Director of Innovation & Growth - European Market Infrastructure #0610

Are you a strategic thinker who flourishes at the crossroads of technology, commerce, and market evolution? We are working in partnership with a well-established organisation sitting at the centre of Europe's market infrastructure ecosystem to appoint a high-calibre Director of Innovation & Growth. The client is looking for a business-savvy, forward-thinking executive capable of crafting and delivering a bold agenda for growth and innovation.

This position reports into the most senior levels of the business and comes with a genuinely broad strategic scope. You will head up a focused team and take ownership of the organisation's core engine for commercial expansion, innovation, and enterprise-wide transformation.

Key Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Take charge of a capable team working across business development, strategic analysis, and key account management; nurture an environment defined by drive, intellectual rigour, and teamwork.
• Delivering Commercial Expansion: Architect and roll out the organisation's blueprint for innovation and new business, pinpointing emerging opportunities across European market infrastructure—whether through untapped revenue lines, adjacent sectors, or strategic tie-ups.
• Advisory to Senior Leadership: Act as a go-to adviser for the CEO; craft and deliver compelling strategic analyses, business cases, and market studies for consumption at board and executive forums.
• Cultivating Strategic Alliances: Seek out, nurture, and maintain impactful alliances, joint ventures, and client relationships that reinforce the organisation's growth trajectory.
• Connecting Commercial & Technical Agendas: Stand as the connective tissue between commercial strategy and technical execution, making the case for cloud, DevOps, and digital transformation as routes to lasting competitive advantage.
• Advancing a Contemporary Leadership Mindset: Reinforce the organisation's broader journey toward a more responsive, adaptive, and joined-up style of leadership.
• Reading the Market & Regulatory Environment: Keep a close eye on shifts in market dynamics, competitor activity, and the European regulatory environment; turn those observations into sharp strategic guidance and recommendations for the executive team.
• Contributing to M&A Initiatives: Contribute meaningfully to the sourcing and assessment of acquisition candidates, partnership prospects, or strategic investments that complement the organisation's longer-term ambitions.

Requirements:
• Professional fluency in English.
• A clear history of winning new commercial ground—whether through fresh opportunities, strategic partnerships, or market-entry plays.
• A senior-level background in business development, strategy, or innovation, preferably built within financial services, market infrastructure, capital markets, fintech, or a closely related field.
• Deep familiarity with Europe's market infrastructure environment.
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills; fully at ease engaging at C-suite and board level.
• Proven ability to design and deliver sophisticated, multi-stakeholder commercial strategies within a regulated setting.
• A working appreciation of cloud, DevOps, and digital transformation programmes, along with the commercial judgement to turn those capabilities into business value.
• Experience building up and leading compact, high-performing teams.

Desirable Attributes

• Additional European language capability (French, German, Dutch, Italian, or Spanish regarded favourably).
• An MBA or comparable postgraduate qualification in business, finance, economics, or technology management.
• An active network spanning European financial markets, regulatory bodies, or technology providers.
• Hands-on involvement in M&A activity, whether identifying targets, conducting due diligence, or overseeing post-deal integration.

Benefits:
Salary €130,000 – €150,000 gross per annum

Standard Benefits apply

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