At PNC, our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage in the markets we serve. We are all united in delivering the best experience for our customers. As a Business Innovation Venture Principal within PNC’s Enterprise Innovation organization, you will be based in Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland OH, or work remotely from another location.
The mission of PNC’s Enterprise Innovation is to unlock the possible; to imagine how financial services can improve everyday life of people and organizations. Within the Enterprise Innovation team, the Business Innovation practice is responsible for innovation opportunity scanning, early-stage opportunity analysis, business model conceptualization and validation, and potential partner identification and business due diligence.
A Business Innovation Venture Principal proposes and explores new project opportunities in the fintech market by matching unsolved business problems with emerging technologies and research IP. Develops new entrepreneurial ideas and consults in the industry to identify and address high growth fintech solutions. The Venture Associate Senior should have a demonstrated track record of influencing key stakeholders and positioning business cases for approval. Creates and leads succinct project pitches & presents them to executives for funding consideration. Ideas are mostly sourced from industry experts inside of banking and academic researchers. A Venture Associate Senior has expertise in current industry gaps and sees gaps that no one is talking about.
Job Description
As a Business Innovation Venture Principal within the Business Innovation practice, you will be responsible for:
- Creates strategy and collaborates with venture associates to articulate thoughtful analyses into recommendations/business cases for development. Seeks out new relationships with academics, consultants, line of business, and subject matter experts
- Leads due diligence, operational metrics assessments, competitive analysis, product and technology evaluation, reference calls, and financial and exit modeling. Prioritizes opportunities and creates strategic approach.
- Leads selection process of most promising ideas for development and pitches ideas to senior leadership
- Gathers industry information and assess market landscape while proactively searching for sources of prospect mentors, advisers, partners and applicants
PNC Employees take pride in our reputation and to continue building upon that we expect our employees to be:
- Customer Focused – Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
- Managing Risk – Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support PNC’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
Critical Competencies
- Business Assessment (extensive experience) Knowledge of the activities, tasks, practices and deliverables for assessing and documenting business opportunities; ability to assess the benefits, risks, and success factors of potential applications.
- Innovation (extensive experience) Develops new ideas and initiatives that improve the performance of the organization.
- Analytical Thinking (extensive experience) Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis and the ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve the problems in the best interest of the business.
- Managing Multiple Priorities (extensive experience) Ability to manage multiple concurrent objectives, projects, groups, or activities, making effective judgments as to prioritizing and time allocation.
- Relationship Building (extensive experience) Develops trusting relationships by valuing others’ concerns and contributions.
- Products and Services (extensive experience) Knowledge of major products and services and product and service groups; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
- Influencing (extensive experience) Knowledge of effective influencing tactics and strategies; ability to impact decisions within and outside own organization.
Competencies
Analytical Thinking – Knowledge of techniques and tools that promote effective analysis and the ability to determine the root cause of organizational problems and create alternative solutions that resolve the problems in the best interest of the business.
Business Assessment – Knowledge of the activities, tasks, practices and deliverables for assessing and documenting business opportunities; ability to assess the benefits, risks, and success factors of potential applications.
Business Process Modeling – Knowledge of the activities, tasks, deliverables and techniques for documenting current business processes; ability to identify problems, opportunities, and re-engineering processes for improvement.
Industry Knowledge – Knowledge of the organization’s industry group, trends, directions, major issues, regulatory considerations, and trendsetters; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Influencing – Knowledge of effective influencing tactics and strategies; ability to impact decisions within and outside own organization.
Innovation – Develops new ideas and initiatives that improve the performance of the organization.
Managing Multiple Priorities – Ability to manage multiple concurrent objectives, projects, groups, or activities, making effective judgments as to prioritizing and time allocation.
Products and Services – Knowledge of major products and services and product and service groups; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Relationship Building – Develops trusting relationships by valuing others’ concerns and contributions.
Work Experience
Roles at this level typically require a university / college degree. Higher level education such as a Masters degree, PhD, or certifications is desirable. Industry relevant experience is typically 8+ years. Specific certifications are often required. In lieu of a degree, a comparable combination of education and experience (including military service) may be considered.
Education
Bachelors
Additional Job Description
Successful Candidates Will Have the Following Background, Mindset, And Know-How
- Significant experience leading the planning and execution of projects throughout the entire corporate innovation funnel from identifying and selecting ideas through conceptualizing and validating business models.
- Mastery of a variety of innovation-related critical thinking tools and frameworks (e.g., hypothesis-based problem solving, blue ocean canvas, jobs to be done, innovation engineering) and can teach others how to use them as well.
- Expertise in early-stage opportunity analysis, startup due diligence, partnership evaluations, financial modeling, digital business models, and lean startup methods.
- Recognizes patterns, creates fresh connections between different concepts, synthesizes findings into compelling new insights, and effectively communicates recommendations to leadership.
- Experiments with different approaches while maintaining focus on the project objectives.
- Combines qualitative and quantitative analysis with intuition when solving problems and developing solutions.
- Proclivity for identifying and analyzing possible strategic pitfalls while still being optimistic and taking calculated risks to “push the envelope” when exploring innovation opportunities.
- A natural collaborator and an emerging corporate innovation thought-leader who is energized by the opportunity to partner with the Director of Business Innovation to build out the Business Innovation practice at PNC.
If interested, please apply here.
