Venture Innovations Manager

Compass Group Canada is part of a global foodservice and support services company with 625,000 employees, serving schools, colleges, hospitals, office buildings, senior living communities, and more in Canada and 50+ other countries.

About CDV

Compass Digital Ventures (CDV) is the innovation and corporate venture arm of Compass Group, focused on driving the future of foodservice through open innovation. CDV works with the startup and venture capital ecosystem to identify strategic opportunities, innovative pilots, and cutting-edge technologies. Through CDV we create pathways for successful and disruptive startup solutions to grow and enhance the business and operations at Compass.

As an Innovation Associate at CDV, you will be instrumental in identifying, vetting, and nurturing innovation opportunities and startup partnerships that align with our strategic goals.

- This role requires a proactive, analytical thinker with a passion for innovation and the ability to manage multiple pilot projects.

- You will support the end-to-end innovation process, from deal sourcing and proof of concept (PoC) design to pilot evaluation and strategic alignment, leading the opportunity.

- Working closely with the startups, Compass Group operators and clients, you will help drive forward CDV’s mission to become the epicenter for the food retail tech space to drive innovation in the industry.

Job Summary

Key Responsibilities

- Thesis Building and Developing Expertise in certain areas :

- Develop a deep understanding of specific innovation areas (e.g., FinTech, AI in Food retail) to provide thought leadership and insights to the business. Stay up-to-date on industry trends and emerging technologies within your expertise area.

- Identify themes within the broader category and validate the thesis through secondary and primary research and meeting with startups.

- Startup Deal Sourcing:

- Identify and evaluate innovative startups that align with our investment/thesis areas and have potential to progress through the stages of PoC, pilot, and commercial implementation.

- Build a network to source and find new opportunities.

- Discuss and defend opportunities with the CDV team, why it would be a good opportunity for Compass.

- PoC /Pilot Program Oversight:

- Due diligence for strategic opportunity and being able to defend why those areas are strategic for us.

- Scope and oversee the Proof of Concept and Pilots, to validate the viability and scalability of the innovation opportunity (e.g., startups).

- Collaborate with the Venture build-ops team to manage the process of running PoCs and Pilots and build the funnel.

- Define success metrics for pilot projects and assess the outcomes, ensuring that each pilot delivers clear learnings and potential pathways to commercialization.

- Help build a repeatable, scalable process for running pilots and proof of concepts, creating an “innovation pilot playbook” that can be used across the organization.

- Strategic Collaboration and Cross-Functional Engagement:

- Engage with business to understand their needs and explore innovative solutions to meet them.

- Align with Compass Digital and business stakeholders to understand unmet needs and problems.

- Run strategic sessions and workshops to dive deeper into business needs.

Objectives and Success Metrics

- Develop deep knowledge in specified investment/thesis areas and leverage insights to impact CDV’s research and strategy.

- Successfully identify and onboard startups, guiding them through the PoC and pilot process with clear objectives and measurable success metrics.

- Build and refine a standardized pilot/innovation process, ensuring a structured and efficient pathway from concept to commercialization.

- Foster strong relationships with both internal stakeholders and external partners, positioning CDV as a trusted innovation partner within the industry and for Compass.

Compass Group Canada is committed to nurturing a diverse workforce representative of the communities within which we operate. We encourage and are pleased to consider all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, aboriginal status, age, disability or persons who may require an accommodation, to apply.

For accommodation requests during the hiring process, please contact PeopleHub@compass-canada.com for further information.

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