Manager/Senior Manager, Sector Planning, Policy and Ecosystem Development (ICPD)

You will support SWDA’s strategic planning, policy, innovation and ecosystem development efforts for the Careers and Employment Services (CES) sector. The role combines sector planning and analysis with the incubation of new ideas and approaches to strengthen the effectiveness of the CES ecosystem. You will work with internal and external stakeholders to identify emerging issues, develop strategies and recommendations, and translate insights into actionable initiatives and improvements.

Key Responsibilities

1. Sector Planning & Strategy

Support the development and implementation of sector strategies and plans to strengthen the CES ecosystem.

Conduct environmental scanning, policy research and sector analysis on emerging trends affecting career planning, employment services, and workforce development.

Analyse and synthesize research findings, data and stakeholder inputs to identify key issues, implications and strategic insights to support planning and decision-making.

Develop planning frameworks, implementation approaches, performance indicators and monitoring mechanisms to track outcomes and impact of the sector strategies.

Review policies, processes and programmes to provide recommendation to address implementation gaps and areas for improvement.

Develop briefing materials, presentations, papers and recommendations for management consideration.

2. Innovation & Incubation

Conduct ideation, incubation and experimentation efforts to explore new approaches, partnerships and service models that strengthen the CES ecosystem.

Translate insights from pilots and experimentation into recommendations for policy, programme and ecosystem improvements.

Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to co-design, prototype and test new concepts, initiatives and interventions.

3. Secretariat & Corporate Support

Provide secretariat support for management meetings, inter-agency platforms, working groups and committees where required.

Coordinate meeting logistics, prepare agendas and papers, document key discussions and follow up on action items.

Support corporate and divisional planning processes, including workplan development, KPI monitoring, management reporting and governance requirements.

Requirements

Skills / Knowledge

Policy and Strategic Planning: Able to frame issues, identify trade-offs, develop options and prepare recommendations that support management decision-making.

Industry Development: Able to understand sector needs, engage ecosystem stakeholders and translate insights into strategies, interventions or implementation plans.

Research and Sense-Making: Skilled in gathering, analysing and interpreting research, data and stakeholder inputs to surface the ‘so what’ and policy implications.

Stakeholder Engagement: Confident in engaging agencies, employers, training providers, external and internal stakeholders to build alignment and obtain useful ground insights.

Management Writing: Able to prepare crisp briefing notes, submissions, decks and papers that clearly explain context, analysis, options and recommendations.

Project and Secretariat Management: Able to coordinate consultations, meetings, workstreams, timelines, deliverables and follow-up actions across multiple stakeholders.

Data-Informed Planning: Able to work with analysts and programme teams to define metrics, track outcomes and use evidence to support planning decisions.

Experience / Personal Traits

Relevant experience in policy, strategic planning, industry development, sector engagement, public administration, programme management, manpower/workforce planning or related work.

Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to structure ambiguous issues and synthesise complex information into clear recommendations.

Experience supporting sector plans, transformation maps, workplans, policy reviews, management submissions or inter-agency workstreams will be advantageous.

Familiarity with Singapore’s manpower, CET, education, employment services or career guidance landscape will be advantageous.

Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially PowerPoint, Word and Excel; familiarity with data interpretation, policy research, survey findings or sector analysis tools will be advantageous.

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

About Skills and Workforce Development Agency

The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) drives lifelong learning and workforce development to enable Singaporeans to take charge of their careers, learn for life, access good jobs, and grow in fulfilling careers. We enable employers to build a skilled, future-ready workforce, design quality jobs, and adopt skills recognition practices. Together with our partners, we build a trusted, high-quality, industry-relevant, and innovative ecosystem that meets the evolving workforce needs of both businesses and workers. For more information, please visit www.swda.gov.sg.