Senior Manager: South African Innovation Week

Purpose of the Position

• The Senior Manager: South African Innovation Week SAIW will be responsible for the end-to-end planning, coordination, mobilisation, implementation, and post-event reporting of South Africa's flagship innovation ecosystem event, the South African Innovation Week SAIW. The incumbent will lead the development and execution of a national innovation platform that convenes government, industry, academia, investors, entrepreneurs, civil society, and international partners through a Quadruple Helix approach. The role requires strategic leadership, stakeholder management, programme development, sponsorship mobilisation, event operations oversight, communications coordination, and delivery of measurable ecosystem and socio-economic outcomes. The position will ensure the successful delivery of SAIW within a nine-month implementation period and support the establishment of SAIW as a sustainable annual national innovation platform.

Duration: Twelve 12 months fixed term contract

Minimum Requirements Qualification

• Bachelor's Degree qualification in fields such as Innovation Management; Business Management; Public Administration; Economic Development; Engineering; Science and Technology Management or a related field.
• Post-Graduate Degree qualification in fields such as Innovation Management; Business Management; Public Administration; Economic Development; Engineering; Science and Technology Management or a related field will be an added advantage.

Work Experience

• Minimum 5 years managing large-scale national programmes, conferences or strategic initiatives.
• Experience working within innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, research or economic development ecosystems.
• Demonstrated stakeholder management experience.
• Proven partnership and sponsorship mobilisation experience.
• Experience managing multidisciplinary project teams. Budget management experience exceeding R10 million.
• 7 –10 years senior management experience.
• Experience within the National System of Innovation.
• Experience working with government entities and public sector governance environments will be an added advantage.

Duties and Responsibilities Financial Perspective

• Develop and manage the SAIW budget, financial plans, and cost frameworks.
• Monitor expenditure and ensure alignment with approved budgets.
• Implement financial controls and cost-management practices.
• Coordinate financial reporting, forecasting, and expenditure analysis.
• Monitor sponsorship income, partner contributions, and financial reconciliations.
• Ensure value-for-money principles across all event activities.
• Develop sponsorship strategies, value propositions, and partner engagement plans.

Stakeholder Relationship

• Lead strategic engagement across the Quadruple Helix innovation ecosystem.
• Secure participation and commitment from key national and international stakeholders.
• Build and formalise partnerships with government, academia, industry, investors, and innovation intermediaries.
• Negotiate partnership agreements and coordinate stakeholder engagement, communication, and collaboration.
• Lead development of the SAIW marketing and communications strategy.
• Coordinate media partnerships and promotional collaborations.
• Drive stakeholder awareness and engagement through strategic communications platforms.
• Secure and manage sponsorships and funding partnerships while tracking commitments, performance, and delivery of contractual benefits.

Internal Processes

• A comprehensive, integrated implementation strategy is developed and executed to position SAIW as a premier national innovation event.
• Programme governance structures are established, coordinated, and enabled to function effectively across all workstreams.
• Strategic partnerships, stakeholder mobilisation, and ecosystem participation are secured across government, industry, academia, investors, and civil society.
• Sponsorship mobilisation and resource acquisition targets are achieved to ensure financial sustainability and programme excellence.
• High-quality programme content is curated to reflect national innovation priorities and showcase South African innovation excellence.
• Monitoring, evaluation, reporting, and impact assessment processes provide clear visibility of programme performance, ecosystem outcomes, and national impact.
• Lead the development and execution of the overarching SAIW implementation strategy.
• Establish and maintain the programme governance framework and decision-making structures.
• Develop and coordinate detailed project plans, implementation schedules, workstreams and integrated delivery timelines across event components.
• Ensure strategic alignment with TIA priorities and national innovation objectives.
• Lead steering committee engagements and governance forums.
• Prepare strategic reports for EXCO, Board Committees, and national stakeholders.
• Design and curate the full SAIW programme architecture.
• Coordinate keynote speakers, panel discussions, masterclasses, and thematic sessions.
• Develop thematic tracks aligned to national innovation priorities and emerging technology domains.
• Coordinate innovation competitions, awards, pitch events, exhibitions, and showcases.
• Ensure programme content reflects national priorities and ecosystem needs.
• Oversee all event logistics, operational planning, and readiness activities.
• Coordinate venue management, supplier engagement, and service provider operations.
• Manage procurement, delegate services, and operational compliance while ensuring adherence to SCM, health, safety, security, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead event delivery teams and oversee on-site execution.
• Develop and implement the national decentralised activation strategy.
• Position provincial activations as the build-up programme to the national festival.
• Align activation activities with regional innovation priorities.
• Mobilise provincial innovation stakeholders across government, academia, industry, and community networks.
• Coordinate innovation showcases, demonstrations, dialogues, hackathons, and ecosystem tours.
• Coordinate stakeholder participation, investor engagement, and provincial integration to showcase innovation and expand market opportunities.

Learning and Growth

• Lead SAIW governance, risk, compliance, and performance management by coordinating governance structures, ensuring regulatory adherence, managing audit and risk processes, and implementing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for continuous improvement.

Deadline:10th August,2026