Innovation Specialist

COMMUNITY AID INC•York, PA

4d•$65,000 - $75,000

About The Position

The Innovation Specialist plays a key role in advancing strategic innovation initiatives across CommunityAid. This role leads project workstreams, inspires change, and equips departments to adopt and implement new solutions. As part of the Innovation Team—a shared service across the organization—the Specialist works cross-functionally to test, evaluate, and scale high-impact ideas aligned with our mission and strategic goals.

Requirements

Problem-solving and creative thinking
Effective communication and storytelling
Change management and facilitation
Collaboration across diverse teams
Data analysis and insight generation
Self-direction and adaptability

Responsibilities

Adjacent & Transformational Innovation Execution Lead innovation projects and workstreams under supervision
Apply design thinking tools and innovation methodologies independently
Explore and test emerging technologies and tools
Participate in business case development and impact evaluation
Rapidly learn new problem spaces and contribute to transformational pilots
Continuous Improvement (CI) & Operational Excellence Lead store-level CI projects and pilot process improvements
Teach CI principles to front-line staff
Apply Lean Six Sigma methodology
Collaborate with operations to document and standardize best practices
Support ongoing process optimization
Strategic Insight and Deployment Use data analysis and qualitative research to generate strategic, operational insights
Assist in tracking organizational progress toward key strategic goals
Support development of strategic roadmaps and KPIs for organizational BHAGs
Regularly engage in consumer research to build up the knowledge base around our consumers (shoppers) and customer (donors)
Communication and Stakeholder Management Present project findings and proposals clearly to internal teams
Build collaborative relationships across departments
Represent the Innovation team with professionalism and clarity
Communicate innovation value to a wide range of stakeholders
Support executive engagement through reporting and briefings
Actively listen and learn from front-line staff.
Advocate for front-line insights with leadership
Mission-Aligned Culture Building Reflect CommunityAid’s mission and values in all innovation work
Actively think about change management in cross-functional projects – stay focused on the “how” of our work
Model emotional intelligence and collaborative behavior
Promote a spirit of service and values-driven innovation – treat other teams as the client
Embrace, exemplify, and endorse CommunityAid’s 12 Core Behaviors.
Embrace CommunityAid’s Mission.