Senior Innovation Business Partner
MAERSK · Copenhagen, Denmark
You apply off-site, with the employer or the job board. I never handle applications.
A.P. Moller - Maersk is an integrated logistics company that is responsible for moving 20% of global trade every year. With a dedicated team of over 100,000 employees across 130 countries, we go all the way to connect and simplify global trade and help our customers grow and thrive.
Maersk Growth is the global partner for external innovation at A.P. Moller Maersk on a mission to digitise and strengthen the resilience of global supply chains. We build commercial partnerships with startups to pilot and scale their solutions within Maersk, helping the organisation move faster with the latest technologies.
Maersk Growth’s mandate is to become the function that drives and coordinates APMM’s presence in and engagement with the startup ecosystem by Providing Maersk with visibility to key trends, developments, and access to new startups Strengthening Proof-of-Concept (PoC) support and expertise for non-equity-based collaboration as a Venture Client (incl. startup screening) to close our innovation gaps Opportunity:
Our team serves as the Centre of Excellence for startup collaboration across A.P. Moller - Maersk, helping business and technology leaders accelerate innovation through structured engagement with the global startup ecosystem. We focus on Maersk’s most relevant business problems across all service models among key business functions working closely together with APMM Senior Business and Tech leaders. Leveraging Maersk Growth's venture clienting approach and startup ecosystem network, our mission is to identify business challenges and opportunities across the organisation, source and evaluate startups, facilitate PoCs and pilots, and support the successful adoption and scaling of solutions across the organisation.
As our new Senior Innovation Business Partner, you will spearhead crucial relationships with APMM business and tech leaders helping them to shape ideas, define problems, evaluate strategies, navigate governance processes, and support delivery excellence of PoCs. Leveraging Maersk Growth's venture clienting approach and startup ecosystem network, you will help connect business needs with innovative technologies that accelerate strategic priorities across APMM. This could involve identifying opportunities to drive product innovation or improve efficiency across Maersk.
Key responsibilities:
- Partner with business and technology leaders across A.P. Moller - Maersk to identify business challenges, capability gaps, and innovation opportunities where emerging technologies and startup solutions can create measurable value.
- Drive and coordinate Maersk's engagement with the startup ecosystem, connecting strategic business priorities and innovation needs with best-in-class startup and scale-up solutions.
- Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across business, product, and technology functions, acting as a thought partner on innovation opportunities, venture clienting, and technology adoption.
- Act as an empowered leader for change, helping the business shape ideas, define problems, challenge assumptions, navigate governance processes, and accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions.
- Lead the end-to-end venture clienting process, from problem framing and startup sourcing through pilot design, execution, evaluation, and adoption, ensuring clear ownership, success metrics, governance, and stakeholder alignment throughout.
- Deliver high-quality PoCs in collaboration with business sponsors, product owners, platform teams, and technology stakeholders, generating evidence that enables informed decisions on future adoption and scale-up.
- Represent and help grow the Maersk Growth brand internally and externally, strengthening Maersk's position as a leading partner for innovation and startup collaboration.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has 5+ years of relevant experience in innovation, venture clienting, startup collaboration, digitalisation, technology adoption, operational excellence, or related innovation ecosystems, ideally with exposure to supply chain and logistics challenges
- Has strong project management capabilities and a strategic mindset, with the ability to move quickly and pragmatically from problem definition to execution
- Can identify and frame business challenges, capability gaps, and innovation opportunities, helping stakeholders translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives
- Has exceptional stakeholder management skills and can build trusted relationships and collaborate effectively across all organisational levels
- Can drive structured processes involving multiple stakeholders, balancing the bigger picture, key performance metrics, trade-offs, dependencies, and required approvals
- Can challenge colleagues constructively and help test assumptions related to impact, performance metrics, and trade-offs
- Is comfortable operating at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation, and thrives in ambiguous environments where priorities and scope can evolve rapidly
- Has strong communication and presentation skills, with the confidence and credibility to engage and influence senior stakeholders
- Has an innovative and customer-centric mindset, with a focus on creating value for both internal and external stakeholders
- Already has, or quickly develops, a deep understanding of A.P. Moller - Maersk's strategic direction, product roadmaps, and technology landscape
- Demonstrates curiosity, persistence, ownership, and a strong personal drive to deliver results
- A strong Maersk-internal network, business acumen, and the ability to navigate and influence within a complex organisation is a plus.
Maersk is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we embrace different styles of thinking. Maersk is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants without regard to race, colour, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy or parental leave, veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with all legal requirements.
We are happy to support your need for any adjustments during the application and hiring process. If you need special assistance or an accommodation to use our website, apply for a position, or to perform a job, please contact us by emailing accommodationrequests@maersk.com .