Job Description

At Honda we embrace inclusion in our various policies, so whilst our contracts state that the hours are as required to fulfil the role with a minimum of 37 hours per week, we offer flexibility for when you work.

Whilst there is no contractual right to work from home, the flexibility we offer is that you can request to work from home for a maximum of 40% of the working days in any one month, providing there is no business requirement to attend the office.

Role:
The primary purpose of this role is to evaluate the commercial potential of emerging innovations, technologies and customer opportunities. Working as part of a small multidisciplinary team, the Business Innovation Researcher operates at the intersection of customer insight, market intelligence and innovation, providing robust analysis and recommendations to help determine whether early-stage concepts have the potential to create sustainable business value.

The role focuses on assessing early-stage concepts, technologies and customer problem hypotheses to develop well-supported business propositions. This includes evaluating market attractiveness, identifying potential applications and future use cases, assessing commercial viability, and supporting the development of business model options. Working closely with technical researchers and business stakeholders, the role brings together technological, customer and commercial insights to develop balanced assessments of new opportunities.

As a newly created role, the successful candidate will contribute to the development of practical methods and frameworks for evaluating innovation opportunities. Drawing on market analysis, technology assessment, industry trends, competitive intelligence and commercial insight, they will quantify market opportunities, assess value propositions, evaluate business model options, and identify the key assumptions, risks and uncertainties that require further validation. The outputs from this work will support evidence-based decision-making and help ensure innovation activities remain focused on opportunities with the greatest potential for business value.

The ideal candidate will possess strong analytical and commercial thinking skills, with experience evaluating business opportunities, market potential and value propositions. They will be comfortable working with ambiguity, able to structure complex problems, and capable of synthesising diverse information into clear, evidence-based recommendations. Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills are essential, as success depends on collaborating effectively across multiple teams to support informed decision-making.

Main Responsibilities:

Opportunity Assessment & Market Insight

• Evaluate the commercial potential of emerging innovations, technologies and customer opportunities.
• Conduct market and competitor research to assess opportunity attractiveness and potential.
• Identify potential applications, target markets and value propositions for early-stage concepts.
• Develop structured opportunity assessments that support innovation and investment decisions.
• Quantify market opportunities and assess the key drivers influencing commercial success.
• Produce concise research outputs and recommendations tailored to a range of stakeholder

Commercial Evaluation

• Assess commercial viability, potential business models and routes to market for emerging opportunities.
• Identify the assumptions, risks and uncertainties that require further validation.
• Support the development of business cases by providing market evidence, commercial insight and opportunity analysis.
• Contribute to prioritisation discussions by providing balanced, evidence-based recommendations.

Collaboration & Innovation Support

• Work collaboratively with research, technical and customer members to evaluate new opportunities.
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of frameworks and methods for assessing innovation opportunities.
• Present findings and recommendations clearly to a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Support the wider innovation team by ensuring opportunity assessments are informed by robust market and commercial evidence.

Qualifications, skills and experience:
Required

• Experience evaluating new business opportunities, emerging technologies or innovation concepts through market, customer or commercial research.
• Strong analytical and commercial thinking skills, with the ability to assess market potential, value propositions and commercial viability.
• Experience conducting market analysis, competitor research, trend analysis and opportunity assessment to support strategic decision-making.
• Ability to synthesise information from multiple sources into clear, evidence-based insights and recommendations.
• Knowledge of business models and commercial considerations, with the ability to contribute to early-stage business case development.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with experience working collaboratively across technical, research and business teams.
• Highly organised, self-motivated and comfortable working in ambiguous environments with competing priorities.

Desirable

• Degree-level qualification in Business, Economics, Marketing, Innovation Management or a related discipline.
• Experience working in innovation, strategy, market intelligence, product, consulting or technology-led environments.
• Knowledge of emerging technologies and digital trends, such as AI, IoT, cloud computing or data-driven products and services.
• Experience supporting business case development, opportunity assessment or strategic planning activities.
• Familiarity with market research, business intelligence or data visualisation tools.

Honda is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in the workplace for all employees, temporary workers, contractors, applicants and visitors. Honda also encourages respect for the individual differences and talents of others while making full use of one's own abilities, based on Honda's philosophy of respect for the individual.

At Honda, we value and celebrate diversity and are committed to being a fair, non-discriminatory company that promotes and welcomes the uniqueness and differences of people around the world. We recognise that a diverse workforce allows for different ideas and perspectives, and we encourage everyone to share them. We strive to foster a culture of belonging that is consistent with Honda's core values and lived out in the way we work and respect each other. For us at Honda, diversifying our workforce means increasing its overall strength by providing people with equal opportunities - regardless of personal characteristics or previous careers.

This commitment flows directly from the Honda philosophy and the belief that we are all working towards a common goal. Honda recruits, hires, trains and promotes the most qualified/experienced individuals at all levels without regard to race, origin, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristic.