Employee Experience Innovation Architect

Innovation Architect – Employee Experience

The Innovation Architect is responsible for shaping and validating the next generation of Employee Experience (EX) solutions and service capabilities for Aon’s clients. The role focuses on identifying emerging client needs, conceiving new concepts, and leading proof-of-concept and pilot initiatives that ensure Aon remains ahead of competitors in the EX space. Working closely with the Innovation Leader (when appointed), product owners, client teams, and broader business stakeholders, the Innovation Architect will translate market trends, client challenges, and internal ideas into scalable, differentiated offerings aligned to the needs of both single-country and multi-country clients.

This is a hybrid position with flexibility to work both remotely and from one of our UK offices.

Aon is in the business of better decisions

At Aon, we shape decisions for the better to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. As an organization, we are united through trust as one inclusive team and we are passionate about helping our colleagues and clients succeed.

What the day will look like

Innovation Strategy & Concept Development

• Translate Aon’s Employee Experience strategy into a pipeline of innovative service concepts and capabilities.

• Identify and define new EX solutions based on client feedback, market trends, competitor analysis, and internal insights.

• Develop clear value propositions, use cases, and business cases for new concepts, with a focus on differentiation and commercial impact.

• Lead ideation workshops and structured innovation sessions with client teams, product, and operations.

Proof-of-Concepts, Pilots & Validation

• Design and oversee proof-of-concept (PoC) and pilot initiatives for new service capabilities, including objectives, success criteria, timelines, and governance.

• Partner with client teams to identify appropriate clients for pilots (single-country and multi-country), setting expectations and feedback mechanisms.

• Evaluate pilot outcomes using qualitative and quantitative data; refine concepts into scalable solutions or discontinue with clear rationale.

• Build and maintain reusable frameworks, playbooks, and toolkits for validating new ideas.

Product Roadmap & Portfolio Input

• Serve as a key input into the Employee Experience product roadmap, prioritizing concepts based on client demand, strategic fit, feasibility, and ROI.

• Collaborate with product management, technology, and operations to shape requirements, high-level design, and implementation planning for approved concepts.

• Help maintain a structured portfolio view of innovation initiatives, including status, impact, and dependencies.

Client Engagement & Co-Creation

• Engage directly with strategic clients to explore emerging needs and co-create new concepts and partnership opportunities.

• Support client pitches, proposals, and key pursuits by demonstrating Aon’s innovation agenda and pipeline.

• Serve as a subject matter expert on EX innovation in client meetings, steering groups, and executive updates.

Best Practice & Capability Building

• Define and continuously refine “what good looks like” for innovative EX solution design and delivery.

• Translate lessons from pilots and innovation initiatives into best-practice guidance, playbooks, and training materials for client delivery teams.

• Coach and upskill colleagues across Employee Experience on innovation methods, tools, and client-centric design thinking.

Governance, Risk & Measurement

• Ensure that innovation initiatives are aligned with Aon’s risk, legal, compliance, and data privacy requirements.

• Develop and track KPIs for innovation efforts (e.g., number of concepts, conversion to roadmap, pilot success rates, revenue/retention impact).

• Provide regular reporting and insights to the Head of Business Excellence and Innovation Leader on pipeline, progress, and outcomes.

Skills and experience that will lead to success

Essential

• Deep experience in Employee Experience, HR consulting, HR technology, rewards, engagement, or a closely related field.

• Proven track record in designing and/or launching new services, products, or capabilities in a B2B or consulting environment.

• Strong understanding of global and local EX trends and the differing needs of single-country and multi-country clients.

• Experience running or leading pilots/PoCs, including design, execution, measurement, and iteration.

• Demonstrated strength in structured problem solving and strategic thinking.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence senior leaders and collaborate across functions.

• Strong analytical skills, including comfort with data-driven decision making and business case development.

• Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Desirable

• Experience with design thinking, service design, lean experimentation, or agile methodologies.

• Exposure to HR technology platforms, analytics, and digital EX tools.

• Prior experience in a dedicated innovation, strategy, or product role.

• Experience working with global or multi-country clients and navigating local market nuances.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Business, HR, Behavioral Science, Design, Strategy, or related field.

• Postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, MSc) or professional certification in innovation, product management, or design thinking is a plus.

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