Manager/Senior Manager, Partnerships and Innovation (ICPD)

[What the role is]
You will support SWDA’s efforts to deepen strategic partnerships, develop programmes and pilots, and manage grants and funding arrangements that support initiatives related to career planning and development, employment services, and capability building within the Careers and Employment Services (CES) sector.
[What you will be working on]
The role requires the ability to lead partnership workstreams, shape programme concepts, ensure sound grant governance and translate ground insights into recommendations.
As a Senior Manager / Manager in Partnerships and Innovation, you will:
• Develop and implement partnership and engagement plans with priority stakeholders, including training providers, institutes of higher learning (IHLs), employers, industry associations, sector agencies and community partners.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships across the public, private and people sectors, translating these relationships into co-created initiatives that expand career planning support and CES sector capability-building.
• Lead the conceptualisation, design, implementation and review of programmes, pilots and innovation projects, including objectives, operating model, delivery modality, governance structure, funding model and success indicators.
• Translate inputs, feedback, observations and data into actionable proposals, budget requests, and implementation and evaluation plans.
• Oversee grant administration and funding-related matters, including eligibility, claims, disbursements, budget utilisation, performance monitoring, compliance requirements, risk management and audit readiness.
• Work closely with internal teams to ensure initiatives are well-governed, properly resourced and aligned with organisational priorities.
• Monitor programme milestones, partner performance, risk areas, outcome indicators and budget drawdown, and recommend timely mitigation or course correction.
• Evaluate partnership and grant-funded initiatives to determine what should be refined, scaled, handed over or discontinued.
• Identify new partnership models, technology-enabled approaches, service delivery formats and process improvements that can improve accessibility, quality or impact.
• Prepare and present clear updates, management papers, briefing decks and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders, including senior management.
• Guide junior officers or temporary staff on stakeholder management, grant administration, project documentation and management reporting.
[What we are looking for]
You should have the following work experience and knowledge:
• Relevant experience in partnership management, industry engagement, programme development, grant administration, funding management, innovation work, policy implementation and/or public-sector programme delivery.
• Experience leading projects or workstreams involving external stakeholders, funding governance, programme delivery and cross-functional coordination.
• Good understanding of public-sector governance, grant processes, budgeting, procurement considerations, outcome reporting and risk management.
• Experience working with training providers, employers, sector agencies, community partners, education institutions or workforce/skills ecosystem stakeholders will be advantageous.
• Exposure to innovation methodologies or human-centred design approaches is a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially PowerPoint and Excel.
• Familiarity with grant management, CRM tools, digital project management tools or dashboards will be advantageous.
You should possess the following skill sets:
• Strategic Partnership Development: Able to identify, cultivate and sustain partnerships that advance organisational priorities and translate collaboration opportunities into implementable initiatives.
• Programme and Pilot Design: Able to frame problems, design operating models, drawing on design thinking or human-centred design approaches where useful, test new approaches, evaluate outcomes and recommend whether to refine, scale, hand over or stop.
• Finance and Grants Governance: Able to oversee budgets, grant documentation, claims, funding compliance, reporting requirements and audit readiness with strong governance discipline.
• Stakeholder Influence: Confident in engaging stakeholders across agencies, industry, education and community sectors, and able to build alignment around shared outcomes.
• Analytical and Systems Thinking: Able to make sense of programme data, partner feedback and sector trends, and to see how partnerships, grants and pilots interact within the wider CES ecosystem, to generate practical insights and recommendations.
• Project Leadership: Strong planning and coordination skills to drive timelines, manage dependencies, surface risks and ensure follow-through.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills to convey proposals, trade-offs, updates and recommendations clearly to senior management.
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.