Assistant Director (Digital Transformation), Public Defender’s Office

Ministry of Law, Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in Singapore seeks an Assistant Director for Digital Transformation to enhance operational efficiency and user experience. The ideal candidate has 5-7 years of relevant experience, strong skills in project management, stakeholder engagement, and a familiarity with emerging technologies. This role primarily focuses on system enhancement, digital adoption, and collaboration with external partners. A one-year contract is offered.

Qualifications

• 5 – 7 years of experience in digital transformation or process improvement projects.
• Experience with enterprise systems and digital platforms.
• Understanding of emerging technologies like generative AI.

Responsibilities

• Drive the next phase of PDO system development.
• Research and evaluate technology solutions across operations.
• Champion digital adoption and organisational readiness.

Skills

Digital transformation

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Systems thinking

Education

Qualifications in any discipline

Job description

What The Role Is

The Public Defender’s Office (“PDO”) is established as a department in the Ministry of Law to enhance access to justice to accused persons of limited means through the provision of criminal defence aid.

As Assistant Director (Digital Transformation), you will be our digital transformation champion. We're not looking for deep technical specialists - instead, we need someone who can navigate the technology landscape intelligently, evaluate solutions pragmatically, and drive implementation effectively. Our goal is for PDO’s operations and service delivery to be optimised and streamlined, while enhancing user experience.

What You Will Be Working On

• System Enhancement and Development - Drive the next phase of PDO system development:
• Develop, maintain the system enhancement roadmap, including conceptualisation, planning and design of the next phase IT system
• Plan and design front-end system improvements
• Manage implementation and integration of new features
• Ensure system functionality meets user needs and enhances user experience
• Digital Transformation and Innovation – Build up PDO’s technology ecosystem through core enterprise solutions and advanced capabilities:
• Analyse existing workflows and systems to identify opportunities for efficiency in PDO’s application/case management processes and legal processes
• Research, identify and evaluate technology solutions across our operations, including assessing established solutions (e.g. document processing, workflow automation, machine learning) and exploring emerging trends (e.g. generative AI, advanced analytics)
• Develop, implement proof-of-concept initiatives to test solutions while ensuring alignment with business needs
• Stakeholder Management - Foster strong collaboration among PDO, IT and external partners
• Work closely with business users and external agencies to conduct requirements gathering, and evaluate requests according to business priorities
• Coordinate with vendor and IT team to ensure deliverables meet specifications and performance standards
• Change Management – Champion digital adoption and organisational readiness:
• Drive, influence digitalisation initiatives to promote experimentation and learning towards a digital-first mindset
• Champion system adoption through structured change management approaches, including establishing communications plans, maintaining user guides and change documentation
  
  
  

Requirements

What we are looking for

To Be Successful In This Role, You Must Have

• Qualifications in any discipline
• 5 – 7 years of experience in digital transformation, business transformation or process improvement projects
• Experience working with enterprise systems and digital platforms from a business perspective
• Understanding of and interest in emerging technologies, particularly in the generative AI space
• Proven track record in:
• Project management and stakeholder engagement, especially with technical teams
• Evaluating technology solutions based on business value and user needs
• Leading change management and driving user adoption
• Ability to understand and communicate complex concepts to non-technical audiences
• Strong systems thinking mindset and analytical skills to understand the interdependencies and optimise end-to-end processes
• Comfort in operating within the complex, ambiguous environments
  
  
  

The following are not necessary, but will be an added advantage:

• Experience in public sector digitalisation projects
• Experience in implementing legal tech solutions or case management systems
• Understanding of Singapore's legal tech landscape and common technology platforms used in law firms
• Knowledge of Singapore court filing systems and legal document management practices
• Familiarity with data security, governance and compliance considerations in digital transformation
• Experience in AI/ML technologies, including generative AI
• Agile methodology experience from a product owner perspective
• Understanding of system design and architecture, including database design, enterprise integration
  
  
  

The successful candidate will be appointed on a one-year contract in the first instance.