Description
Task title: Innovation Lead
PO number: 4500023060
Location:
- Brussels
- Remote location possible (this over-rules the stipulation in the Framework contract that “The Freelancer undertakes to provide the Services at the premises of the Customer …”)
Task objectives:
As an Innovation Lead for AREA42, you are responsible for accompanying early stage products (in development) in AREA42 in order for them to find a fit with a validated market opportunity.
Task steps:
The Innovation Lead is assigned to specific internal deliverables by the head of AREA42. Once the deliverable is clear, the Innovation Lead works directly with the internal customer as long as scope, timing and budget remain unchanged.
Deliverables can take many shapes and sizes, but recurring responsibilities of the Innovation Lead are:
- Assisting in the process of recruiting potential candidates to become product managers which may include, but is not limited to:
- target profile creation
- development of recruiting materials
- interviewing and assessment
- Supporting the (early stage) product teams by offering them day-to-day coaching how to apply reusable methodologies and templates provided by AREA42 and refined by you to:
- validate problems through qualitative and quantitative research
- validate solutions through sanity checks before development starts
- build MVPs with the objective to gather data and learnings
Task deliverables & milestones:
- Recruitment of teams who join the AREA42 lab
- (In)validated problems and solutions ready to be launched
- MVP performance measured by pre-set KPIs
Desired experience:
We prefer team culture over individual performance. This being said, here are a few qualities we may be looking for:
- Somebody who gets the job done.
- A passion for innovation and start-ups with a good understanding of the corporate world.
- 10+ years of experience in market opportunity validation, ideally in a mix of start-up and corporate environments.
- Adaptable, with a good sense of priorities (and of humour)
- Excellent human relations, networker and team-player.
- Fluent in English; multiple European languages spoken is a big plus.
- Can handle success and failure, positive feedback as well as critiques.
- Understanding of B2B trade is essential, experience with trade credit insurance is nice to have.
Salary range:
- 250-900€/day
- Job subject to contract via proUnity (AREA42 procurement platform), with monthly timesheets and invoicing
- Invoices should be CC to invoices@area42.tech
Work hours, travel requirements, etc.:
- Work up to 184 days for this SoW in 2025. As a freelancer, you are free to choose when you wish to work with AREA42 or to take holidays.
- Travels to support the development of the SoW (up to 10% of the time)
- For administrative simplicity all travel assignments are arranged by AREA42 and also the costs are carried directly by AREA42.
Company description: AREA42
AREA42 vision:
We work in a smooth B2B trade environment empowered by new technologies
At AREA42, we create, innovate, and manage solutions for a fluid, risk-savvy trade environment. We support companies who want to recode trade for the digital era.
Together with disruptors, technologists and visionaries, we build a more fertile trade environment. We co-design ambitious visions. We experiment and launch new solutions. We turn innovations into new growth engines.
We are backed by Credendo, the Export Credit Agency from Belgium and the most trusted leader in trade credit insurance and surety bonds.
AREA42 Focus:
Our current investment thesis revolves around big untapped opportunities related to:
· Platforms and marketplaces,
· SMEs and freelancers,
· Innovative credit data and machine learning,
· Blockchain and other new trade paradigms.
For us, success can be measured in the upgrades we offer to trade ecosystems. We do not see technology as an objective in itself, but we believe it is key to unlock radical improvements for trade and accompanying risk. We take inspiration from diverse universes. We try to hack things, fail sometimes, learn always, and thrive when we co-innovate with partners who share our passion.
AREA42 Structure:
AREA42 is an ecosystem with 2 highly complementary zones: AREA42 innovation lab and AREA42 accelerator. Each zone contributes to a successful AREA42 innovation ecosystem.
· Our innovation lab aims at growing a high-quality network of trusted partners, open to co-innovation and passionate about upgrading trade; it takes a lean start-up approach to experiment with new ideas and incubate them to become validated product concepts with a market fit. The learnings, successes and failures contribute to the feedback-loop and is shared with our innovation community.
· Our accelerator works like a growth factory. We take validated product concepts and turn them into new lines of business. Our accelerator team works with the same powerful means as the best high-growth start-ups in order to scale the most ambitious ventures in trade.
Our first basecamp is Brussels, but our playground is Europe and the world.
AREA42 Culture:
We are a diverse team based on 3 important values: respect, curiosity, and boldness. We believe in mutual trust, entrepreneurship, collective creativity, technological excellence and solid execution. For us, these values are essential to creating high-impact innovations, which we need to deliver successful long-term growth, which will help spread an innovation culture in trade.
Often, we do not know exactly what we are building. However, we always start with an exciting vision and we iterate as fast as possible to confront it with reality. We have faith in the science of experimentation and in the lean start-up approach. We invite and welcome innovators of all kind to contribute and to have an impact. We share together the benefits of our successes.