Manager/ Senior Manager (Strategic Planning, Child Development), ECDA/CD

Ministry Of Social And Family Development; Singapore; On-site; SGD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Ministry Of Social And Family Development's Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) seeks a Strategic Planning professional to guide planning for children with developmental needs and from low‑income families, collaborating with internal teams, researchers, hospitals and other agencies to translate policy into concrete actions and ensure services remain accessible and affordable.

You will monitor trends, run demand–supply analyses and help design EI service models, while supporting annual

Qualifications

• Degree in any discipline with 3–5 years of relevant experience and multi-stakeholder project work.
• Domain knowledge in early childhood, child development or related areas is advantageous.
• Strong analytical and communication skills to inform planning decisions.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning Monitor, analyse trends in the profiles of children with developmental needs and from low‑income families.
• Environment scanning to track policy shifts, research developments, and sector trends.
• Work with internal divisions to ensure tools and criteria remain fit for purpose and messaging is clear.
• Conduct demand projections, waitlist analysis, and supply modelling with geospatial analysis.
• Identify manpower needs and support programme planning, dashboards, and performance reporting.
• Support design, review and refinement of EI service models and pilot new approaches.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Problem-solving

Data analysis

Python

R

Tableau

Geospatial analysis

Dashboarding

Communication

Presentation

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Python

R

Tableau

Job description

What the role is:

The Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) is the regulatory and developmental agency for the early childhood sector in Singapore, jointly overseen by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). We oversee children's development below the age of seven across kindergartens and childcare centres, spanning quality standards, professional development, programme affordability, and early intervention services.You will be part of the Strategic Planning team within the Child Development Division, which oversees a continuum of programmes and drives initiatives to support the development of young children aged six and below with developmental needs, as well as children from low-income families, to ensure a good start for every child. The team leads strategic and resource planning, monitors trends and performance, and drives the design and review of service models to ensure that services remain effective, accessible, and affordable. You will work closely with internal teams, research partners, hospitals, social service agencies, and other government agencies to translate policy directions into actionable plans and ensure that services meet the evolving needs of our target client groups.

What you will be working on:

• Strategic Planning Monitor, analyse and synthesise trends in the profile and needs of children with developmental needs and children from low-income families, identifying gaps in programme coverage and translating these insights into planning recommendations for the division.
• Conduct environment scanning to track policy shifts, research developments, technology and AI advancements, and sector trends locally and internationally, distilling these into actionable inputs for the division's planning agenda.
• Partner with internal divisions to ensure that assessment tools and referral criteria remain fit for purpose, and also ensure that messaging on strategic initiatives is clear, consistent and well-timed across internal and external audiences.
• Resource Planning and Performance Monitoring Conduct demand projections, waitlist analysis and supply modelling, incorporating geospatial analysis to map service demand and supply for early intervention services across regions. Translate findings into clear recommendations on capacity requirements to ensure sufficient provision over the short and long term.
• Identify manpower and capability needs arising from service and demand projections, and work with divisions to incorporate these into sector manpower and capability development initiatives.
• Support annual work planning and performance reporting cycles, including developing and maintaining programme-level dashboards, tracking progress against strategic targets and proactively surfacing gaps for action.
• Programme Design and Review Lead or support the design, review and refinement of EI service models and programmes, including piloting new approaches to improve accessibility and outcomes for children and families.
• Work closely with research and evaluation partners to develop evaluation frameworks, interpret findings, and translate insights into recommendations for programme refinement or scaling.
• Drive the development of new initiatives, including articulating proposals, securing funding and approvals, coordinating across internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation.
• Engagement of key partners and stakeholders Build and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders across government, service providers, healthcare institutions, social service agencies and research partners, to support effective policy development and programme implementation.
• Engage service providers, parents and sector partners through structured consultations, focus groups and regular touchpoints to gather insights on emerging needs, operational challenges and ground feedback, and incorporate these into planning recommendations.

What we are looking for:

• A degree in any discipline, with at least 3 to 5 years of relevant working experience, and a track record of managing projects involving multiple stakeholders
• Domain knowledge in one of the following areas would be advantageous: early childhood or early intervention, child development or developmental assessments, social services or family support, programme evaluation or research
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesise data, research and stakeholder inputs to inform planning decisions
• Proficiency in data analysis tools such as demand and supply modelling, coding (Python, R) as well as experience with dashboarding (e.g. Tableau) and geospatial analysis; will be an advantage.
• Excellent writing, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex analyses into clear, actionable recommendations
• A results-oriented, highly self-motivated and resilient individual who thrives in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Able to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines and work effectively both independently and across teams.

About Ministry Of Social And Family Development

Join Us at MSF for a Meaningful, People-Centric Career!At MSF, our mission is to nurture and build resilient individuals, strong families, and a caring society. We offer meaningful and impactful people-centric careers in the design and delivery of policies, services and programmes. We are an all-inclusive and family friendly workplace where career growth is prioritised through a comprehensive suite of development opportunities to help our officers succeed today as well as be future-ready. We do this through various formal and informal learning and development programmes for officers to build different competencies and gain diverse work experiences within MSF, the Public as well as the Social Service Sectors.