Innovation Transformation Manager (Senior / Lead)

🏫: PPC Romania

👥: PPC Romania/Business Performance

📍: Bucharest

📝: Permanent

#WePowerYourTalent

The energy transition happens through people who see their role beyond tasks and understand that what they do has a real impact.

At PPC, we contribute every day to a safer and cleaner energy system, from the networks that connect communities, to renewable energy that transforms the energy mix, or solutions that make electric mobility accessible.

Regardless of the role, our contribution is reflected every day in the communities we serve, in the customers who choose us, and in an energy system that is constantly evolving. We are present across the entire energy value chain and we are looking for motivated people to join us.

If you are curious to understand things in depth, responsible for seeing them through to completion, and open to working in a continuously changing environment, then your place is with us.

What You Will Do

In this role, you will have the opportunity to contribute to a purpose greater than daily tasks: making energy safer, more sustainable, and closer to people.

Define and spearhead the overarching vision for the company’s evolution by identifying the next generation of energy business models. You are responsible for identifying and, together with the external innovation ecosystem, bringing in "best-in-class" and disruptive solutions that leapfrog competitors. As the leader of the Innovative Transformation team, you act as the primary bridge between breakthrough innovation and large-scale operational implementation, serving as a strategic advisor to the C-Suite to ensure the company doesn't just adapt to the future, but defines it.

Prioritize the portfolio of innovation initiatives across multiple Business Units, ensuring alignment with company’s strategic direction, and managing executive-level performance reporting and linking it with clear action/transformative initiatives. Act as a strategic partner to senior leadership, while building and mentoring the team and working closely with PPC Greece’s innovation counterparts to align on synergies and cross-market initiatives.

We create the context for you to grow, being responsible for:

• Architect of "New Standards": Lead the team in identifying areas where the energy industry is stagnant or failing customers. Define the high-level vision for a "best-in-class" standard (the "Apple of Energy") — this means both adopting proven best practices from elsewhere and pushing for genuinely disruptive solutions that don’t exist in the market yet — and steer the organization toward that benchmark.
• Strategic Innovation Scouting: Maintain a sharp, up-to-date view of global energy breakthroughs, emerging technologies (Hydrogen, Fusion, AI-Grid optimization), and business model innovations. Evaluate these for M&A, venture creation, or internal scaling.
• Initiative Synergy & Prioritization: Manage the high-level portfolio of transformation initiatives, balancing "Quick Wins – Horizon 1" (immediate efficiency) with "Tactical – Horizon 2" and "Strategic/Transformative Horizon 3" (disruptive innovation) to ensure long-term viability and growth. Define and prioritize cross-BU initiatives in partnership with executive leadership.
• C-Suite Visionary Partner: Act as the primary strategic partner to executive leadership. Use data-driven storytelling to secure investment for "breakthrough" initiatives that challenge the status quo. Manage relationship and reporting towards C-level executives and program sponsors, highlighting progress, risks, and driving data drive decision making.
• External Innovation Ecosystem Management: Build and manage a portfolio of partnerships with startups, accelerators, VCs and academia; structure and run pilots/PoCs with external innovators; own the innovation funnel from sourcing to scale-up.
• Public & EU Innovation Funding: Secure and manage public/EU co-financing (Horizon Europe, Innovation Fund, Modernisation Fund, Just Transition Fund, PNRR) to de-risk and scale pilots; build and lead multi-stakeholder consortia with universities, NGOs and public authorities.
• End-to-end transformation governance: Act as program owner for transformation initiatives stemming from innovation, tracking timelines, budgets and resources across multiple BUs — in close partnership with, and shared accountability with, the responsible Business Units. Ensure that innovation is not just "ideated" but "embedded" keeping initiatives on track and moving forward. Define the frameworks and governance that allow a breakthrough to scale from a pilot to a multi-billion Euro business unit.
• Internal Idea Management: Own the internal process for collecting, evaluating and progressing ideas from employees and internal stakeholders into pilots, embedding it into the broader innovation funnel.
• Culture of Excellence: Foster a high-performance culture that rewards "intelligent failure" in the pursuit of a superior standard and maintains a relentless focus on the end-customer.
• Leadership and Mentorship: Act as servant leader for the team members and project teams, set SMART goals, delegate tasks, and provide guidance to team members (analysts, consultants and project managers). Coach Junior Managers on how to balance analytical rigor with creative disruption, ensuring they develop the leadership maturity to succeed you.
• Problem Solving: Drive assessment session and problem solve to identify key business issues, develop effective strategies, and leverage research and analysis to find solutions.
• Innovative Transformation Ambassador: Act as a transformation ambassador, driving engagement and fostering a culture of change across the organization, while representing the company’s innovation agenda in high-level external ecosystem and industry forums.

We Want You To Join Our Journey With

• Experience: 8+ years leading complex transformation, corporate strategy, or venture building. Deep experience in high-stakes environments (MBB, Tier 1 Strategy, or Tech-heavy Energy leadership).
• Disruptive Track Record: Proven success in taking a "broken" industry process and redesigning it to be the new gold standard. You should have experience scaling an innovation from a concept to a large-scale operation (>50M EUR impact).
• Executive Presence: Master-level stakeholder management. You must be comfortable challenging Board-level assumptions and negotiating with "old-guard" business leaders to adopt "new-world" innovations
• Strategic Foresight: Ability to connect dots between disparate trends (e.g., how AI in fintech can be applied to energy trading or retail billing).
• Financial & Performance Expertise: Expert at designing SMART KPIs for innovation—knowing how to measure the success of a transformation before the financial ROI fully materializes.
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Experience in "Intrapreneurship"—setting up new functions or BUs within large, complex organizations.
• Education/background: Top-tier MBA or Master’s in Engineering/Business; background in hands-on marketing/digital innovation leadership within a large corporate, is desirable.
• Communications: Excellent top-down communication and interpersonal skills (e.g., excellent influencing, negotiation, and presentation).
• Tools and Systems: Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel and the rest of the Microsoft Office suite, with strong general digital literacy and hands-on experience using AI tools.
• Team Management: Proven expertise in managing agile, dynamic allocated teams both on site and remote.

What We Offer You

🚀 A place where you grow, not just work

• Clear professional and personal development paths
• Access to courses, mentoring, and coaching programs
• Role-relevant certifications
• Real internal mobility opportunities within the PPC Romania Group

💛 A fair package that reflects your contribution

• Fixed annual bonus (equivalent of one salary) + performance bonus
• Meal vouchers worth 45 RON/day and bonuses (Energy Day, Easter, Christmas, etc.)
• Partial reimbursement of vacation costs (2,400 RON)
• Additional vacation days + extra days off (birthday, Energy Day)
• Pillar III pension contribution worth 100 RON
• Bonus for employee referrals – ranging between 1,800 RON – 7,200 RON gross depending on the role
• Reimbursement for vision devices up to 700 RON, once every 2 years
• Voucher for partial compensation of energy consumption

🏥 Real support for your well-being

• Medical subscription / private insurance
• Access to Bookster
• Partner offers

🖥️ Flexibility that respects your rhythm

• Hybrid schedule (office & smart working)
• Short Friday

What Else You Should Know

Recruitment process confidentiality

At PPC, we respect the confidentiality of every application. Only selected candidates will be contacted for an interview, and all other applications will be stored in our database for a maximum of one year.

About PPC

We are leaders in energy in South-East Europe, active in electricity production, distribution, and supply, as well as in developing innovative solutions for a sustainable future. With an installed capacity of 12.4 GW, we supply energy to 8.7 million customers and deliver over 35 TWh annually.

In Romania, PPC became a top player following the acquisition of Enel companies in October 2023. With a history starting in 1950, we are listed on the Athens Stock Exchange and continuously expand our vision.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

We believe energy comes from people. At PPC, every voice matters, and diversity is the engine of our innovation. Regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, or disability, we offer an inclusive environment where you can grow and perform.

🔹 #EnergyForEveryone – for your career, for the future, for all