Assistant Director, Strategic Planning Division (SPD)

sggovterp; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

sggovterp in Singapore is seeking a senior leader to head the Strategic Planning Division of SWDA, shaping the agency's direction and policy positions across SWDA, MOM and Singapore's jobs-and-skills ecosystem to ensure programmes are impactful. You will drive strategic direction, coordinate policy development, monitor trends and develop cross‑cluster strategies to deliver coherent outcomes.

Successful candidates typically have many years in public service and proven ability to lead, influence

Qualifications

• At least 8 years in public sector with leadership experience.
• Ability to condense complex economic and workforce issues into clear policy recommendations.
• Strong systems thinking and cross‑agency collaboration.
• Understanding of labour market and employment policies across government.
• Ability to assess trade-offs across policy objectives and resource constraints.
• Ability to translate strategic intent into policy design and operational realities.
• Familiarity with strategic foresight, data analytics and AI applications is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and coordination of organisation‑wide strategies across SWDA, MOM and WOG stakeholders.
• Drive conceptualisation of organisation‑wide strategies including training, careers and employment services.
• Spearhead strategic pivots in SWDA’s operating model and ecosystem development.
• Synthesize cross‑divisional initiatives into coherent strategies and narratives.
• Represent and advance SWDA’s strategic positions in forums with MOM and other ministries.
• Lead formulation and review of Career Health policies and programmes balancing priorities and fiscal sustainability.
• Assess trade‑offs across policy objectives and implementation feasibility.
• Coordinate across divisions to incorporate findings into policy recommendations for senior management.
• Oversee the Career Health evaluation plan and reporting to SWDA and stakeholders.
• Guide the team on Budget/COS speeches, PQs, Cabinet memos and management reporting.
• Set up SOPs for key platforms and staffing SWDA management at Jobs & Skills, Economic and Social Forums.
• Coordinate inputs across SWDA and with ministries.

Skills

Public sector leadership

Policy synthesis

Systems thinking

Labour market policy

Trade-off assessment

Strategy to policy translation

Data analytics & AI awareness

Job description

What the role is

You will lead a team in the Strategic Planning Division to shape SWDA's strategic direction and policy positions across SWDA, the MOM family and Singapore's jobs-and-skills ecosystem to ensure that SWDA does not only deliver programme but shapes the future workforce agenda. You will drive SWDA's strategic direction, inform policies, programmes and initiatives across business groups, monitors future trends, and develops cross-cluster strategies to provide policy coherence across SWDA. You will ensure that divisions work towards common agency outcomes, and bring together workforce, skills, employer and economic perspectives to inform government decision-making.

What you will be working on

Your responsibilities may include the following:

Strategy development and coordination

• Lead the development and coordination of Career Health and other organisation-wide strategies across SWDA, MOM and WOG stakeholders.
• Drive the conceptualisation of organisation-wide strategies that advance new operating paradigms, including systemic enablers for training, careers and employment service providers.
• Spearhead strategic pivots in SWDA's operating model and strategic shifts, including TCE ecosystem development, private provider leverage, AI strategy and labour reallocation.
• Synthesise cross-divisional initiatives into coherent strategies and audience‑specific narratives.
• Represent and advance SWDA's strategic positions in WOG forums and engagements with MOM and other ministries.

Policy and programme development and review

• Lead the formulation and review of Career Health policies and programmes, balancing strategic priorities, implementation feasibility, fiscal sustainability and labour market developments.
• Assess trade‑offs across policy objectives, delivery feasibility and fiscal sustainability, including the behavioural effects of funding and regulatory levers.
• Work across divisions to incorporate operational realities, evaluation findings and stakeholder perspectives into policy recommendations for senior management.
• Oversee the Career Health evaluation plan and outcomes framework, as well as outcome tracking and reporting across SWDA and to stakeholders such as MOM and MOF.

Coordinate cross‑cutting agency work

• Guide the team in supporting Budget/COS speeches, PQs, Cabinet memos and management reports.
• Set up and review processes and SOPs for key platforms such as PS/Min‑SWDA meetings, and for staffing SWDA management at the Jobs & Skills, Economic and Social Forums.
• Guide the SWDA‑wide secretariat pool and the SPD team in coordinating Budget/COS and PQ inputs across SWDA and with ministries.

What we are looking for

Knowledge/Skills

• At least 8 years of public sector experience and in leading teams, preferably in relevant fields such as strategic planning or policy.
• Ability to synthesise complex economic, workforce and policy issues into coherent narratives and clear recommendations.
• Systems thinking, with the ability to understand interdependencies and anticipate broader implications of policy decisions.
• Understanding of labour market, workforce development and employment policies, including WOG roles and interdependencies.
• Ability to assess trade‑offs across policy objectives, implementation considerations and resource constraints.
• Ability to translate between strategic intent, policy design and operational realities.
• Familiarity with strategic foresight, data analytics and AI applications is preferred.

Aptitudes/Abilities

• Strong influencing and consensus‑building skills, with the ability to engage senior leaders, ministries and industry stakeholders and secure alignment without formal authority
• Sound judgement on when to push for alignment, compromise or
• Perceptive and able to problem‑solve and work independently
• Resourceful and pro‑active in managing work assignments
• Comfortable to work in a dynamic and fast‑paced environment
• Organised, meticulous and detail oriented with an inquisitive mind that seeks to understand beyond the surface
• Be committed to the ethos of public service

Successful candidates will be offered a contract in the first instance and may be considered for an extension or be placed on a permanent tenure.

Candidates are encouraged to sign up for a Careers & Skills Passport (CSP) account and include your CSP public profile in your resume. Please check out www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg for details on the CSP.