Research & Development Assistant Manager

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Environmental Science, Business, Economics, Public Policy, or related field.
  
• A master's degree in Innovation, Development Studies, Business, or Engineering is an advantage.
  
• 4–6 years of experience in innovation, research, product development, consulting, or program design.
  
• Experience designing and implementing pilots or field experiments.
  
• Experience working in emerging markets, social enterprises, or infrastructure services is an advantage.
  
• Strong research and analytical capabilities.
  
• Ability to design and manage pilot projects and experimentation frameworks.
  
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
  
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  
• Data-driven decision-making and problem-solving ability.
  

Innovation Discovery & Opportunity Identification

• Conduct market research, customer insights, and ecosystem scanning to identify opportunities for new products, services, and operational improvements.
  
• Analyse sanitation market trends, emerging technologies, and circular economy opportunities relevant to Fresh Life’s mission.
  
• Work closely with operations and customer teams to identify innovation opportunities from field insights.
  
• Develop problem statements and opportunity areas for innovation.
  

Pilot Design & Innovation Testing

• Design, plan, and implement innovation pilots to test new sanitation solutions, services, and business models.
  
• Develop pilot frameworks including hypotheses, testing methodologies, KPIs, and evaluation criteria.
  
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to implement pilot projects effectively.
  
• Monitor pilot performance and document learnings, successes, and failures.
  

Evidence Generation & Innovation Pipeline Management

• Analyse pilot results and produce insights to inform scaling decisions.
  
• Develop structured innovation reports and recommendations for leadership.
  
• Manage Fresh Life’s innovation pipeline from concept through testing to scale readiness.
  
• Support the transition of validated innovations to operational teams or the New Revenues function for commercialization.