will love and that make their lives easier.

We stand for an environmentally sustainable New Zealand that is an example to the rest of the world and an inspiration to Kiwis. The products we sell are a major contributor to Aotearoa’s carbon emissions and part of the climate change problem, so we are moving to being at the heart of the solution. The Z of 2050 needs to look vastly different to today. We are actively choosing to invest in low-carbon revenue streams that are better for the planet and deliver a sustainable, viable future for our business. It is the right thing to do, for our customers and for Z.
Z Low Carbon Innovation is a fast-moving team focused on rapid and constant experimentation directly with customers. We believe if we unearth, develop and test innovative low-carbon solutions, we will transform how Z makes money, provide real value to customers and deliver sustainable and equitable outcomes for Aotearoa. We are a curious bunch of smart creatives - designers, builders, strategists, researchers, and creatives committed to identifying new low-carbon opportunities through rapid experimentation. We are excited to welcome a Low Carbon Future Innovation Lead to the Z whānau. This role holds accountability for overseeing complex innovation projects through the entire innovation cycle - framing problems, designing solutions and experimenting, keeping Z at the forefront of the energy transition and leading Aotearoa New Zealand to a carbon-free future.
**This role can be located in either Wellington or Auckland.**
**You will have the opportunity to**
- Use your design, innovation or product management background to oversee complex innovation projects through the entire innovation cycle - framing problems, designing solutions and experimenting.
- Coordinate research to refine next generation products and services as well as identify unmet needs to solve valuable problems
- Guide and partner with fellow Innovation Leads, UX designers and freelancers to develop compelling real-world prototypes for testing
- Design and deliver data driven experiments to inform decisions
- Responsible for delivering, mentoring and guiding the team on human centred design / design thinking (customer focus), lean (experimentation) and agile (iteration and optimisation) process
- Determine Minimum Viable Product requirements and Design Specifications for projects that are approved for commercialisation
- Monitor and contribute to a database of industry, customer and technology trends as a tool for identifying emerging low carbon innovation opportunities and participate in the opportunity prioritisation process

**Qualifications**

**What you’ll bring to Z**
- Relevant professional experience: ideally in a fast-moving environment - deep, hands-on experience in any combinations of the following: innovation, product management, design, but also entrepreneurial driven roles in start-ups or venture capital firms.
- A passion for creating great end user experiences and a love of all things customer
- Critical-thinking skills and analytical rigour with an appetite to draw conclusions from imperfect information
- An interest in, or exposure to future energy and technologies
- Resilience and perseverance when faced with setbacks, and the ability to quickly adapt plans
- A deep curiosity and a willingness to explore leads as they arise
- Able to frame opportunities and inform the design process to ensure design solves customer and business problems effectively

And of course, you’ll be passionate about what matters to Z, embracing and living our values to help us deliver on our aspirations and broader commitment to Aotearoa New Zealand.

**Additional Information**

**What we can offer you**
- A competitive remuneration package including short-term incentive (bonus) plan, medical insurance for you and your family, enhanced employer contribution for KiwiSaver
- Generous leave provisions including enhanced sick leave, parental leave benefits and the option to buy additional leave
- The balance of hybrid working, enjoy some of your week at home and some in our welcoming office space
- The opportunity to contribute and be part of a supportive team that is here to make a difference
- A chance to build your own capability through learning from some the industry’s most knowledgeable people who