Executive Applied Research and Digital Innovation

Structural Information

Job number: 10030082

Job title: Executive: Applied Research & Digital Innovation

Job grade: M3

BU: Corporate

Division: Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Span of control: 0

Reports to: Top Management

Core Description The Executive: Applied Research & Digital Innovation leads Telkom's research and innovation agenda, ensuring the protection and commercial advancement of intellectual property arising from research initiatives. The role identifies new opportunities, technologies, and partnerships that support innovation-driven growth, enabling commercialisation pathways and scaling viable concepts into marketable solutions. Driving innovation in non-traditional areas within the digital communication sector, the incumbent orchestrates research programmes across a national network of universities and translates outputs into commercially viable, market-ready solutions.

Commercial ability to take innovation to market is non-negotiable. The role ensures strong governance, alignment to business priorities, and operational support for research programmes, while managing stakeholders and partners at the highest level, including at Vice-Chancellor level.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Innovation Leadership
  • Identify commercialisation opportunities derived from research outputs and assess scalability and business value, enabling ideas innovation towards commercially viable solutions to take to market
  • Develop commercialisation roadmaps, including licensing agreements, partnership frameworks, and spin-off identification
  • Provide strategic oversight for all research programmes aligned to key organisational technology domains
2. Operational Management of Research Activities
  • Ensure effective planning, coordination, scheduling, and administrative support for research projects across business units
  • Produce research reports and business cases that guide technology investment decisions, clearly articulating the commercial opportunity and expected business value of each initiative
  • Lead the development and execution of the annual Centre of Excellence (COE) conference, including sponsorship acquisition, technical review, and content structuring
3. Technology and Market Intelligence
  • Monitor emerging technology trends including 5G, IoT, AI, Cloud Computing, AR/VR, Gaming, and Quantum Computing
  • Identify new research directions and influence internal investment priorities, balancing scientific merit with commercial relevance to Telkom's BUs and customers
4. Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
  • Manage internal and external research relationships with universities, research partners, and innovation ecosystems
  • Coordinate cross-functional teams to support commercialisation and programme delivery, working closely as a team player with multiple stakeholders towards the commercialisation outcome
5. Legal, Governance and IP Management
  • Lead the protection, management, and commercialisation of research-generated intellectual property
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks governing innovation, research, and IP rights

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications:
  • NQF 7: Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Innovation or a related field
  • PhD/ Masters/ MBA in Computer Science, Innovation, Information Systems or Engineering or related field (advantageous)
  • Project Management certification will be advantageous
Experience:
  • Minimum 8–10 years' relevant experience in a research, innovation, technology development or commercialisation environment
  • At least 3 years at senior management level
  • Experience managing innovation projects from concept to commercialisation
  • Proven leadership in research and innovation environments
  • Demonstrated ability to articulate research outcomes in commercial terms and partner with Business Units that take products to market
  • Experience to include exposure to environments where research outcomes have translated into commercial or business value
Core Competencies

Functional Knowledge / Skills:

  • Research and innovation strategy
  • Intellectual property protection and commercialisation models
  • Emerging technology landscape (5G, IoT, AI, Cloud, AR/VR, Quantum)
  • Legal frameworks relating to research and innovation governance
  • Project and product management principl
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