Belong to Something Amazing…
Catalyst is recruiting an Innovation Consultant to join our dynamic Open Innovation Team.
Role Overview:
The Innovation Consultant is a delivery-focused, commercially minded role within Catalyst’s Open Innovation team, responsible for designing and delivering bespoke innovation engagements with private sector clients.
Acting as a trusted partner, the consultant will identify opportunities, lead discovery, facilitate workshops, shape strategic proposals and guide clients through their innovation journey, from scoping to implementation. A key part of this role is facilitating inclusive innovation through grand challenges, enabling diverse stakeholders to collaborate on complex problems and co-create impactful solutions. This role blends elements of consulting, stakeholder engagement, and business development, with a strong emphasis on generating actionable insights, driving measurable impact, and building collaborative networks.
About Catalyst:
We are a non-profit organisation that supports science and technology innovation in Northern Ireland with buildings and hubs in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry where companies can use our flexible workspaces to operate from. We use the profits generated from our property portfolio to deliver entrepreneurial support programmes, facilitate funding, inform policy and accelerate technology-based research and development, by linking with academia and government.
Working at Catalyst:
A certified Great Place to Work® and recognised as one of the top 100 Workplaces in the UK for 2024, receiving awards for Best Place to Work, Best Workplace for Development, Best Workplace for Employee Wellbeing, and Best Place to Work for Women, Catalyst is one of Northern Ireland’s most exciting employers.
With a strong vision of Opportunity for all from world-leading innovation, this is a workplace brimming with ambition to create social, cultural, and economic advantage. We are a force for good, bold in our approach with integrity at our core and passion in everything we do.
Diversity and Inclusion at Catalyst:
Diversity and inclusion aren’t boxes to tick on a CSR list. At Catalyst, they are part of our DNA, lived, breathed, seen, and heard across our community, projects, and co-working spaces.
We not only want to foster and empower a culture of innovation, but also an environment where people can be their true, authentic self and thrive, and we are proud to be recognised by the Diversity Charter for achieving silver status, with ambitions to progress to Gold.
As an equal opportunity employer, we recruit based solely on the individual’s ability to perform the role, and that’s allowed us to create an inclusive workplace which celebrates the diversity of our teams and community.
Key Information:
- Full time, permanent contract.
- Attractive benefits package
- Competitive salary up to £45,000 depending on qualifications/experience.
- Based in Belfast, Titanic Quarter or Derry-Londonderry.
- Reporting to Director of Innovation Partnerships.
Employee Perks:
- Competitive Benefits Package including Private medical insurance for you and your dependents
- Generous pension contribution
- Generous life assurance policy
- Enhanced parental leave packages
- Hybrid working options available
- Free open access to company organised events.
What Are We Looking For?
You’ll bring a delivery-first mindset and thrive in fast-paced environments. This role isn’t about selling a product, it’s about building relationships, identifying opportunities and co-delivering impactful innovation services.
You’ll be front and centre in shaping client engagements, from discovery to delivery. You’ll help businesses scope innovation potential, facilitate high-impact workshops, map CRM and stakeholder touchpoints, and lead on business development conversations with private sector clients.
Key Responsibilities:
Business Development:
- Identify and scope the market to drive revenue generated opportunities
- Support growth of CRM pipeline, converting conversations into high-impact engagements
- Nurture relationships across SMEs and larger corporates with professionalism and strategic focus
Proposal Development:
- Lead or support proposal writing, solution scoping and pricing of stakeholder engagements
- Collaborate with internal Catalyst teams to cost, package and structure bespoke interventions
- Shape engagement plans from initial scoping through to delivery handover
Client Delivery:
- Develop and lead the delivery of Open Innovation workshops with external clients
- Apply Catalyst’s Open Innovation methodology to assess innovation readiness and develop tailored pathways
- Facilitate stakeholder engagements with clarity and empathy
Insight Capture & Strategic Analysis:
- Capture and synthesise insights from discovery sessions, interviews, and workshops
- Analyse qualitative and quantitative data to inform innovation roadmaps and strategic recommendations
- Translate insights into clear, actionable outcomes for clients
Impact Measurement & Reporting:
- Track progress of interventions against intended innovation outcomes
- Support clients to define and measure innovation success
- Contribute to Catalyst’s internal reporting on delivery outcomes and ecosystem impact
Innovation Strategy:
- Provide commercial insight and challenge to shape client innovation strategies
- Help clients build internal capability and cultures that support sustained innovation
- Collaborate with partners and internal teams to curate bespoke innovation journeys
Team Collaboration:
- Share learnings, frameworks and insights to strengthen our collective delivery
- Act as a connector within Catalyst’s wider innovation ecosystem
- Take on any additional reasonable responsibilities as required within the scope of this role.
Essential Criteria:
- Strong track record of delivering consulting services into the private sector
- Demonstrable experience facilitating workshops and innovation-focused engagements
- Commercially astute with experience in business development, proposal writing or account growth
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills – able to engage across all levels of an organisation
- Comfortable managing client CRM pipelines and scoping opportunities with minimal supervision
- Proactive, adaptable, and delivery-focused – thrives in ambiguity and brings structure to complexity
- Strategic mindset with strong operational focus leading both vision-setting and delivery.
Desirable Criteria:
- Experience delivering innovation services to the public sector
- Familiarity with open innovation principles and cross-sector collaborative R&D models
- Networked within Northern Ireland’s innovation or enterprise ecosystem
Other Requirements:
- Proof of right to work in the UK
- On occasions to work evenings and weekends
- Full current driving licence
Criteria may be enhanced to aid shortlisting. Exceptional candidates who do not meet the criteria may be considered for the role provided they have the necessary skills and experience
