Innovation Director

Chord Energy•Houston, TX

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Innovation is accountable for developing and leading the innovation program at Chord. This role fosters a culture of innovation, generates creative solutions aligned with the company’s strategy, and stays informed on successful innovations inside and outside the industry, both technology and non-technology related. Working cross-functionally, the Director identifies high-impact opportunities, facilitates collaborative ideation, and drives initiatives from concept through pilot and implementation, while managing the overall innovation program and budget. This position is located in downtown Houston, TX and reports to the VP of Business Transformation. Hybrid work schedule is an option for remote work on Mondays. Level and salary commensurate with experience. This job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities of the position. Incumbents will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and duties outside of their normal responsibilities as assigned by their supervisor.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
13 years of experience in energy or semi-related industries
3 years proven experience leading teams in innovative or complex environments
Experience in sales, service, consulting, or customer-facing roles, with a demonstrated ability to influence decisions and gain commitment
Comfort working in ambiguous or evolving environments, including situations involving heightened urgency or organizational anxiety
Strong creative problem-solving skills, including the ability to reframe challenges, connect disparate ideas, and generate novel solutions
Demonstrated success collaborating with a variety of both internal and external stakeholders on business-critical projects
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) across all levels of the organization
Capability to influence stakeholders to successfully achieve initiative deliverables
Ability to manage several corporate initiatives simultaneously
A creative approach to business challenges, while recognizing the reasons behind current processes and procedures
An entrepreneurial mindset: possess the ability to identify opportunities, and design potential initiatives that can enhance the company's growth and competitiveness
Ability to work in a fast-paced and fluid environment; flexible with the demands of a growing company
Ability to meet deadlines
Confidence, resilience, and judgment to take calculated risks and pursue innovative approaches

Nice To Haves

5 years of established leadership experience directly managing teams and projects
Work experience on innovation or new ventures teams
Proficiency in software development with the ability to understand advanced analytical applications
Experience with Python
High level of business/ financial acumen
Intimate knowledge of technology used in business processes

Responsibilities

Develops, executes and communicates Chord’s innovation strategy
Establishes and promotes the company's innovation culture
Provide guidance, mentorship, and direction to foster growth and achieve collective innovation team goals
Develops and manages the Chord budget for investment in innovative solutions
Assists with the identification of innovative solutions to address business opportunities and ensure they are appropriately scoped with the value and business impact clearly characterized
Evaluates, prioritizes and presents innovative solutions for approval with key stakeholders including business leaders, managers, and engineering/technology leaders and collaborates with them to develop strategic roadmaps
Actively participates in the implementation of approved innovative solutions and tracks cost savings and business impact
Deploys company-wide campaigns to promote continuous improvement and innovation as well as training and upskilling
Stays engaged with emerging innovative solutions and shares information across the organization
Coordinates Chord participation and attendance at relevant conferences
Champions and effectively advocates for new ways of working, building alignment and buy-in across teams with varying levels of change readiness
Translates complex, unfamiliar, or ambiguous ideas into clear, compelling value propositions tailored to diverse stakeholder audiences
Operates effectively in environments characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, and elevated organizational pressure, helping teams move forward with confidence
Encourages experimentation by reframing constraints into opportunities and supporting pilot-and-learn approaches
Demonstrates confidence to test, iterate, and adapt ideas—leveraging learnings from both successes and failures to drive continuous improvement