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Summary

Dsg is looking for a passionate candidate to join the Industry division, reporting to the Deputy Director or Director. As an Assistant Director, you play a vital role in helping Singapore design businesses innovate to remain competitive and internationalise for growth. You will lead a team to work closely with the Singapore design industry and related design stakeholders to develop and curate programmes, and provide holistic support for designers.

About DesignSingapore Council

DesignSingapore Council’s (Dsg) vision is for Singapore to be an innovation-driven economy and a loveable city through design by 2025. As the national agency that promotes design, our mission is to develop the design sector, help Singapore use design for innovation and growth, and make life better in this UNESCO Creative City of Design. Dsg is a subsidiary of the Singapore Economic Development Board. 

About the Industry Division

The Industry division develops strategies and programmes to strengthen the business competitiveness of the Singapore design sector in the global market. We achieve this through supporting the building of unique value propositions for the design industry with in-depth research, augmenting business capabilities of designers and design firms, and profiling the design sector for internationalisation opportunities.

Responsibilities

This role reports to the Senior Assistant Director or Deputy Director of the Industry division and your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Engaging leading local and global designers and design consultancies to learn about their capabilities and best practices, keeping your finger on the pulse of the industry, and learning how they can be best placed to bring value to Singapore. 
• Engaging Singapore design businesses, at all stages of growth, to develop an in-depth understanding of Singapore design and its evolving business needs, aspirations and business challenges.
• Working closely with key stakeholders to identify appropriate cross-collaborations in developing the industry and providing holistic support. Key stakeholders include other divisions within Dsg, Institutes of Higher Learning, government agencies, design trade associations, and other leading industry players.
• Be continually aware of global design and business trends to assess appropriate interventions in a rapidly changing business landscape so that Dsg can appropriately support the development and implementation of strategies for Singapore design businesses in internationalising.
• Structuring and implementing programs and initiatives at the systems level to support Singapore design businesses and designers in experimenting, innovating, building business capability, and creating unique value propositions, while also addressing skills gaps through Pre-employment Training (PET) and Continuing Education and Training (CET) to capitalize on growth opportunities and remain competitive.
• Regular reviewing of strategies, programmes and projects to identify areas for improvement and/or developing new initiatives to support existing or new business sectors adopt design.
• Developing annual workplan and budget requirements, and monitoring overall progress and achievements. 
• Undertaking Dsg special projects, where relevant. 

Requirements

• At least 8 years of relevant experience in business development, industry development or design management with a strong background in creating and carrying out strategic initiatives for business growth.
• At least 3 years of experience in leadership roles. Ability to lead and motivate teams, foster a collaborative environment, and manage stakeholders. Skills in coordinating efforts across various divisions to drive results through strategic oversight and collaboration.
• Have a background or degree preferably in business management, design management or any design-related fields.
• Client-management experience in a design or creative agency and/or public sector experience in industry engagement programmes and strategies.
• Experience in project management and procurement, a bonus.
• Familiarity with the design and creative ecosystem, especially in Singapore, a bonus; be able to think and operate at systems level and also at firm level.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

In addition, we are looking for:

• A curious individual who delights in acquiring knowledge, with a keen interest to understand diverse design and business trends/needs, and finds great joy in joining dots. 
• Ability to zoom-out and zoom-in: zoom out to understand the broader strategy and goals of an organisation or initiative, and zoom in to help address potential roadblocks and challenges in implementation.
• A great collaborator, who loves to connect with others and build strong relationships, and with the ability to develop trusted working relationships with stakeholders, colleagues, and clients, to co-create solutions.
• A team player, supportive of colleagues when they need a hand to keep projects running smoothly. 
• A multi-tasker who is organised, detail-oriented and hands-on.