ALEX SIMM

Innovation Manager at GMIS - Global Manufacturing & Industrialisation Summit

Most of my career has focussed on management and delivery of social science research projects in complex environments ranging from South Sudan and Afghanistan to Jordan and India largely for government or donor organisations.

I then took the decision to expand my commercial understanding by consulting with two start-up companies. I’m currently the Innovation Manager for the Global Manufacturing & Industrialisation Summit, combining my interest in international development with Industry 4.0. This allows me to maintain my hand in international development and continue to consult on select projects.

I enjoy working in an ambitious environment that has employee development as a core tenet and where I can play a significant role in building the organisation by bringing my skills from research management to help problem solve and drive activities to support growth. My experience running research projects across a variety of cultures has taught me that understanding people is vital to success.

I have spent a considerable amount of time developing my soft skills in order to motivate teams from different cultures and backgrounds to deliver on client briefs within deadline and budget whilst maintaining a high level of sensitivity, communication and data integrity. In some cases, this has all taken place in challenging, and often volatile, environments. Employees, management and clients regard me as dependable, proactive and a problem solver. I have been regularly called upon to deploy to resolve an issue in-country.

I am fascinated by human psychology and the interplay with emerging technology, particularly around knowledge transfer and behaviour change.

CURRENT FIELDS OF ACTIVITY:
Innovation Manager at GMIS June 2019 to present My role is to manage the research projects for clients.

  • Created and ran Design Thinking workshops

  • Managed a large-scale research project for a client comprising multiple stakeholders, including recruiting through my personal network, subject matter experts as part of a working group on the safety challenges of the fourth industrial revolution

Consultant at Chenar Research FZE November 2016 to present:

Taysha Consulting - Consultant Taysha provide communications consulting for organisations in international development

  • Evaluation of Maternal, Newborn, Childhood Health programme in Northern Nigeria through a series of workshops and learning events

  • Strategic communications development for Rwandan Governance Board through workshops and stakeholder interviews

Visoul— Product Development Manager/ Communications Consultant:

A self-development tool designed using a combination of known psychology and creative arts practices.

  • Lead editor on converting the current content into a structured program

  • Produced a research paper and formalized the methodology in support of Visoul products

  • Developed and lead market research project and developed subsequent integrated communications campaign