Innovation Manager - R&D Programs & Business Development

Description IKH Group is a fast-growing Greek technology group operating across defense systems, robotics, and enterprise software. Through iKnowHealth and Aperion Robotics, we participate in competitive European and national R&D programs— including Horizon Europe, ESPA, EDF, and bilateral research partnerships — and we build proprietary R&D solutions in parallel. We are looking for an Innovation Manager who will act as the strategic hub between our R&D vision and its execution. You will lead a team of Project Managers overseeing active research programs, drive the identification and submission of new funding proposals, and build the ecosystem of academic, industrial, and institutional partners that fuels our innovation pipeline. If you are passionate about R&D strategy, enjoy turning funding opportunities into real-world impact, and thrive on building partnerships across the innovation ecosystem, we would love to meet you. Responsibilities: Manage and mentor a team of Project Managers responsible for the day-to-day delivery of active research programs (Horizon Europe, ESPA). Ensure all programs are delivered on time, on budget, and in full compliance with funder requirements (technical reports, audits, milestones). Maintain a consolidated view of the R&D portfolio: resource allocation, deliverable calendar, financial burn-rate per project. Resolve cross-project dependencies and escalate risks to the CTO/CEO with clear mitigation plans. Lead the end-to-end submission process for competitive Horizon Europe proposals — from call identification and consortium assembly to technical contributionsCoordinate Greek national funding applications, liaising with GSRT/EYDE and other national bodies. Write and edit high-quality technical content; ensure alignment between scientific/technical narrative and evaluation criteria. Manage internal review cycles. Maintain a rolling 12-month proposal pipeline; track calls (eg Horizon Europe). evaluate fit, and decide go/no-go per opportunity. Monitor proposal success rates, capture lessons learned, and continuously improve the submission process. Identify, approach, and formalise partnerships with Greek and European key actors.Support ecosystem building by representing IKH Group at conferences, brokerage events, and innovation forums (ICT Proposers Days, euRobotics etc.). Develop commercial opportunities from R&D outputs: technology transfer, spin-off products, and licensing. Co-define the annual R&D roadmap, aligning with group strategic priorities across Robotics, AI and software trendsMonitor technology trends (AI/ML, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, digital twins) and translate them into actionable funding and product opportunities. Lead internal knowledge-sharing sessions on emerging R&D themes. Requirements5+ years of experience in R&D project management or innovation management, ideally in a technology company or research organisation. Proven track record of successfully submitted and funded Horizon 2020 / Horizon Europe proposals (as author or co-author of technical sections). Solid understanding of at least one of our core domains: robotics/autonomous systems, or enterprise software. Experience managing multi-disciplinary project teams; comfortable in a PM leadership or coordination role. Strong technical writing skills in English; ability to translate engineering concepts into compelling, evaluator-friendly narrative. Familiarity with EC funding rules (Grant Agreement, DOW, financial reporting), audits, and consortium governance. BSc/MSc in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related STEM field. Professional-level English (written and spoken); Greek fluency is a strong plus. Nice to Have: Background in business development, technology licensing, or tech transfer. Familiarity with proposal tools: EC Funding & Tenders Portal, SEDIA, eForms. Network within the European R&D ecosystem. Experience with IP management and exploitation planning. BenefitsAttractive salary package based on experience. Hybrid working model. #LI-HybridCareer development and growth opportunities within a fast-growing technology group. Continuous training and professional development. Modern offices in Athens. Collaborative, dynamic and innovation-driven working environment.

Description

IKH Group is a fast-growing Greek technology group operating across defense systems, robotics, and enterprise software. Through iKnowHealth and Aperion Robotics, we participate in competitive European and national R&D programs— including Horizon Europe, ESPA, EDF, and bilateral research partnerships — and we build proprietary R&D solutions in parallel.

We are looking for an Innovation Manager who will act as the strategic hub between our R&D vision and its execution. You will lead a team of Project Managers overseeing active research programs, drive the identification and submission of new funding proposals, and build the ecosystem of academic, industrial, and institutional partners that fuels our innovation pipeline.

If you are passionate about R&D strategy, enjoy turning funding opportunities into real-world impact, and thrive on building partnerships across the innovation ecosystem, we would love to meet you.

Responsibilities:

• Manage and mentor a team of Project Managers responsible for the day-to-day delivery of active research programs (Horizon Europe, ESPA).

• Ensure all programs are delivered on time, on budget, and in full compliance with funder requirements (technical reports, audits, milestones).

• Maintain a consolidated view of the R&D portfolio: resource allocation, deliverable calendar, financial burn-rate per project.

• Resolve cross-project dependencies and escalate risks to the CTO/CEO with clear mitigation plans.

• Lead the end-to-end submission process for competitive Horizon Europe proposals — from call identification and consortium assembly to technical contributions
• Coordinate Greek national funding applications, liaising with GSRT/EYDE and other national bodies.
• Write and edit high-quality technical content; ensure alignment between scientific/technical narrative and evaluation criteria. Manage internal review cycles.
• Maintain a rolling 12-month proposal pipeline; track calls (eg Horizon Europe). evaluate fit, and decide go/no-go per opportunity.

• Monitor proposal success rates, capture lessons learned, and continuously improve the submission process.

• Identify, approach, and formalise partnerships with Greek and European key actors.

• Support ecosystem building by representing IKH Group at conferences, brokerage events, and innovation forums (ICT Proposers Days, euRobotics etc.).

• Develop commercial opportunities from R&D outputs: technology transfer, spin-off products, and licensing.

• Co-define the annual R&D roadmap, aligning with group strategic priorities across Robotics, AI and software trends

• Monitor technology trends (AI/ML, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, digital twins) and translate them into actionable funding and product opportunities.

• Lead internal knowledge-sharing sessions on emerging R&D themes.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in R&D project management or innovation management, ideally in a technology company or research organisation.

• Proven track record of successfully submitted and funded Horizon 2020 / Horizon Europe proposals (as author or co-author of technical sections).

• Solid understanding of at least one of our core domains: robotics/autonomous systems, or enterprise software.

• Experience managing multi-disciplinary project teams; comfortable in a PM leadership or coordination role.

• Strong technical writing skills in English; ability to translate engineering concepts into compelling, evaluator-friendly narrative.

• Familiarity with EC funding rules (Grant Agreement, DOW, financial reporting), audits, and consortium governance.

• BSc/MSc in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related STEM field.

• Professional-level English (written and spoken); Greek fluency is a strong plus.

Nice to Have:

• Background in business development, technology licensing, or tech transfer.

• Familiarity with proposal tools: EC Funding & Tenders Portal, SEDIA, eForms.

• Network within the European R&D ecosystem.

• Experience with IP management and exploitation planning.

Benefits

• Attractive salary package based on experience.

• Hybrid working model. #LI-Hybrid

• Career development and growth opportunities within a fast-growing technology group.

• Continuous training and professional development.

• Modern offices in Athens.

• Collaborative, dynamic and innovation-driven working environment.

At IKH we solve hard problems. We provide custom-built automation solutions to industry and software solutions to the public and private sector. We can acquire your data, communicate, store and process it to produce insights and present them in a responsive and intuitive manner. Our tailor-made services culminate in cyber-physical systems where the physical and computational elements are intertwined to augment human capabilities. Our mechanical and electrical engineers have brought to life close to twenty robotic solutions for the off-shore, oil & gas, nuclear, and the wind power industry. We have designed and engineered autonomous robots to perform ultrasonic testing of wind turbine blades or to replace tracked trenching machines operating in the subsea environment. More than 40 large scale web development and IT projects for private and public institutions, local subsidiaries of international organizations, and national authorities have been undertaken and successfully delivered by our software development teams. Over the past six years, we have raised our sales six-fold and established offices in Luxembourg and London. Our headquarters are in downtown Athens (Neo Psyhiko) and our robotic team is headquartered in the outskirts of greater Athens. At IKH we hire the best & brightest. We believe that talented individuals give credence to the maxim ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ and we strive to foster an environment where freedom, responsibility, innovation, and self-discipline flourishes. After all, a great workplace is synonymous to stunning colleagues, where employees don’t wait to be told what to do and behave like owners. Job candidates can seek for opportunities in four areas: Robotics & IoT: A world-class team of electrical, mechanical, and software engineers with deep expertise in mechanical design and control, in data-driven intelligence, and in embedded systems. We design and engineer robotic solutions and our machines can sense, act, and adapt to demanding environments. We collaborate with our clients’ team, we ideate, we prototype and if need be we solicit funding from public or private sources. The Digital Government team identifies, articulates, and analyzes business needs, translates them into specs, and implements fully the IT solution. We work with the private and public sector on process automation and optimization and on workflow and reporting solutions and when needed we apply advanced methodologies like lean and six sigma. We can engineer business intelligence and cognitive enterprise platforms to augment human decision making and we can ensure an organization’s Total Quality Compliance through an integrated and ISO-compliant management system. EU Institutions Business Unit (EUI): Our Luxembourg office markets our digital government expertise primarily to EU institutions. Large government ought to adjust to and reap the benefits from the omni-channel, omni-content era. Our software development team has the experience and the caliber to help governments and international organizations embrace interoperability and openness and present their content in a device agnostic way. Healthcare IT: evorad© is our RIS/PACS product suite. It is designed to cover a radiology department's needs from the moment the patients walk into the hospital until the moment they check out with a CD containing image files and their diagnostic report in hand. evorad© is the premier PACS solution of Greece’s National Health System and is used not only to process thousands of examinations daily but also as a teaching tool in most University Hospitals and Medical Schools. With over 10 years’ track record in the local market, evorad© has recently set up an office in Saudi Arabia with the mandate to market the PACS solution in the wider MENA region. IKH is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, and gender identity. More information on our company can be found at http://www.iknowhow.com/ and at our YouTube channel.

At IKH we solve hard problems. We provide custom-built automation solutions to industry and software solutions to the public and private sector. We can acquire your data, communicate, store and process it to produce insights and present them in a responsive and intuitive manner. Our tailor-made services culminate in cyber-physical systems where the physical and computational elements are intertwined to augment human capabilities.

Our mechanical and electrical engineers have brought to life close to twenty robotic solutions for the off-shore, oil & gas, nuclear, and the wind power industry. We have designed and engineered autonomous robots to perform ultrasonic testing of wind turbine blades or to replace tracked trenching machines operating in the subsea environment. More than 40 large scale web development and IT projects for private and public institutions, local subsidiaries of international organizations, and national authorities have been undertaken and successfully delivered by our software development teams.

Over the past six years, we have raised our sales six-fold and established offices in Luxembourg and London. Our headquarters are in downtown Athens (Neo Psyhiko) and our robotic team is headquartered in the outskirts of greater Athens.

At IKH we hire the best & brightest. We believe that talented individuals give credence to the maxim ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ and we strive to foster an environment where freedom, responsibility, innovation, and self-discipline flourishes. After all, a great workplace is synonymous to stunning colleagues, where employees don’t wait to be told what to do and behave like owners. Job candidates can seek for opportunities in four areas:

• Robotics & IoT: A world-class team of electrical, mechanical, and software engineers with deep expertise in mechanical design and control, in data-driven intelligence, and in embedded systems. We design and engineer robotic solutions and our machines can sense, act, and adapt to demanding environments. We collaborate with our clients’ team, we ideate, we prototype and if need be we solicit funding from public or private sources.
• The Digital Government team identifies, articulates, and analyzes business needs, translates them into specs, and implements fully the IT solution. We work with the private and public sector on process automation and optimization and on workflow and reporting solutions and when needed we apply advanced methodologies like lean and six sigma. We can engineer business intelligence and cognitive enterprise platforms to augment human decision making and we can ensure an organization’s Total Quality Compliance through an integrated and ISO-compliant management system.
• EU Institutions Business Unit (EUI): Our Luxembourg office markets our digital government expertise primarily to EU institutions. Large government ought to adjust to and reap the benefits from the omni-channel, omni-content era. Our software development team has the experience and the caliber to help governments and international organizations embrace interoperability and openness and present their content in a device agnostic way.
• Healthcare IT: evorad© is our RIS/PACS product suite. It is designed to cover a radiology department's needs from the moment the patients walk into the hospital until the moment they check out with a CD containing image files and their diagnostic report in hand. evorad© is the premier PACS solution of Greece’s National Health System and is used not only to process thousands of examinations daily but also as a teaching tool in most University Hospitals and Medical Schools. With over 10 years’ track record in the local market, evorad© has recently set up an office in Saudi Arabia with the mandate to market the PACS solution in the wider MENA region.

IKH is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, and gender identity.

More information on our company can be found at http://www.iknowhow.com/ and at our YouTube channel.