Innovation and Intelligence Lead

Essex

n/a - n/a

£44,434-£52,275

Chelmsford

Fixed-Term

Economic Development

Role

Innovation and Intelligence Lead - Maternity Cover

Fixed Term, 9 months

Full Time, 37 hours per week

£44,434 to £52,275 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 27th July 2025

Essex County Council is a systems leader for Skills and Economic Growth, working in partnership with public and private sector organisations to position Essex as a hub of innovation, enterprise, and ambition. Through our business-facing services, we promote an inclusive, integrated approach to skills development, business support, sector growth, and inward investment across the County.

The Innovation and Intelligence Lead plays a key role in supporting Essex County Council’s strategic economic growth activity by gathering and analysing data, generating insights, and contributing to innovation and R&D initiatives across key sectors and the wider economy. Innovation in this context refers to business innovation—leading or facilitating the introduction and sharing of new ideas, technologies, methods, products, or services that drive significant improvements within businesses, sectors, and places. This activity ultimately contributes to regional economic growth, creating more and better jobs.

The role works closely with the Innovation and Intelligence Manager, ECC business-facing teams, local businesses, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to gather and apply relevant intelligence.

The Innovation and Intelligence Lead also supports the identification of funding and partnership opportunities and the delivery of innovation programmes that advance Essex’s innovation ecosystem and increase the productivity.

This role is focused on leading innovation project delivery and undertaking research and intelligence efforts to inform and make recommendations on the roles ECC and its partners should play in addressing the evolving growth, innovation and skills needs of local businesses and sectors.

To read more about our business area, please visit People, Policy, Economy and Public Health

Accountabilities

· Play a hands-on role, supporting the Innovation and Intelligence Manager in executing data analysis, innovation projects, and intelligence-gathering activities. Key responsibilities are:

· Collect and analyse data relevant to regional priorities (e.g., economic indicators, population demographics, service usage metrics) and translating data into recommendations, contributing to project planning, funding applications, and innovation strategies.

· Use data visualisation tools to present findings in a clear and accessible way, making insights understandable for decision-makers and stakeholders. Contribute to the development of dashboards and regular reports that track performance and trends across key areas, proactively supporting colleagues with these insights to inform activity and priorities.

· Develop reports and visualisations that convert complex data into actionable intelligence, aiding strategic planning across business support and sector growth initiatives. This includes identifying trends and insights from data analysis to assist the manager in shaping policies and strategies.

· Prepare briefing materials and summaries for senior stakeholders to inform regional policy and decision-making, and identify case studies, best practices, and successful innovation models from other regions to enhance ECC’s economic growth activities.

· Collaborate with other teams to ensure data and insights are integrated into ongoing projects and initiatives across the organisation, especially in shaping the Essex Growth Agency service priorities and identifying opportunities aligned to regional economic growth imperatives.

· Assist managers and colleagues in identifying and implementing innovative projects that can enhance service delivery, efficiency, and regional economic development. This includes proactively monitoring developments in technology, innovation, R&D and market trends relevant to Essex’s growth sectors, providing updates to the Innovation and Intelligence Manager and stakeholders.

· Coordinate pilot projects, testing new approaches, technologies, or processes, and gathering feedback on their effectiveness through facilitating workshops, brainstorming sessions, and collaborative activities that foster an innovative culture within the team and organisation.

· Collaborate closely with internal colleagues, broader ECC departments, and external partners such as local businesses, academic institutions, and technology providers to facilitate data-sharing, sustain relationships, and ensure innovation efforts align with the organisation's overarching objectives.

· Serve as the main contact for data inquiries, providing accurate information, while identifying and evaluating new digital tools to support digital transformation, including facilitating training, supporting stakeholders in adopting technologies, and stay updated on emerging trends like data analytics, automation, and IoT to boost innovation and intelligence capabilities.

· Track and assess the effectiveness of projects, programmes, and innovation initiatives by developing KPIs and evaluation metrics to ensure desired outcomes are met, while regularly reviewing project performance and recommending improvements based on data.

· Deliver ECC’s business account management approach and serve as a primary point of contact to build and maintain trusting relationships with businesses, industry representatives and partners

· Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

· Educated to RQF level 6 (degree level) in research and development, or business development or growth activity of a relevant field or equivalent by experience

· Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.

· Knowledge of trends in technology and innovation, with the ability to identify new approaches and opportunities relevant to Essex’s economic priorities.

· Proficient in data gathering, research, and economic analysis, with the ability to interpret and present findings clearly.

· Good understanding of Essex’s economic landscape, key sectors, and national and local policies impacting business and sector innovation.

· Experience in data analysis, economic research, or business intelligence, ideally within a public-sector or economic development context.

· Knowledge of innovation trends and economic development, with a demonstrated ability to gather intelligence and provide actionable insights.

· Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with experience in working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.

· Project Management: Experience in overseeing complex projects, ensuring they stay on track, within budget, and aligned with organisational goals.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) ) on our careers site

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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