Research & Development Assistant Manager at Fresh Life

About the role

The Research & Development Assistant Manager will lead Fresh Life's innovation discovery and product development processes. The role is responsible for identifying opportunities for new sanitation products, services, and operational innovations, designing and running pilots, and generating evidence to inform strategic decisions.

The role will work closely with operations, customer experience, engineering, and commercial teams to ensure that new innovations are grounded in real customer needs and operational realities. Success in this role will be measured by the strength of the innovation pipeline, the quality of pilots conducted, and the successful transition of viable innovations into scalable programs or revenue-generating products.

Duties and Responsibilities

Innovation Discovery & Opportunity Identification

Conduct market research, customer insights, and ecosystem scanning to identify opportunities for new products, services, and operational improvements.

Analyse sanitation market trends, emerging technologies, and circular economy opportunities relevant to Fresh Life's mission.

Work closely with operations and customer teams to identify innovation opportunities from field insights.

Develop problem statements and opportunity areas for innovation.

Pilot Design & Innovation Testing

Design, plan, and implement innovation pilots to test new sanitation solutions, services, and business models.

Develop pilot frameworks including hypotheses, testing methodologies, KPIs, and evaluation criteria.

Coordinate cross-functional teams to implement pilot projects effectively.

Monitor pilot performance and document learnings, successes, and failures.

Evidence Generation & Innovation Pipeline Management

Analyse pilot results and produce insights to inform scaling decisions.

Develop structured innovation reports and recommendations for leadership.

Manage Fresh Life's innovation pipeline from concept through testing to scale readiness.

Support the transition of validated innovations to operational teams or the New Revenues function for commercialization.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Environmental Science, Business, Economics, Public Policy, or related field.

A master's degree in Innovation, Development Studies, Business, or Engineering is an advantage.

4 - 6 years of experience in innovation, research, product development, consulting, or program design.

Experience designing and implementing pilots or field experiments.

Experience working in emerging markets, social enterprises, or infrastructure services is an advantage.

Strong research and analytical capabilities.

Ability to design and manage pilot projects and experimentation frameworks.

Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Data-driven decision-making and problem-solving ability.