WHAT DOES AN INNOVATION PROJECT MANAGER DO?

Published: Sep 5, 2025 - The Innovation Project Manager leads the implementation of modernized strategies in clinical trial design and translational medicine operations. This role drives cross-functional teams to apply advanced data-driven methodologies, digital solutions, and patient-centric practices while managing key strategic projects. The manager ensures vendor evaluation, technology adoption, and external collaboration, and also champions continuous improvement in next-generation clinical operations.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Innovation Project Manager

1. Innovation Project Manager Duties

  • Process Control: Focus of projects in the logistical and control process of the poultry industry
  • Digital Coordination: Monitor the interconnectivity between all digital projects and act as a go-to person for the Poultry Innovation department
  • Scope Definition: Facilitates a clear definition of the scope of the project together with the product owner and the team in the early stages of the project
  • Team Leadership: Managing and leading cross-functional project teams
  • Stakeholder Management: Stakeholder management, managing expectations and communicating within the industry, Poultry internal and global innovation
  • Project Organization: Project organization, timeline development, information sharing and reporting on project progress
  • Project Management: Project management and implementation of projects in line with Marel's internal policies, processes, procedures and guidelines
  • Risk Assessment: Cost estimates, follow-up estimates and risk assessments
  • Customer Engagement: Visit customers/partners as required by the project progress

2. Innovation Project Manager Details

  • Project Management: Manages individual, complex, cross-regional innovation projects on an operational level
  • Schedule Alignment: Creates and aligns with the project schedule and financial plan
  • Progress Reporting: Updates and reports on project progress and summarizes the status of managed projects
  • Decision Preparation: Prepares and presents projects for decision meetings and reviews
  • Budget Control: Manages project budget and relevant KPIs
  • Risk Management: Identifies risks and defines countermeasures
  • Conflict Resolution: Takes the lead in case of problems and conflicts
  • Team Guidance: Guides team members to properly use project tools, templates and deliverables
  • Best Practice: Drives x-Project/business initiatives to foster best practice exchange and continuous improvement
  • Event Management: Manage the process for creating and delivering hackathons in all regions of the business including event management, driving engagement and idea creation, recruiting mentors and judges
  • Hackathon Integration: Drive the hackathon winners into the development cycles
  • Development Support: Help fast-track the next stage of their development by securing time in the next PI plans for the ideas to be pursued
  • Template Design: Design and develop templates for the execution of innovation days/weeks within different teams by working with development managers to ensure that innovation activities occur within each quarter
  • Content Creation: Create content to amplify the innovation activities across the business including developing intranet content, blogs, vlogs, and recruiting for TechTopic monthly webinars to drive technical teams' engagement in innovation activities
  • IP Management: Manage the IP Lifecycle process in coordination with the IP Patent Attorney team to encourage the collection and processing of patent ideas into the legal process

3. Innovation Project Manager Responsibilities

  • Innovation Implementation: Lead and enable the implementation of modernized and innovative approaches to global clinical trial design/management and group operations
  • Team Leadership: Leading and establishing cross-functional teams, driving, piloting and evaluating advanced data-driven methodologies, patient-centric approaches and practices
  • Strategic Planning: Work together with the Head of Clinical Innovation on the planning and implementation of the TM strategic innovation plan, taking ownership of key projects
  • AI Development: Specifically responsible for the continued development, analysis of the use of AI/predictive portfolio management tools, to continue their development as best-in-class for Translational Medicine
  • Project Execution: Drive the successful execution of key innovative strategic projects within Translational Medicine in line with short, medium and long-term strategies
  • Strategy Translation: Translate the new strategy into concrete objectives, with conversion into cross-functional initiatives/pilot programs related to new digitalization
  • Vendor Evaluation: Responsible for the evaluation of new “innovative / data-driven digital” vendors and tool providers for analysis and recommendations of use, in line with support of partner line functions
  • Progress Tracking: Track and review the progress of implementation of next-generation operations and analytics tools and ensure they embed and support strategic imperatives
  • Cross Collaboration: Collaborate with other units and divisions on assigned projects in sharing in capability building and resources to facilitate company-wide implementation of future clinical trial operations
  • Landscape Evaluation: Evaluate the external innovation landscape for Translational Medicine
  • Solution Exploration: Explore and evaluate innovative solutions to improve and modernize trial management and operations
  • Trend Awareness: Ensure awareness of trends in the industry in the field of innovation in pharmaceuticals and clinical trials by scanning external and internal operational trends and evaluating new innovative technologies and practices to continuously evolve
  • Project Championing: Champion innovative and digital improvement projects, both within assigned areas of expertise as well as within local departments
  • Representation Role: Represent Strategy and Clinical Innovation in global and local forums, and cross-divisional communications and events
  • Process Improvement: Identify areas and critique for process and technology improvements for continuous improvement and connect with internal/external innovative opportunities
  • External Interaction: Interact with external partners, investigator sites and vendors for studies using novel approaches to ensure smooth implementation and proof of value

4. Innovation Project Manager Job Summary

  • OTIF Leadership: Lead network OTIF (on time in full) to ensure successful launches
  • Timeline Management: Manage the Project Timeline from project ideation to product launch including milestones for development activity
  • Product Development: Product and packaging development, safety testing, pilots and line trials, and first production and delivery
  • Issue Resolution: Work cross-functionally to ensure projects are being managed effectively, proactively identifying and resolving issues, highlighting status, risks, deadlines, defining activities and timings
  • Stage Tracking: Ensure stage gate is on track and launches are delivered on time, full
  • Technical Readiness: Ensure the project team has a robust plan to deliver Technical Readiness, and that all capacities and capabilities are available
  • Partner Collaboration: Collaborate with partners to bring products to market together successfully as a company
  • Accountability Enforcement: Hold individuals accountable for the delivery of their activities
  • Team Efficiency: Constantly find ways to make the team more effective and efficient
  • Practice Building: Help build practices that can scale with the team
  • Innovation Delivery: Help deliver the personal care mid and long-term innovations
  • Strategic Planning: Work with the Head of Procurement and Sourcing and Innovation Directors to chart out the next 1-3 years for key projects in Home and Personal Care
  • Supplier Relations: Build and maintain strong supplier relationships
  • Vision Alignment: Share Grove’s vision with suppliers to get their buy-in to the mission, ensuring excellent support and service
  • Negotiation Skills: Get involved in complex issues or negotiations to seek a quick resolution
  • Partnership Building: Build internal and external partnerships to help deliver these new products

5. Innovation Project Manager Accountabilities

  • Resource Allocation: Driving project team definition and reaching out to Functional Line Managers to identify and secure resources along the flow
  • Budget Management: Building and maintaining the project budget all along the flow
  • CAPEX Coordination: Coordinate CAPEX (capital expenditure) requests with the Engineering Project Manager
  • Project Coordination: Orchestrating all functions and markets involved in the project to coordinate timelines, track end-to-end activities and milestones, assess and mitigate risks, and ensure the project is progressing as planned
  • Criteria Definition: Leading Key Success Criteria (KSC) definition with the project team, challenging KSC with an unbiased view to assure speed and get validation from project Decider(s)
  • Stage Gate: Driving timely preparation of the Business Opportunity, Business Case and Business Plan stage gates along the flow, managing changes of scope
  • Status Reporting: Providing weekly reporting of the project's status and escalating issues to the relevant forum for support and/or mitigation
  • Stakeholder Management: Leading stakeholder management across functions
  • Responsibility Distribution: Identify stakeholders, distribute responsibilities among the project team and ensure proper communication
  • Data Analysis: Supporting I&R strategy decisions with data analysis and scenario planning
  • Competency Building: Supporting the competency building of the extended (I&R) network in the markets
  • Innovation Support: Support in managing customer innovation projects, i.e., builds new products, services or corporate ventures together with product owners and innovation teams
  • KPI Monitoring: Monitoring and attainment of project-specific KPIs and milestones
  • Knowledge Transfer: Support in know-how transfer both into the Tribe Customer Innovation as well as the thyssenkrupp Materials Services organization