Innovation Manager Jobs

Department:

Business Transformation

Our Company Promise

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

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Job Summary:

• The People of Southwest Airlines come together to deliver on our Purpose, which is to connect People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. The Manager Innovation helps Southwest deliver on our Purpose through their direct Leadership of a Team of individual contributors and by fostering a Culture where their Team of designers, strategists, operators, researchers, and other problem solvers can help business partners see what’s possible with a pipeline of good solutions to tough challenges. This Manager will focus on finding new ways to speed up Southwest turn times, and they’ll complete qualitative research, solution ideation, and concept testing to uncover the most viable solutions to challenge areas. They’ll also partner with an in-airport testing Team in order to prototype potential solutions and gather feasibility evidence in a live environment. The Manager Innovation is passionate about continuous improvement and championing our People, and they’ll have the opportunity to coach and develop their important Team as they help pilot the future of Southwest Airlines.

Additional details:

• This role is offered as a regional workplace position and Employees must work in the region they support. This could require working from a mix of on-site Company facilities and remote based offices to perform the job function in a regional location determined by business need. Each Department will provide Employees with guidance on when and where presence is required with as much notice as reasonably possible.
• U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. is required, and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.
• Please note, while this is a regional position, there is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work off-site. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, Delaware, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We continue to look for opportunities to reflect the communities we serve, and welcome applicants with diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and experiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-disciplinary project teams through modes of design
• Envision and sketch new ideas across a wide range of experience types: digital and physical tools, programs and services, spaces and environments, events, campaigns, roles, policies, processes, etc.
• Coach and guide a team of problem solvers by embracing both ambiguity and curiosity and lending technical expertise across the modes of design including research, design, development and storytelling
• Lead and / or design concept workshops
• Collaborate in a team-based environment with leads from multi-disciplinary units such as operations, technology, facilities, and marketing
• Teach and coach others on human-centered design methods
• Must be able to meet any physical ability requirements listed on this description
• Discover the ”why’s” behind problems through field research using ethnographic methods such as observation and find pertinent insights to identify opportunity areas for designing new solutions
• Create prototypes and gather feedback on design concepts from a wide range of audiences
• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders
• Identifies and understands the dependencies and impacts of projects to the greater Company business or operation

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Intermediate knowledge of Human Centered Design and Innovation mindsets, tools and techniques
• Ability to coach, inspire and direct a team toward a common purpose and set a clear direction by casting a vision, creating action plans and delegating responsibilities
• Ability to articulate a compelling story and deliver impactful presentations to gain alignment
• Skilled in facilitating concepting sessions and prototyping
• Ability to use Microsoft Office Suite
• Ability to discern underlying human needs and actionable insights from research
• Skilled in behavioral research practices
• Skilled in building and managing relationships across a large organization
• Skilled in strategic thinking, problem solving and connecting disparate dots to see beyond today’s activities

Education

• Required: Undergraduate level degree in a research driven field such as Social Sciences or Design related fields
• Required: High School Diploma or GED

Experience

• Prototyping
• User Research
• Demonstrated experience in directly or indirectly leading team(s)
• Business consulting / Strategy
• Fully functioning, broad knowledge in:
• Communications

Licensing/ Certifications

• N/A

Physical Abilities

• Ability to communicate and interact with others in the English language to meet the demands of the job
• Ability to perform work duties from [limited space work station/desk/office area] for extended periods of time
• Ability to use a computer and other office productivity tools with sufficient speed and accuracy to meet the demands of the job

Other Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
• Must be able to comply with Company attendance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must maintain a well-groomed appearance per Company appearance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must be at least 18 years of age

Pay & Benefits:

Competitive market salary from $137,250 per year to $152,500 per year* depending on qualifications and experience. For eligible Leadership and individual contributor roles, additional bonus opportunities are available and awarded at the discretion of the company.

Benefits you’ll love:•

• Potential for annual Profit-sharing contribution toward retirement - when Southwest profits, you profit**
• Explore more Benefits you’ll love: HTTPs://careers.southwestair.com/benefits
• Up to a 9.3% 401(k) Company match, dollar for dollar, of your eligible pay, per paycheck *
• Fly for free, as a privilege, on any open seat on all Southwest flights (your eligible dependents too)

*Pay amount does not guarantee employment for any particular period of time.**401(k) match contributions are subject to the plan’s vesting schedule and applicable RS limits***Profit-sharing contributions are subject to plan’s vesting schedule and are made at the discretion of the Company.

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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