Contract type/Duration: Permanent
Working hours Full time (9day Fortnight companywide)
Band: 4.1
Salary: £68,890 to £79,386 (depending on office location and proven ability)
Reports to: Director of Built Environment
Location: Milton Keynes or London (minimum of two days a week in the office. You can do more than two days if preferable)
Closing date: 10am, 8th of July 2026
The Role
As Head of Infrastructure Innovation, you will lead and grow CPC’s Infrastructure Innovation team within the Built Environment directorate. This is a unique opportunity to build a team to drive innovation services that will be at the centre of the UK’s infrastructure delivery ambitions, working with the UK biggest infrastructure clients, government, regulators and supply chain organisations.
CPC has a long heritage in transport infrastructure delivery and hosts i3P (the infrastructure industry innovation partnership), a national platform that brings together infrastructure clients, supply chains and innovators to tackle shared challenges. You will build on this to turn collaboration into delivery, shaping programmes that address real industry barriers and drive adoption at scale across energy, water, utilities and transport.
The scale of infrastructure investment creates a major opportunity to deliver better outcomes for clients and enable innovative businesses to grow. We turn system challenges into opportunities to deliver better outcomes in productivity, carbon and safety through the adoption of proven innovation. We support the growth of high-potential businesses by connecting them with real infrastructure systems, helping new solutions move from concept to deployment and scale. We are also developing a
stronger focus on monitoring, maintenance and whole-life performance, not just design and construction.
You will set direction, build capability and lead a high-performing team, overseeing complex, multi-partner programmes and working with clients, government and regulators to embed new approaches in practice. The role requires strong experience across the infrastructure value chain, particularly in utilities, energy, water and transport. You will bring credibility with infrastructure clients, supply chains and government, ideally with first-hand experience of delivering or overseeing major capital programmes.
You will build and coordinate senior relationships across clients, regulators, investors and government, using these to align priorities, shape shared programmes and unlock the adoption of innovation at scale. You will be comfortable operating at a system level, influencing how organisations collaborate, invest and act collectively to address common challenges. You will bring a track record of forming effective partnerships and turning them into delivery, with a clear understanding of how to move from ambition to implementation in complex infrastructure environments.
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Deeply understanding of the needs of relevant partners with respect to bridging the gap between innovation and the market. In doing so:
- Shape, lead and deliver value through guiding innovative delivery projects/ strategy and engagements.
- Lead stakeholder management and relationship building at senior levels to ensure buy in
- Develop and produce recognised thought leadership.
- Assure the quality of client delivery.
- Oversee programme budgets.
- Act as Senior Responsible Officer on delivery programmes and projects.
- Support the development of others in your professional community's skills to ensure consistency of service delivery and expertise.
- Coach and mentor junior colleagues.
- Ensure dissemination and feedback on Connected Places Catapult standard internal communications.
- Drive high attendance at professional community activities and events.
- Maintain own professional development.
- Ensure an ethos of equity, inclusivity and diversity underpin your work activity, contribute to inclusive innovation across all Catapult activities.
- Working closely with colleagues across the business, you will:
- Support the team to meet revenue targets
- Lead the development of collateral to support ‘go to market’ propositions and service offerings.
- Work with account leads and teams to support opportunity identification, qualification and contracting.
- Oversee and ensure compliant use of CRM process and system.
- Ownership of pipeline management for accounts and business development.
- Manage contracting with Legal and Commercial team.
- You may be required to undertake any other reasonable duties to support the Catapult in achieving its strategic outcomes and ensure effective business operations.
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Skills, knowledge and Experience
- Actively build an inclusive and sustainability focused team culture that celebrates the value of diverse experiences and perspectives, ensures team compliance with policies, and apply equalities impact assessments on all aspects of work at Connected Places Catapult.
- Exposure to public and private sector procurement processes
- Working with up to C-level executives across both public and private sector, in the UK and internationally
- Provide coaching and feedback that drives development, innovation, creativity, and delivery in team using key metrics and data points, offers challenge and support as required to maintain high performance.
- Use emotional intelligence to create an environment where team members feel safe to experiment, challenge and try new things.
- Seek, encourage and create the conditions for continuous improvements in processes, systems, behaviours and ways of working.
- Build motivation and engagement in the team through understanding of the person, their aspirations and development needs.
- Manage personal performance through effective goal setting based on business and role objectives and development needs or desires. Complete regular one on one discussions and performance reviews that ensure clarity over performance levels and development areas.
- Provide clarity of expectations and take ownership of wider team performance.
- Organise the work around multiple simultaneous initiatives, with reference to key policies, practices and procedures, effectively prioritises tasks and delegates effectively.
- Use management information to understand trends, gaps, challenges and opportunities and make commercial decisions.
- Public-sector infrastructure experience, credibility and professional recognition.
- Experience working with or for infrastructure owners, operators or their supply chain partners applying innovation.
- Expertise in at least one of the following areas within the infrastructure value chain: design, construction, operation and maintenance, productivity, carbon reduction, safety, digital construction, Infratech, ConTech, or whole-life asset management.
- Hands-on experience of construction delivery on major capital programmes is highly valued
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9 day fortnight for everyone, we have a full company shutdown every other Friday.
- 23.5 holiday entitlement for everyone, with pro-rata calculations for part-time employees, along with a Christmas shutdown period for additional days off.
- Competitive pension, up to 10% company contribution to help you save for your future.
- Two paid days of volunteering leave per year (pro-rata for part-time employees) to support charitable activities.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing 24/7 confidential work/life support services to you and your immediate family members.
- Cycle to Work Scheme encouraging a healthy and sustainable commute.
- Cash Health Plan, offering reimbursement for a wide range of essential and everyday healthcare expenses, promoting your well-being.
- Payroll Giving scheme, allowing regular charitable contributions from pre-tax income, maximizing the impact of your donations.
- Discounts and offers from a wide variety of retailers, enhancing your purchasing power and providing savings opportunities.
- Mortgage Advice benefit, delivered in partnership with Charles Cameron & Associates – provides employees with free, expert mortgage advice and end-to-end mortgage support from the application process through to completion.
At Connected Places Catapult, we are on a mission to create better connected places across the UK and beyond. We believe that innovation is the key to unlocking the potential of our towns, cities, and transport systems, making them more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous for everyone.
When connected places work, it benefits:
People: wellbeing, access and inclusion for everyone.
Planet: sustainable and increasingly regenerative living and moving.
Prosperity: prosperous local economies and trade.
From supporting SMEs to develop clean transport technologies to helping local authorities unlock innovation in public procurement, our work is making a tangible difference. We help businesses secure millions in investment, create jobs, and drive forward solutions that address climate change, social isolation, and economic inequality.
