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National Research Foundation

Head/ Deputy Head/ Assistant Head, Innovation & Enterprise

National Research Foundation

Permanent/Contract

Closing on 30 Dec 2024

What the role is

The National Research Foundation (NRF) is a department within the Prime Minister's Office, and we set the national direction for Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) by developing policies, plans and strategies; funding strategic initiatives that strengthen our scientific and technological capabilities, grow our RIE talent base, and achieve economic and national impact; and fostering RIE collaboration in Singapore and internationally.

What you will be working on

The candidate will play a key role in shaping the I&E landscape, and planning for the next five-year RIE2030 plan. The strategic work will help guide the I&E policies and address challenges identified in the RIE ecosystem, to ensure Singapore is well-positioned for the future. Responsibilities: • Facilitate the commercialisation of NRF research outcomes and bring innovative technologies closer to the relevant markets; • Build a data-centric and qualitative understanding of the R&D and innovation landscape of key industry sectors; • Work with Economic Agencies to develop sector-specific strategies to build sectoral leadership and grow a critical mass of companies with strong Innovation Mandate in Singapore, including emerging sectors that drive the next bound of growth for our economy; • Work closely with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, including universities, research institutes, start-ups, venture funds, companies and government agencies, to implement schemes effectively and to identify any gaps that require intervention in our I&E ecosystem; • Manage various Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) Funding Initiatives administered by NRF; and • Secretariat to the Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) Exco to drive national level I&E strategies that enable us to: (i) capture economic value from our R&D investments, (ii) grow new transformative Deep Tech clusters with the potential to enable large economic growth.

What we are looking for

Requirements: • Background in science, engineering, economics or public policy; • 3-5 years of relevant working experience preferably working on tech policy or driving innovation in a technology startup or company; • Strong analytical abilities with a broad sense of perspective; • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; and • Ability to collaborate well with others.

About National Research Foundation

The National Research Foundation (NRF) was set up on 1 January 2006 as a department under the Prime Minister's Office. It was set up to perform the following: a) To provide secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Prime Minister; b) To coordinate the research of different agencies within the larger national framework in order to provide a coherent strategic overview and direction; c) To develop policies and plans to implement the five strategic thrusts for the national R&D agenda; and d) To implement national research, innovation and enterprise strategies approved by the RIEC, and to allocate funding to programmes that meet NRF's strategic objectives.