Job Description
Captains of Innovation seeks an enthusiastic, creative, and detail-oriented Innovation Researcher with demonstrated experience conducting high-quality qualitative research and a deep commitment to innovation and startup culture. The Innovation Researcher will work primarily with the Director of Implementation to support clients seeking to connect with startups and other elements of the innovation ecosystem. Captains’ portfolio clients are primarily global corporations working to innovate their business models and find new technologies to disrupt their industries. This is a part-time opportunity for an innovation-focused qualitative researcher who thrives in independent working environments. Starting wage for this position is $25/hr for approximately 25 hours/week.
ABOUT CAPTAINS OF INNOVATIONCaptains of Innovation CIC’s internal boutique consultancy is a full spectrum corporate innovation program designed to help large organizations find new products, services, business models, and technologies in today’s global hyper-competitive environment.
Captains of Innovation helps corporations and large organizations focus on the full spectrum of innovation, while leveraging the power of the innovation ecosystem in concert with CIC and Venture Café. Captains of Innovation provides bespoke, white-glove service to help clients design new products, find new technologies, connect with startups, and build innovative business models through innovation exploration, learn best practices and connect with thought leaders, ecosystem engagement and mindset change.
ABOUT CICCIC is a global leader in building and operating innovation communities. Founded in 1999 in Cambridge, MA, CIC is one of the first companies to offer flexible office space and coworking options, providing a platform for the world’s most impactful entrepreneurs to innovate better and faster.
We have locations in Boston, Cambridge, Miami, Philadelphia, Providence, Rotterdam, St. Louis, Warsaw, and Tokyo and are growing into other cities, within the US and abroad. CIC has supported over 6,000 startups, growth companies, and branches of larger organizations, representing for-profit, mission-driven, and non-profit sectors across a wide array of industries.
CIC co-founded a number of mission-aligned organizations including Venture Café, CIC’s primary non-profit programming partner, and CIC Health, offering COVID-19 testing services to companies and the public.
We invite you to explore all our openings and learn more about our teams here.
YOUR DAY-TO-DAY WORKYou will join the Captains of Innovation research team.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:• Sourcing and collating primary and secondary qualitative research sources relevant to technology, innovation, and startups.• Profiling solutions providers and developing highly nuanced recommendations based on narrowly-defined client shopping lists.• Conducting fast, high-quality, confidential research and large-scale global innovation ecosystem analysis on a variety of topics and industries for the industry-agnostic Captains of Innovation group.• Attending project-related internal meetings, taking comprehensive notes, and demonstrating an understanding of objectives to effectively assist in scoping research.• Demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the client’s business, products, services, and value proposition to potential partners, along with the broader industry, particularly related to client objectives.
EXAMPLE INNOVATION RESEARCHER PROFILESMany industries employ Innovation Researchers, however Captains of Innovation’s Innovation Researcher team is composed of individuals from a variety of backgrounds with differing areas of expertise. Captains of Innovation encourages its researchers to deploy their own qualitative research methods and leverage their history and experience throughout projects, and applicants for the role will be considered, in part, based on their demonstrated research methods and experience. All Innovation Researchers must be driven by a passion for innovation, startups, and technology and have robust experience performing qualitative research.
Successful Innovation Researchers in the past have included:A serial entrepreneur with a knack for research and finding innovative solutions.A mid-career professional with a multi-disciplinary background and passion for innovation.A design-focused thinker who always keeps an eye on future trends.A burgeoning tech-enthusiast and future product engineer.A former consultant with a deep knowledge of startup and corporate operations.
ABOUT YOUWe like to employ service-minded people who are dependable and able to work independently.
More specifically, we are looking for someone who possesses the following characteristics:• A voracious qualitative researcher, driven by a passion for startups, innovation, and entrepreneurship.• Strong communication skill
Job Specification