Manager -Sustainability & Innovation

In het kort: Je gaat een internationaal Sustainability & Innovation team leiden, structureren en verder ontwikkelen, innovatie-initiatieven sturen en de uitvoering van de duurzaamheids- en innovatieagenda waarborgen tijdens een periode van tijdelijke vervanging. Manager Sustainability & Innovation Introduction: At TenneT, we are building the electricity grid of tomorrow. As Manager Sustainability & Innovation, you play a key role in ensuring continuity and leadership within an evolving team that contributes to TenneT’s sustainability ambitions and innovation agenda. Through your leadership and expertise, you help create a future-proof energy system and support the ongoing energy transition. About TenneT, the Unit, Department and Team: TenneT is Europe’s leading transmission system operator and plays a pivotal role in the energy transition. With more than 23,500 kilometres of high-voltage connections and nearly 5,000 employees, we ensure a secure and reliable electricity supply in the Netherlands and large parts of Germany. You will join the Sustainability & Innovation team. The Sustainability & Innovation team is a relatively new and internationally diverse team that is still developing in terms of structure, governance, ways of working, role clarity, and team cohesion. The team is responsible for advancing sustainability topics such as decarbonisation, circularity, biodiversity, and human rights, while also driving innovation initiatives across the organization. The Role: How do you help keep the Netherlands powered? As an Manager Sustainability & Innovation, you provide leadership and stability during a maternity leave period while ensuring the continued execution of the Sustainability & Innovation agenda. In addition to maintaining business continuity, you support the further development and maturation of the team. Your responsibilities include: Team Leadership & Development – Providing day-to-day leadership, coaching, and guidance to the Sustainability & Innovation team. – Supporting the continued development of a relatively new team. – Strengthening collaboration, trust, and engagement within the team. – Managing complex team dynamics in a constructive and professional manner. – Ensuring role clarity, accountability, and effective ways of working for the team – Fostering an inclusive and psychologically safe environment while maintaining high performance standards. – Strong structural skills to give the team a clear structure and way of working Team Maturity & Organizational Development: – Further developing team structure and governance where needed. – Clarifying roles, responsibilities, interfaces, and decision-making processes. – Establishing clear expectations and accountability mechanisms. – Applying innovation management practices to balance creativity, collaboration, and execution. – Proven experience managing the full innovation lifecycle — from ideation and opportunity scouting through prototyping, piloting, and scaled implementation. – Strong grasp of innovation methodologies (Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Stage-Gate) and ability to adapt frameworks to organizational context. – Experience with managing cross-functional collaboration, including workshops, hackathons, or innovation labs. – Ability to evaluate emerging technologies and market trends, and translate them into actionable business opportunities. – Track record of managing innovation portfolios — balancing exploratory (horizon 2/3) projects alongside core business priorities. – Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leadership and secure buy-in/funding for new initiatives. – Comfort with ambiguity and iterative processes; ability to kill projects early when signals are weak, without losing team morale. – Experience setting up or contributing to innovation metrics/KPIs and steering on them – Familiarity with open innovation approaches — partnerships, startup collaborations, or ecosystem engagement You will work closely with the Sustainability & Innovation team, the Manager of Strategy and Innovation, and a broad network of internal and external stakeholders. Additional information: – Working from home is possible, but the candidate is expected to work on location at least every Thursday + one other day per week. Screening: – A Pre‑Employment Screening (PES) is standard upon onboarding. – All submitted candidates must be in possession of a valid Passport or ID card, which must be taken along to the interview and at the start of the assignment. Availability: – Important, the candidate has to be available throughout the entire duration of the assignment.