The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Innovation Coordinator / Assistant
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Platform administration, scheduling, basic reporting, internal communications support, user troubleshooting.
You're ready to move on when
- Can independently manage administrative tasks for innovation campaigns.
- Consistently produces clear and accurate basic reports.
- Proactively identifies and resolves minor platform issues.
- Receives positive feedback on helpfulness from internal users.
- 2
Internal Communications Specialist
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Crafting engaging internal narratives, managing communication channels, driving employee engagement for company initiatives, event promotion.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully led internal comms for 2-3 significant company initiatives.
- Can demonstrate increased employee engagement metrics from their campaigns.
- Strong ability to tailor messages for different internal audiences.
- Has a good understanding of how to motivate employees to participate voluntarily.
- 3
Project Support Officer (PSO) / Junior Project Manager
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Project planning and scheduling, stakeholder updates, risk identification, documentation management, process adherence.
You're ready to move on when
- Managed the full lifecycle of 1-2 small internal projects.
- Proficient in using project management tools (e.g., Jira, Asana) for tracking tasks.
- Demonstrates a systematic approach to problem-solving and task management.
- Can effectively communicate project status and potential blockers to stakeholders.