Open Innovation Manager - North America University Partnerships

Open Innovation Manager
- North America University Partnerships

Job Description

Requisition

Job Location:

Oak Brook
- Illinois
- United States

Category:
Engineering and Technical

Job Type: Full Time

Working Mode:
Hybrid

Innovation. Sustainability. Productivity. This is how we are Breaking New Ground in our mission to sustainably advance the noble work of farmers and builders everywhere. With a growing global population and increased demands on resources, our products are instrumental to feeding and sheltering the world.

From developing products that run on alternative power to productivity-enhancing precision tech, we are delivering solutions that benefit people – and they are possible thanks to people like you. If the opportunity to build your skills as part of a collaborative, global team excites you, you’re in the right place.

Grow a Career. Build a Future!

Be part of this company at the forefront of agriculture and construction, that passionately innovates to drive customer efficiency and success. And we know innovation can’t happen without collaboration. So, everything we do at CNH Industrial is about reaching new heights as one team, always delivering for the good of our customers.

The North America University Partnerships Open Innovation Manager is responsible for developing, coordinating, and expanding CNH’s strategic relationships with universities, research institutes, and academic innovation ecosystems across North America.

This role serves as the primary interface between CNH and leading academic institutions, transforming external research, talent, and innovation opportunities into measurable business value. The position focuses on building long-term strategic partnerships that support technology development, talent attraction, workforce upskilling, innovation co-development, and access to research funding.

The successful candidate will work closely with Engineering, Product Development, Advanced Technology, Manufacturing, Digital, HR, Talent Acquisition, and Corporate Strategy teams to align university collaborations with CNH’s strategic priorities and innovation roadmap.

• Develop and execute CNH's North America University Partnership Strategy aligned with business and technology priorities.
• Identify, evaluate, and manage strategic university partnerships across the United States and Canada.
• Build long-term executive and working-level relationships with university leadership, faculty members, research centers, and innovation offices.
• Continuously assess the value, impact, and strategic fit of existing academic partnerships.

• Facilitate innovation co-development projects between CNH business units and academic partners.
• Connect CNH technical needs with relevant university expertise, laboratories, research programs, and emerging technologies.
• Support the identification and execution of Proofs of Concept (PoCs), pilot projects, student projects, and collaborative research initiatives.
• Monitor technology trends and research developments emerging from the academic ecosystem.

• Collaborate with HR and Talent Acquisition teams to strengthen CNH’s talent pipeline through university engagement.
• Coordinate internship programs, capstone projects, student competitions, fellowships, PhD collaborations, and talent-development initiatives.
• Position CNH as a preferred innovation and employment partner within target universities.

• Represent CNH at university events, research symposiums, innovation conferences, and industry-academia forums.
• Expand CNH’s visibility within North America's innovation ecosystem.
• Create opportunities for collaboration between universities, startups, technology partners, and internal CNH teams.

• Develop and maintain metrics to measure partnership effectiveness, business impact, talent outcomes, innovation results, and return on investment.
• Maintain a centralized database of university engagements, activities, budgets, and outcomes.
• Communicate successes, best practices, and…