Head of Innovation

National Federation of Womens Institutes

Hours
35 hours per week

About the Organisation

With a 110-year history, we are proud to say that the WI continues to be the largest and most influential UK-based women’s organisation, with over 170,000 members. Our campaigns push for change on the issues that matter to women and their communities, from equal pay to climate change, mental health, and violence against women. The WI has brought about real change, and this record of action shows that we are as relevant today as we were in 1915. The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (the NFWI) is responsible for running the organisation and provides support and advice to members at both regional and local levels.

About the role

Leading innovation across the organisation, you will be responsible for developing and delivering a strategy to grow our movement, to increase our membership and reach whilst ensuring we continue to reflect the needs and aspirations of women.  You will oversee research into women’s evolving needs and preferences, whilst testing approaches with new external audiences to maximise our relevance, diversity and inclusivity.

At the same time, you will actively embed innovation into strategy and decision-making in all areas, constantly find new ways to reach underrepresented women and build a wealth of data to support your recommendations. You will lead transformation across the organisation by championing change, creativity and a forward-thinking strategy that ensures the continued growth for the WI.

Highly experienced in innovation, organisational development or programme management, you will bring an impressive track record of instigating and managing successful organisational change that leads to sustainable income generation. You will be adept at designing and delivering pilot programmes, as well as commissioning research and deploying data to support action.

The role requires excellent communication skills and the confidence to advise and lead at both senior leadership and Board level, as the organisation looks to you to lead fundamental organisational change. Experience within the charity or not-for-profit sector would be beneficial, as would an understanding of trends and issues affecting women across different demographics in the UK.

Responsibilities

Main Functions:

• Lead innovation across the organisation, providing both strategic leadership and operational management for the innovation agenda to deliver organisational growth and diversification. This includes developing and expanding the opportunities the organisation offers, to ensure the WI remains relevant and reaches a wider group of women.
• Embed a culture of evidence-informed practice, continuous development and improvement, supported by the creation of a research and development programme, to drive innovation across the charity’s membership offer.
• Develop and deliver a ‘test and learn’ programme of membership innovation projects to pilot and evaluate new membership models for the organisation.
• Line management and development of the Innovation and Project Officer and
• Innovation and Events Manager.
• Contribute to the organisational priorities of cultural diversity, equal opportunities and environmental responsibility.

Lead innovation (strategic leadership & operational management):

• Develop and lead the long-term strategy for innovation focused on growth, diversification, inclusivity, and financial sustainability, ensuring this supports organisational priorities and values.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction for innovation activities, working with the senior leadership team to identify opportunities and embed innovation into organisational strategy and decision-making.
• Oversee the design, delivery and performance of innovation initiatives, ensuring regular evaluation and reporting to promote accountability and continuous improvement.
• Champion cross-team collaboration to enhance membership offers, models, and engagement.
• Promote innovation at Board and senior leadership level, ensuring that it is factored into influencing and investment decisions, and act as a key adviser on innovation across the organisation.
• Use findings gathered from research and testing to expand and diversify membership reach, particularly with a view to engaging new and underrepresented groups of women.

Embed a culture of evidence-informed practice and continuous development and improvement, supported by the creation of a research and development programme:

• Champion data-led decision-making across membership innovation and the wider organisation.
• Develop and embed frameworks, tools, and systems that allow for effective capture of data and evidence to support learning and evaluation, and their effective application across innovation projects.
• Design and manage the end-to-end innovation pipeline, from research and insight generation through to testing, launch, and ongoing development of new membership models.
• Lead a structured research and development programme, overseeing mixed-method research to understand current and potential audiences, identify trends and opportunities, and translate findings into actionable recommendations that support organisational growth and future-proof membership offerings.
• Build and maintain strategic partnerships and networks with stakeholders and external organisations to strengthen collaboration, enhance research opportunities, and support the delivery of data-informed innovation.
• Proactively identify and apply sector trends, opportunities, and best practice to inform innovation priorities and wider organisational strategy.
• Support the Communications and PR Manager in identifying and engaging potential high-profile supporters, ensuring alignment with target audiences for growth and organisational priorities.

Develop and deliver a ‘test and learn’ membership innovation programme:

• Design and deliver a programme of pilot projects to test new membership models, services, and engagement methods.
• Bring creativity and ambition to the development of new membership products and experiences, applying data and findings gained from test and learn projects to support innovation and mitigate associated risks.
• Develop and oversee robust evaluation frameworks for pilots, using data and feedback to assess impact, value and effectiveness, and support evidencebased decision-making.
• Capture, share, and embed learning from pilots, supporting wider adoption of successful membership innovation projects and best practice across the organisation.

Line management and development of the Innovation and Project Officer and Innovation and Events Manager:

• Be a positive role model by promoting a constructive, inclusive and respectful team culture.
• Build effective working relationships across the organisation, and with key stakeholders.
• Support and oversee team performance, including appraisals, objective setting, training and development.
• Provide opportunities for professional growth and development within the role and across the organisation.
• Manage people matters appropriately, including attendance, performance and conduct issues.
• Ensure team activity and project work support the NFWI’s strategic objectives.

Budget and Resource Management:

• Manage the Innovation budget, ensuring value for money and effective management of suppliers to maximise impact.

Cultural diversity, equal opportunities and environmental responsibility:

• Uphold a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring these values are reflected in workplace culture and relationships with external stakeholders.
• Promote a respectful and inclusive environment where all individuals are valued and supported.
• Champion environmental responsibility by adopting sustainable working practices and encouraging responsible behaviours in interactions with external organisations.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience & Interest:

• Experience of innovation, membership, project or programme design, or organisational development.
• Proven experience of developing and delivering strategy, particularly focused on growth, diversification, and engagement.
• Experience of leading organisational change and embedding innovation across teams.
• Experience of designing and delivering test-and-learn or pilot programmes.
• Experience of using research, insight, and evaluation to informdecision-making.
• Experience of managing and developing staff and leading teams.
• Demonstrable commitment to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion into organisational practices and broadening participation.
• Experience of working collaboratively with senior leaders and influencing decision-making.
• Experience of reporting and presenting at Board level.
• An interest in working for the WI.

Knowledge:

• Strong understanding of innovation methodologies, including test-and-learn prototyping, and project or programme design.
• Knowledge of research methods (qualitative and quantitative) and how to embed data-informed decision-making.
• Understanding of membership models, audience engagement, and growth strategies.
• Knowledge of evaluation frameworks and continuous improvement practices.
• Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion principles in project and programme design and delivery.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Skills & Abilities:

• Strong creative and strategic thinking and ability to translate vision into actionable plans.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills, with the ability to motivate and develop teams.
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to design, manage, and evaluate complex projects and programmes.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, including the ability to engage senior stakeholders and present insights clearly.
• Ability to work collaboratively across teams and build effective relationships internally.
• Excellent networking and partnership building skills.
• Skilled in using data and insights to drive decision-making and innovation.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work flexibly in a changing environment

Desirable:

• Strong facilitation skills, including workshops and co-creation activities.
• Experience of communicating effectively to different audiences.
• Ability to act as an ambassador and advocate for innovation internally and externally.
• Knowledge of trends affecting membership organisations or the voluntary sector.
• Knowledge of the breadth of views, experiences and preferences of women in the
• UK across demographic and geographical segments.
• Knowledge of audience segmentation and targeting.
• Knowledge of income generation models.
• An understanding of the WI.
• Experience within the charity, membership, or not-for-profit sector.
• Experience of audience development and engaging underrepresented groups.
• Experience of building external partnerships and networks.
• Experience of working with boards or governance structures.

Required Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience.
• A relevant degree or qualification in business development, project management, research or innovation.

Compensation & Benefits

• A fully auto-enrolled contributory Personal Pension scheme with maximum employer contributions set at 8%
• Holiday entitlement of 196 hours (28 days) per annum rising to 210 hours (30 days) after 5 years’ service. Bank holidays are in addition to this
• Benenden Health scheme (non-contributory)
• Company enhanced maternity, adoption and partner/paternity pay subject to qualification
• Family leave policies including parental leave, flexible working, compassionate leave, carer's leave and dependant’s leave
• Wellbeing policies including mental health and wellbeing and menopause. A commitment to training and development

Conditions of employment

• You must have evidence of right to work in the UK.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely
• Some attendance at meetings or conferences may occasionally require overnight stays unless they are digital.

How to apply

• For further information about this Digital and Technology Manager role, please download the recruitment pack which includes the job description and person specification:
  • Head of Innovation recruitment pack
  • Equal Opportunities Form
  • NFWI Recruitment Privacy Notice
• To apply, please submit your current CV with a covering letter clearly explaining why you would be suitable for the role to the HR department at [email protected]. In your letter, you will need to explain why you are interested in the role and how your skills and experience make you a suitable candidate based on the job description and person specification.
• Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need any adjustments or support with the application process, please contact us as we may be able to help.
• Your completed application should be returned via email by 3rd September 2026. Applications after the closing date will not be considered.
• The selection process starts with a written application to explain your suitability for the role based on the job description and person specification, and any ideas you have to enhance your application. The interview process will be in person, but please contact us if this is difficult for you.
• Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback on applications if not shortlisted for interview; therefore, if you have not heard from us by 31st September 2026, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful.

Interviews

• First round (virtual via Teams) is 11th September 2026
• Second round (in-person at our London office) is15th September 2026

Policies

We believe that the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion are central to our work as an effective employer. They are inherent in our values. We pride ourselves on building positive relationships; we strive to ensure that anyone who engages with us finds it easy to do so, and feels they are supported and treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The NFWI recognises that groups in society experience discrimination as a result of a protected characteristic.

We oppose such discrimination. When recruiting, the NFWI does not discriminate against any applicants. All vacancies will be filled by successful applicants assessed on their ability to do the job. We guarantee an interview to any candidate with a disability who meets the essential criteria for the post.

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