Senior Manager: South African Innovation Week

Job Advert Summary

About TIA:

TIA is a talent driven, customer- centric and impact focused organisation. In our endeavour to support technology innovation with socio-economic outcomes, we seek to infuse the organisation with team players that find resonance as value creators, agile thinkers, progressive attitudes, customer-centricity, dynamic work ethic and an optimistic disposition. We aim to harness these attributes in a manner that they culminate into a culture of teamwork, impact and accountability.

The Technology Innovation Agency endeavours to promote the careers of previously disadvantaged persons by applying the principles of the Employment Equity Act, as amended.

The Agency reserves the right not to make an appointment.

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: Twenty Four (24) 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.

The responsibilities listed are a summary and not exhaustive; the full role is detailed in the official job profile.