Deputy Director

Singapore Food Agency; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

The Singapore Food Agency is seeking a strategic and hands-on Data Leader to drive enterprise data strategy, governance, and analytics capabilities. You will shape data platforms, oversee the data warehouse, and champion data-driven decision-making across divisions.

You will partner with senior stakeholders, translate complex needs into data products, and lead multidisciplinary data initiatives while ensuring policy-aligned, secure data practices across SFA.

Qualifications

• Strong background in data science and analytics, data engineering, or related fields.
• Experience leading or conducting complex analytics, statistical studies or evidence-based policy analysis.
• Experience translating data into actionable insights for senior management and policy decision-making.
• Experience working with enterprise data platforms and data management initiatives.
• Experience in public sector or regulatory environments is an advantage.
• Proven track record in managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Support the Chief Data Officer in driving SFA's enterprise data strategy across data exploitation/analytics, data platform, and data governance.
• Lead development of the Enterprise Data Warehouse and analytics platform, identify use cases, and engage stakeholders.
• Oversee enterprise food supply statistics and dashboards, outputs for reports and national statistics.
• Drive AI and advanced analytics proof-of-concepts, develop business cases and funding proposals.
• Translate business needs into data products and system integrations with vendors and users.
• Provide data policy and advisory support across government data guidelines and NRIC-related guidance.
• Strengthen data governance and assurance via the Three Lines of Defense model, standards and templates.
• Manage department budget and manpower resourcing, including budget monitoring.

Skills

Data science and analytics

Data engineering

Stakeholder management

Policy analytics

Job description

What the role is:

The Singapore Food Agency's mission is to ensure and secure a supply of safe food for Singapore.
The Digital Technology & Transformation Division (DTT) drives SFA's digital transformation through the master-planning and development of data-driven digital systems and organisational digital capabilities, while ensuring resilience against evolving cyberthreats through clear policies, strong governance, and proactive digital risk management.
The candidate will work in the Data Governance and Transformation Department (DGT) under DTT. DGT drives SFA's transformation into a data-driven organisation through establishing clear data policy and governance, developing data standards, and uplifting data competencies. Develops enterprise data platform, building visualisation dashboard and analytical tools to accelerate data exploitation.

What you will be working on:

You will support the Chief Data Officer (CDO) in driving SFA's enterprise data strategy across data exploitation/analytics, data platform, and data governance.

This is a leadership role that shapes SFA's data transformation efforts. Successful candidate will drive the development and adoption of SFA's enterprise data warehouse, strengthen data exploitation across business divisions, oversee the Singapore Food Statistics, and mature data governance practices to support secure, high-quality and responsible use of data across SFA.

• Champion data exploitation across the organisation. Partner business divisions to identify, assess, and prioritise high-value data use cases, facilitate analytics projects, promote adoption of data products, and support data-driven decision-making across SFA.

• Oversee enterprise food supply statistics. Ensure the timely processing and provision of enterprise food statistics, including regular outputs for consumption files, dashboards, situation reports, national statistics, inter-agency requests, and international questionnaires

• Translate business needs into data products and system integrations. Work with system owners, users, and vendors to gather requirements, support service requests, and enable source-system integrations.

• Lead the development of Enterprise Data Warehouse. Drive the development of SFA's enterprise data warehouse, identify business analytics use cases, plan user workshops, engage stakeholders across SFA, and oversee vendors to deliver a fit-for-purpose data warehouse and analytics platform.

• Drive AI and advanced analytics proof-of-concepts. Lead experimentation with generative AI and advanced analytics capabilities, coordinate with technology partners and users, develop business cases, secure funding where required, and present recommendations and progress updates to senior management.

• Provide data policy and advisory support. Advise whole-of-government data guidelines where relevant, including NRIC-related guidance, data exchange with external parties and data handling considerations.

• Strengthen data governance and assurance. Lead the implementation of the Three Lines of Defense model for data governance, engage various stakeholders to develop standards, playbooks and templates, and support audit readiness, data cleaning practices and governance assurance.

• Implement data provisioning and reconciliation standards. Drive implementation of data provisioning standards and data reconciliation protocols, including template requirements, operating guidance and stakeholder alignment to improve data quality, consistency and accountability.

• Manage department budget and manpower resourcing. Coordinate DGT resource submissions, programme funding proposals, cashflow and budget monitoring.

What we are looking for:

The ideal candidate is a strategic, hands-on data leader who can bridge policy, operations, technology and analytics. They should be comfortable engaging senior stakeholders, translating complex business needs into data solutions, leading multidisciplinary initiatives, and building confidence in data-driven ways of working across the organisation.

Experience & Qualifications

• Strong background in data science and analytics, data engineering, or related fields.
• Experience leading or conducting complex analytics, statistical studies or evidence-based policy analysis.
• Experience translating data into actionable insights for senior management and policy decision-making.
• Experience working with enterprise data platforms and data management initiatives.
• Experience in public sector or regulatory environments is an advantage.
• Proven track record in managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.

Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into insights and business outcomes.
• Ability to connect business priorities, governance, and analytics into a coherent enterprise data ecosystem.
• Good understanding of data governance and data management principles.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Leadership Attributes

• Comfortable operating at both strategic and operational levels, while providing hands-on guidance for complex analytical challenges where required.
• Strong ownership in driving outcomes across competing priorities.
• Collaborative, pragmatic, and solutions-oriented approach.
• Able to lead through influence, partnership and stakeholder engagement.

About Singapore Food Agency

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) is a new Statutory Board formed under the 'Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) to oversee food safety and security. The SFA will serve as the single point of contact for public feedback on food-related issues, and strengthen management of foodborne disease outbreaks to protect public health.The SFA will also facilitate more business-friendly regulations with oversight of all food safety policies and consolidation of food laboratory capabilities to deepen competencies in food diagnostics, and research and development in food safety.