Assistant Director, Strategy, Public Sector Transformation, PSD

The Challenge

The Public Service operates in an increasingly complex environment shaped by changing citizen expectations, workforce shifts, technological disruption and greater interdependence across agencies. Public Sector Transformation (PST) seeks to ensure that the Singapore Public Service remains future-ready, effective and trusted by continually reimagining how the Public Service works, develops its workforce and organises itself.

The PST Cluster leads and coordinates Whole-of-Government transformation. Its role spans setting the vision and strategic direction for PST, catalysing deep organisational and business transformation, building the capabilities and ecosystem needed to sustain change, applying AI to the key challenges of today and mobilising leaders and officers around a shared transformation agenda.

As Assistant Director (Strategy), you will provide strategic and organisational leadership across key PST strategic portfolios, covering sensemaking, conceptualising, catalyst and mobilising workstreams. You will translate emerging priorities and senior leadership direction into coherent strategies, governance arrangements, programmes and resourcing approaches that enable transformation across the Public Service.

This is both a strategy and delivery role. You will work at the intersection of policy, organisational transformation, innovation, technology, workforce capability and public-sector governance, while leading teams to turn broad and often ambiguous ambitions into practical, coordinated action.

Key Responsibilities

As a Team Lead to a team of 3-5 officers, you will:

A. Set and steward the strategic direction for Public Sector Transformation

• Lead the development and continual refinement of the overarching PST strategy, identifying the major shifts required for the Public Service to remain effective and future-ready.
• Synthesise emerging operating-environment trends, ground sentiment, organisational data and agency experience to surface strategic priorities and areas requiring Whole-of-Government intervention.
• Translate senior leadership direction into clear transformation outcomes, priorities, implementation pathways and narratives for agencies, leaders and officers.
• Ensure PST priorities remain aligned with broader Whole-of-Government, Centre-of-Government and Public Service priorities.
• Oversee the monitoring and reporting of PST progress, surfacing key achievements, implementation challenges and areas requiring leadership attention.

B. Lead cross-cutting and AI-enabled transformation

• Shape and coordinate major cross-cutting transformation priorities requiring joint ownership across policy, technology, workforce and corporate-function stakeholders.
• Provide strategic leadership for AI-enabled PST, ensuring technology adoption is connected to business and workflow redesign, organisational change, workforce implications and measurable outcomes.
• Work with functional and mission leads to identify high-impact transformation opportunities, define the desired picture of success and establish coherent governance and tracking arrangements.
• Develop proposals for the capabilities, funding, headcount and specialist support needed to implement transformation at scale.

C. Shape resourcing, governance and implementation arrangements

• Design governance and operating arrangements that clarify accountability, enable timely decisions and provide progress assurance without imposing unnecessary process.
• Develop and evaluate funding and manpower proposals for Whole-of-Government transformation initiatives, working with finance and policy partners to align transformation funding with strategic outcomes.
• Establish portfolio-level measures, review mechanisms and reporting arrangements that support learning and course correction.

D. Mobilise and align Whole-of-Government partners

• Build trusted relationships with Centre-of-Government partners, ministries, statutory boards, transformation offices and delivery agencies.
• Convene stakeholders around shared outcomes, particularly where responsibilities and resources are distributed across organisations.
• Develop engagement approaches across multiple levels, from senior leadership forums to working-level communities and agency visits.

E. Lead teams and manage an evolving portfolio

• Review and assure the quality of key products, including strategies, submissions, briefs, programme designs and senior-leadership materials.
• Build a collaborative, high-performing team culture that is comfortable with ambiguity, experimentation and constructive challenge.

We are looking for someone who is curious about the future of government, passionate about AI and innovation, and excited to work with diverse stakeholders to shape meaningful transformation across the Public Service.

You enjoy solving complex problems, thrive in collaborative environments and are motivated by turning ideas into practical impact. Whether developing AI-enabled initiatives, building partnerships or supporting innovation programmes, you are driven by a desire to improve outcomes for citizens and public officers alike.

Key Competencies

1. Thinking Clearly and Making Sound Judgement

o You consider stakeholder needs as well as short- and long-term implications in proposing solutions.

o You make sound judgements about different policy options by synthesising various data points and using a good sense of realities on the ground.

o You anticipate and prepare for queries from stakeholders when operationalising solutions.

2. Serving with Heart, Commitment and Purpose

o You guide your team to demonstrate care and empathy in delivering services to citizens and stakeholders.

o You are a role model of, and ensure that your team upholds, the Public Service values in the course of their work.

o You are a role model of resilience and bouncing back from adversity.

o You orchestrate resources and monitor your team’s progress towards deliverables.

o You ensure that your team delivers with high standards and you take responsibility for their collective performance.

3. Working Effectively with External Stakeholders

o You reconcile different opinions and approaches to maintain a constructive partnership with stakeholders.

o You proactively identify opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders to advance a common good.

o You anticipate and manage critical stakeholder issues with patience, humility and timeliness.

4. Stewarding Systems for Today and Tomorrow

o You willingly remove outdated practices and actively explore digital technology and tools to simplify work processes.

o You implement good knowledge management practices to retain and transfer knowledge within your team.

o You enforce measures to safeguard data.

Functional Competencies

5. AI and Digital Transformation

o You understand AI, Generative AI and other digital technologies, and appreciate their potential applications within the public sector.

o You leverage AI and digital technologies, including Generative AI, to improve productivity, redesign workflows and enhance service delivery.

o You translate business needs into practical AI-enabled solutions by balancing user needs, technical feasibility and organisational priorities.

o You demonstrate an understanding of AI governance, data management and responsible AI practices, and apply these principles when designing and implementing AI-enabled initiatives.

o You keep abreast of emerging technologies and continuously identify opportunities to strengthen AI adoption across the Public Service.

Relevant Experience and Track Record

Relevant experience in several of the following areas would be advantageous:

• Public-sector strategy or policy
• Cross-agency or Centre-of-Government coordination
• Organisational transformation or organisational development
• Digital or AI-enabled transformation
• Innovation and ecosystem development

Capability development

A strong track record of leading complex and ambiguous work, influencing senior stakeholders, developing teams and translating strategy into implementation would be essential. Candidates with at least 3 years of supervisory experience managing small teams in a collaborative environment will be viewed favourably.