Head of Mission, Centre of New Economy and Society

Why we are recruiting

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society is the global platform for shaping prosperous, inclusive and equitable economies and societies that create opportunity for all. It provides leaders with an integrated hub to understand emerging socio-economic trends and to shape the future through new policies, practices and coalitions. It accelerates impact on four interconnected Missions: 1) Economic Growth, Revival and Transformation; 2) Work, Wages and Job Creation; 3) Education, Skills and Learning; and 4) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice.

Business, government and civil society executives work with the Centre for the New Economy and Society to access and co-create the latest insights, to develop action frameworks and to lead change through multi-stakeholder initiatives that address some of the most complex challenges and opportunities within the Centre’s four thematic Mission areas. To meet increased demand for engagement in the context of shaping the COVID recovery, the Centre is recruiting.

Among these roles, the Head of Mission(s) will lead one of the thematic portfolios related to one of the Centre’s four Mission areas. This is an opportunity to join the Centre for the New Economy and Society at a senior leadership level. Candidates are requested to indicate interest in one or several thematic Mission areas, with final assignment flexible based on the expertise and profile of the right candidate.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Centre is organized as a matrix between horizontal functional practices: 1) Action Initiatives, 2) Insight Products; 3) Programming and Communications, and 4) Community Engagement and four thematic Missions: 1) Economic Growth, Revival and Transformation; 2) Work, Wages and Job Creation; 3) Education, Skills and Learning; and 4) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice.

The Mission Head will manage the thematic portfolio of work of one of the Centre’s four thematic Missions, comprising a combination of annual flagship reports (e.g., Global Competitiveness Report, Global Gender Gap Report, Global Social Mobility Report, Future of Jobs Report); a range of action frameworks and toolkits (e.g. New Standards for Work, Closing the Skills Gap Playbooks), and a growing network of action initiatives (e.g. country-level accelerators for Closing the Skills Gap, Closing the Gender Gap, Closing the Education Gap, Closing the Innovation Gap; industry-level accelerators for Preparing for the Future of Work and Embedding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), and importantly, associated leadership, expert and practitioner communities.

The Mission Head will supervise the thematic Mission team, comprising Leads and Specialists, in close collaboration with the Centre’s functional practice Heads within its matrix organisational structure. They will report directly to the Centre’s Managing Director and collaborate closely with other Heads and staff across the Centre and across the organization.

Main responsibilities:

• Design and implement the Mission’s strategy, objectives and activities to meet ambitious targets for impact and engagement from the world’s leading business, government, academic and civil society stakeholders

• Draw from the full range of impact tools – insight products, action frameworks and initiatives, programming and communications and community engagement – to create and implement mission level workplans in close collaboration with the Centre’s functional practice Heads.

• Ensure strong coherence and alignment in the Mission team of Lead(s) and Specialist(s) staff.

• Keep a consistent focus on ambitious impact and engagement outcomes. Track and report quantitative and qualitative metrics for systems-change impact across the mission

• Supervise the development of Mission-aligned communities and their interaction.

• Design guidelines for the integration of Forum members and partners into the Mission’s thematic portfolio, in close collaboration with other Mission Heads and relevant functional practice Heads.

• Improve and iterate impact tools, including common guidelines for the development of Forum-developed and partner-developed initiatives.

• Support the mobilization of grants and additional resources and partnerships related to the Mission’s thematic portfolio of work.

• Support the development of the Centre’s work as a member of its leadership team, collaborating deeply across functional practices and thematic Missions within the Centre and working in close partnership with other relevant counterparts across the Forum, co-developing, improving and implementing Centre-wide processes to meet its objectives within the Forum context.

• Represent the Centre for the New Economy and Society internally across the organization and externally, including to senior-level stakeholders.

• Manage financial and human resources of the thematic Mission in an efficient, transparent and collaborative manner.

• Support onboarding and guidance of new colleagues for consistency of quality and delivery, and understand and role model a supportive, ambitious and collaborative team culture.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

• Ability to leverage synergies across functional competences and thematic content to lead and coordinate the thematic Mission’s portfolio of work, navigating the matrix organization to successfully deliver the Centre’s overall strategy.

• Supervising and coaching Lead(s) and Specialist(s) within the Centre’s agile matrix structure; managing long-term, short-term, in-house and remote contributors to the Centre’s activities.

• Developing, managing and coordinating strategic partnerships with external partners, including major efforts by leading businesses, governments and international organizations.

• Ability to pitch to senior stakeholders and assess partnership potential in different contexts

• Support grants and partnerships related communication, aligning thought leadership and action frameworks to institutional impact priorities, and develop impact metrics and reporting.

• Ability to collaborate deeply and transparently across the Centre’s functional and thematic units and to develop partnerships with other internal teams

• Staying at the cutting-edge of relevant issues, developments, initiatives and stakeholders pertinent to the Centre for the New Economy and Society’s broader remit and objectives, including the thematic Missions and the intersections between them.

• Developing and role-modelling a strong understanding of the Centre’s mission and culture within the broader Forum context.

Requirements and preferred experience

• Advanced university degree in public policy, economics, business, social sciences, or other relevant fields; familiarity with quantitative and qualitative research an advantage.

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience, ideally across business, government, non-profit, international organization and/or think tanks. Experience in management consulting, working in matrix organizations and managing a network of geographically and/or sectorally distributed initiatives would be an added advantage.

• Proven excellent project management and coordination skills; attention to detail; capacity to apply critical thinking, synthesize various viewpoints, consult broadly, work collaboratively in a multicultural team, and manage both long- and short-term objectives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

• Proven track record and interest in driving impact and systems change in the areas covered by the Centre’s missions and dedication to interdisciplinary approaches. A proven track record in the drafting of thought leadership pieces, familiarity with using data to build strong narratives and experience in creating global partnerships would be an added advantage.

• Excellent team management, collaboration, relationship development, operational and financial management skills.

• Fluency in English, with excellent written, digital and verbal communication skills; knowledge of other languages would be an asset.

Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!