Snr Innovation Product Manager

Snr Innovation Product Manager

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Job no: 539089
Work type: Full Time
Location: Sydney, NSW
Categories: Information Technology, Project Management

• Employment Type: 21-month fixed term, full time role
• Senior Innovation Product Manager role within our AI and Innovation directorate within UNSW IT
• Excellent salary package available
• Location: Kensington campus in NSW (Hybrid Flexible Working) 2-3 days in the office

About UNSW:

UNSW isn’t like other places you’ve worked. We’re a large organisation with a diverse and talented community; a community doing extraordinary things. Together, we are driven to be thoughtful, practical, and purposeful in all we do. Taking this combined approach is what makes our work matter. It’s the reason we’re one of the top 50 universities in the world and a member of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight. If you want a career where you can thrive, be challenged and do meaningful work, you’re in the right place.

The Senior Innovation Product Manager is responsible for ensuring that digital innovation delivery practices within UNSW IT are strategically aligned, measurable, and consistently executed across multiple product-oriented delivery teams servicing the broader university. Reporting into the Product Innovation Delivery Lead, this role bridges strategy and execution providing enterprise leadership in digital innovation, strategic direction, alignment, and operational oversight across UNSW IT’s university-wide portfolio of digital innovation delivery initiatives. It manages and mentors Product Delivery Managers and supports their cross-functional teams, embedding product management discipline, human-centred design, and agile practices to ensure consistent, high-quality delivery outcomes aligned to institutional priorities. The position interprets and applies university innovation strategy and future-state capability objectives to shape and optimise the delivery of digital solution innovations within UNSW IT. The role monitors performance and value realisation, and drives the continual maturation of the Innovation Delivery function as a high-performing, evidence-led capability within UNSW IT. This role reports to the Innovation Product Delivery Lead and has direct reports, with additional matrix managed roles within the cross-functional teams and operates with a high degree of autonomy and enterprise influence.

Specific accountabilities for this role include:

• Lead the development and implementation of the innovation delivery operating model, owning its ongoing evolution and institutional adoption, driving strategic alignment with UNSW’s digital transformation agenda and investment priorities.
• Manage and develop Product Delivery Managers, providing coaching, performance management, and delivery support across multiple concurrent teams, spanning faculties, divisions, and enterprise initiatives.
• Oversee delivery cadence, prioritisation, and performance across innovation delivery teams, ensuring consistent standards, timely progress, and alignment with approved governance pathways.
• Translate strategic frameworks into operational tools and repeatable practices; drive adoption of the UNSW delivery playbook and continuous improvement of delivery methods, establishing enterprise standards for digital innovation delivery practice.
• Consolidate delivery insights, metrics, and progress updates for reporting to senior stakeholders and governance forums including executive leadership.
• Drive the consolidation and analysis of delivery insights, performance metrics, and progress updates to inform reporting for senior stakeholders and governance forums, supporting strategic decision-making and investment prioritisation.
• Play a key role in shaping prioritisation decisions for innovation initiatives within the program, and across the broader innovation portfolio, and provide critical input at stage-gate reviews to determine whether initiatives should advance, pause, or be retired, including recommendations on resource allocation and funding direction.
• Embed product management and agile maturity across delivery teams, fostering a culture of learning, collaboration, and evidence-based decision-making.
• Identify and manage delivery risks, dependencies, and resource constraints, exercising delegated authority where appropriate and escalating strategically significant matters to the Product Innovation Delivery Lead and relevant governance bodies.
• Drive feedback loops and retrospectives across teams to refine processes, remove barriers, and enhance delivery performance, leading systemic improvements across the enterprise innovation ecosystem.
• Align with and actively demonstrate the Code of Conduct and Values.
• Ensure hazards and risks psychosocial and physical are identified and controlled for tasks, projects, and activities that pose a health and safety risk within your area of responsibility.

Who you are:

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline, or equivalent competence gained through any combination of education, training, and experience.
• Significant experience managing multiple delivery teams or product streams within a complex multi-level organisational environment.
• Proven ability to translate enterprise and institutional strategic priorities into coordinated delivery plans, measurable outcomes, and value-tracking frameworks.
• Strong expertise in product management, innovation delivery, and agile methodologies, applied across large-scale or multi-portfolio environments.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams, ideally in cross-functional or matrix structures with enterprise-wide accountability.
• Demonstrated capability in embedding Human-Centred Design principles and evidence-led delivery approaches at scale across an organisation.
• Skilled at navigating structured governance, compliance, and risk frameworks while maintaining agility and experimentation, including experience contributing to governance design or policy development.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence across technical, business, and executive audiences.
• Experience consolidating delivery reporting and insights for executive and governance consumption to inform strategic planning and investment decisions. Adaptability and resilience in navigating ambiguity, rapid change, and emerging technologies.
• An understanding of and commitment to UNSW’s aims, objectives and values in action, together with relevant policies and guidelines.
• Knowledge of health & safety (psychosocial and physical) responsibilities and commitment to attending relevant health and safety training.

Benefits and Culture

• Flexible Working Options (work from home, flexible hours etc)
• Career development opportunities
• 17% Superannuation contributions and additional leave loading payments
• Additional 3 days of leave over Christmas period
• Discounts and entitlements (retail, education, fitness)

For further details on the benefits, please visit https://www.jobs.unsw.edu.au/lifestyle-benefits

How to Apply: please apply through the portal, we would like you to submit a full application including resume and addressing the who you are section.

Applications close: Wednesday 15th of April at 11.30pm

Pre-Employment Checks

Aligned with UNSW’s focus on cultivating a workplace defined by safety, ethical conduct, and strong integrity preferred candidates will be required to participate in a combination of pre-employment checks relevant to the role they have applied for.

These pre-employment checks may include a combination of some of the following checks:-

• National and International Criminal history checks
• Entitlement to work and ID checks
• Working With Children Checks
• Completion of a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Declaration
• Verification of relevant qualifications
• Verification of relevant professional membership
• Employment history and reference checks
• Financial responsibility assessments/checks.
• Medical Checks and Assessments

Compliance with the necessary combination of these checks is a condition of employment at UNSW.

Get in Touch:

Jen MacLachlan
j.maclachlan@unsw.edu.au
Talent Acquisition Partner – UNSW IT

Please apply through the application portal and not via the contact above.

UNSW is committed to equity diversity and inclusion. Applications from women, people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, those living with disabilities, members of the LGBTIQ+ community; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged. UNSW provides workplace adjustments for people with disability, and access to flexible work options for eligible staff. The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.

Position Description