Senior Manager, Alliances & Innovation

Job ID: 520050

CRH is a leading global diversified building materials group, employing over 75,800 people at more than 3,160 locations in 29 countries. CRH is the leading building materials company in North America and the world. We manufacture and distribute a diverse range of superior building materials, products, and solutions, which are used extensively in construction projects of all sizes.

Job Summary

With the aspiration to position CRH as the best in class partner in the Construction Value Chain when it comes to innovation and sustainability, the Group Innovation team is responsible for developing and implementing across the company an Innovation Model that enables resilience, durability, and value creation through changing business, societal, and investor contexts by leveraging our capacity to partner with key stakeholders to innovate and foster sustainable value for all our stakeholders. That innovation model spans from the fostering of opportunities, ideating possible solutions to address them and conducting the development work to implement them in the businesses, with value creation and growth as main drivers in mind.

The Senior Manager, Alliances & Innovation is responsible for building, connecting, and orchestrating a dynamic ecosystem of external partners across the construction value chain. This role identifies, develops, and manages strategic alliances that accelerate CRH's innovation agenda and sustainable growth. By fostering strong relationships with key players -- designers, contractors, owners, technology providers, and industry bodies -- the Senior Manager ensures CRH's innovation capabilities are tightly linked to evolving market needs and opportunities. The role acts as a connector and integrator, translating market signals and customer insights into actionable partnerships, and mobilizing cross-functional teams to deliver measurable impact from pilot through to scale.

Job Location

This role is based at our corporate office in the Perimeter area of Atlanta, GA - hybrid work schedule

Job Responsibilities

• Build, connect, and manage a robust ecosystem of external partners across the construction value chain, including designers, contractors, owners, technology providers, and industry bodies, to accelerate CRH's innovation and solutions agenda.
• Develop and implement a structured alliance program: define the vision, engagement model, governance, and performance metrics for CRH's innovation alliances.
• Identify, evaluate, and prioritize new collaboration opportunities that align with CRH's strategic objectives and market needs; craft clear business cases and partnership theses.
• Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of alliances and strategic collaborations: from initial outreach and due diligence, through negotiation and agreement, to pilot execution, scaling, and replication across the enterprise.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for key partners, ensuring mutual value creation, clear communication, and proactive issue resolution.
• Convene and orchestrate cross-functional teams (Innovation, Solutions, Strategy, Ventures, OpCos) to deliver on alliance objectives, ensuring alignment and accountability at every stage.
• Track and report on relationships/project performance, using data-driven insights to recommend acceleration, adjustment, or discontinuation of initiatives.
• Prepare and present strategic analyses and recommendations to senior leadership, articulating the financial and strategic rationale for partnership decisions.
• Act as a connector and integrator, translating market signals and customer insights into actionable partnership opportunities and mobilizing internal resources to deliver measurable impact.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement within the innovation ecosystem, ensuring best practices and learnings are captured and scaled across CRH.
• Represent CRH externally in industry forums, conferences, and partner meetings, enhancing the company's reputation as a trusted, forward-thinking innovation partner.

• Alliance Lifecycle Expertise: Demonstrated experience managing the full lifecycle of alliances and strategic partnerships, including opportunity identification, due diligence, negotiation, execution, and scaling, with a strong track record of setting clear objectives, defining and tracking partnership KPIs, managing joint workplans, and ensuring delivery of measurable outcomes for all parties.
• Technical Acumen: Strong understanding of construction methodologies, materials, and emerging trends; able to engage credibly with technical and commercial stakeholders.
• Ecosystem Builder: Brings a strong network of industry relationships and a proven ability to leverage those connections to design, implement, and evolve structured partnership programs and ecosystems that deliver measurable business impact.
• Relationship Management: Skilled at building and sustaining productive, trust-based relationships with a diverse set of external partners and internal stakeholders.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Effective at convening and orchestrating cross-functional teams, driving alignment, and ensuring accountability across business units and functions.
• Strategic Thinking: Able to synthesize market signals, customer insights, and business objectives into actionable partnership strategies and business cases.
• Analytical & Data-Driven: Uses data and performance metrics to track, evaluate, and optimize partnership and program outcomes; comfortable preparing and presenting strategic analyses.
• Communication & Influence: Excellent communicator, able to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively to senior leadership, partners, and cross-functional teams.
• Change Agent: Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving change in a matrixed, multicultural environment; resilient and adaptable in the face of shifting priorities.
• Commercial Acumen: Understands financial drivers, value creation, and risk management in partnership contexts; able to negotiate and structure agreements that deliver mutual benefit.
• Continuous Learner: Curious and proactive in seeking out new innovations, best practices, and opportunities to advance CRH's innovation and sustainability agenda.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, construction management, or a related technical field; MBA or master's degree preferred.
• Professional industry accreditation preferred
• 8 or more years of progressive experience in construction execution, strategic partnerships/alliances, or strategic business development.
• Demonstrated track record of managing the full lifecycle of alliances and partnerships, from opportunity identification and due diligence through negotiation, execution, pilot, scaling, and replication.
• Strong technical acumen and familiarity with construction methodologies, materials, and industry trends.
• Experience working autonomously and proactively in complex, matrixed organizations, with a proven ability to deliver results with minimal supervision.
• Proven ability to manage multiple external and internal stakeholders, including consultants, vendors, and cross-functional teams.
• Experience presenting to and influencing senior leadership, with strong communication and analytical skills.
• Ability to navigate diverse business environments and build relationships across geographies; international and/or multicultural experience a bonus.

• Highly competitive base pay
• Comprehensive medical, dental and disability benefits programs
• Group retirement savings program
• Health and wellness programs
• An inclusive culture that values opportunity for growth, development, and internal promotion