Lead Specialist Innovation Portfolio

About Ma'aden

Ma'aden, established in 1997, is recognized as one of the fastest-growing mining companies globally and holds the position of the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East. The company is instrumental in developing the mining industry to become the third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s economy, achieved by building a world-class, fully integrated mining value chain.

Role Summary: Lead Specialist, Innovation Portfolio

Ma'aden is seeking a Lead Specialist, Innovation Portfolio to join its team in Riyadh. This full-time role is responsible for maximizing the value of innovation investments through the establishment of a structured, transparent, and strategically aligned innovation portfolio. The specialist will ensure that innovation initiatives are prioritized, governed, and managed as a balanced portfolio to support long-term business growth, operational excellence, and transformation objectives. This position requires over 10 years of experience in a relevant field.

Portfolio Strategy and Management

This role involves applying disciplined portfolio management practices to improve investment decisions and accelerate the delivery of high-value initiatives. Key responsibilities include:

• Establishing and enhancing innovation portfolio governance frameworks, prioritization models, and investment criteria.
• Aligning innovation investments with business strategy, transformation priorities, and long-term value creation objectives.
• Strengthening executive decision-making through effective governance forums and portfolio review mechanisms.
• Optimizing innovation investment decisions by evaluating opportunities based on strategic fit, value potential, risk, scalability, and feasibility.
• Developing robust business cases and recommendations to support informed funding and portfolio allocation decisions.
• Maintaining a balanced innovation portfolio across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.
• Defining and implementing portfolio performance frameworks and value realization measures.
• Improving portfolio outcomes through continuous monitoring of innovation performance, benefits, and strategic contribution.
• Driving portfolio optimization using performance insights, lessons learned, and measurable business impact.

Innovation Delivery and Stakeholder Engagement

The Lead Specialist will also focus on building and managing the innovation pipeline and fostering collaboration across various functions:

• Building and maintaining a sustainable pipeline of innovation opportunities and emerging technology initiatives.
• Enhancing portfolio resilience through balanced management of initiatives across varying maturity levels and risk profiles.
• Accelerating the progression of high-potential concepts through validation, piloting, and portfolio review processes.
• Fostering collaboration across Innovation, Technology Operations, Data & AI, and business functions to accelerate innovation delivery.
• Resolving portfolio dependencies, resource constraints, and execution risks that affect portfolio performance.
• Promoting alignment among sponsors, initiative owners, and delivery teams to improve execution effectiveness.
• Delivering executive-level portfolio reporting that provides visibility into performance, risks, opportunities, and investment effectiveness.
• Generating actionable insights that support strategic planning, budgeting, and innovation roadmap development.
• Influencing leadership decisions through evidence-based portfolio recommendations and performance analysis.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured by:

• Clear alignment of innovation investments with strategic business priorities.
• Transparent and effective decision-making enabled by portfolio governance frameworks.
• Delivery of measurable financial, operational, sustainability, and strategic value from innovation initiatives.
• Maintenance of a balanced pipeline of innovation opportunities across multiple maturity levels.
• Timely, accurate, and actionable portfolio insights provided to leadership.
• Optimization of portfolio resources to maximize innovation outcomes and business impact.

Required Experience

Candidates should possess over 10 years of experience in a relevant field, demonstrating a strong background in innovation portfolio management, strategic planning, and project governance.