Senior Group Director, Innovation Business Operations

Senior Group Director, Innovation Business Operations

Location: New York, NY           

Reports to: Head of Open Innovation, Digital Ventures & Startup Programs

Contract: Full-time, permanent

CHANEL

At Chanel, we are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity and effectiveness of our teams.  We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience and potential you could bring to CHANEL.

ABOUT THE ROLE

CHANEL is looking for a Sr. Group Director, Innovation Business Operations to join our global Open Innovation Team in New York City. This is a rare opportunity to shape the operational future of innovation across the House. Working across more than five legal entities, three markets and a dynamic network of internal and external partners, you will be at the center of the operational engine that turns bold ideas into real-world ventures, experiences and new ways of working. You will partner closely with innovators across the House, as well as Finance, Legal, People, regional and international teams, to build the smart, scalable and compliant operating model that brings CHANEL’s innovation ambitions to life.

Our ideal candidate brings 12+ years of experience in finance, operations or a related field, combined with the curiosity and drive to make complex work feel simple, elegant and future-ready. You are energized by turning ambiguity into momentum, using emerging technology and new ways of working to solve operational challenges, and creating the conditions for innovators to move faster, smarter and with confidence. This role is designed for a strategic operator who enjoys building what does not yet exist and influencing how innovation takes shape across a global organization. There are several critical pillars to lead within the Open Innovation team.

WHAT IMPACT YOU CAN CREATE AT CHANEL

Provide strategic operational oversight for all OI entities and programs, guiding innovation teams and internal and external stakeholders to manage logistics efficiently, compliantly and with future-focused simplicity and impact, while creating the conditions for breakthrough ideas to scale responsibly.

Business Operations Management and Administration for Open Innovation (OI) Entities

• Lead the financial operating rhythm for all OI entities and programs, helping teams make smart investment choices through clear visibility into current and planned spend
• Partner with OI leaders and Finance teams across the US, UK and Luxembourg to shape annual budgets that support today’s priorities and anticipate future growth across OI entities
• Act as point person for finance for all OI entities (budget and forecast planning, tax reporting, cash forecasting, etc.) with staff costs managed in partnership with P&O
• Translate retail entity P&L insights into actionable opportunities to optimize spend, strengthen performance and improve profitability
• Periodic reviews of retail entity bank accounts and credit card management, and reporting and sales in retail Shopify to ensure proper tax categorization, reporting capture by revenue streams, proper COGS categorization, etc.

Legal, Regulatory, and Code Requirements

• Build trusted partnerships with Global and local Legal teams to navigate innovation topics for OI, continuously improving how teams collaborate and move work forward with clarity and confidence
• Serve as the central business partner for legal agreements, engaging the right internal or external counsel and helping teams understand key considerations, requirements and negotiation dynamics
• Bring structure and visibility to contract planning, budgeting and tracking across all OI entities, ensuring agreements are managed with discipline and anticipation
• Design efficient vendor onboarding and invoice management processes for OI US and UK, ensuring spend is tracked against budget, goods and services are properly confirmed, and contract requirements are met
• Partner with Regulatory teams as needed to anticipate and address considerations such as claims, client waivers and other requirements across OI ventures and activities, serving as the business point of contact
• Provide oversight for retail entity compliance, working with the local Ops Director to ensure activities align with building lease terms, landmarks regulations, business licensing, food safety certifications, fire safety requirements and related obligations

Business Operations Effectiveness

• Support program and project management and portfolio coordination in partnership with OI team a