Job Detail

Head OF ACTION INITIATIVES

Centre for the New Economy and Society

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.  

The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.  

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.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Centre is organized as a matrix between horizontal functions and thematic missions. The role will lead, coordinate and supervise the horizontal Action Initiatives function within the Centre for the New Economy and Society, coordinating a portfolio of action-oriented initiatives comprising a growing network of country-level accelerators (Closing the Skills Gap, Closing the Gender Gap, Closing the Education Gap, Closing the Innovation Gap county accelerators) and industry-level accelerators (Preparing for the Future of Work and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion industry accelerators) as well as other related project communities and activities.

The Head of Action Initiatives will report directly to the Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society, will—within the Centre’s functional matrix—supervise a group of relevant Project Leads in an agile reporting structure, and will work closely with other functional and thematic Heads and relevant staff across the Centre as well as the broader institution.

Main responsibilities

• Create and operationalize a common template for Centre-driven initiative structures (accelerators) as well as engaging externally-driven consortia and coalitions to enhance impact across thematic missions


• Create and operationalize common guidelines for internally and externally driven projects (governance through champions and alliances, branding guidelines, playbooks and diagnostics, impact reporting, among others).


• Create and operationalize a system for integration of relevant Forum partners into action initiatives across geographies and sectors.


• Conceptualize and develop associated process and knowledge management tools, including integrated agile project planning, regularly updating these common templates and creating new ones over time.


• Manage alignment and sign-off processes between functional practices and thematic missions in the Centre, as well as relevant Forum-wide teams.


• Manage financial and human resources, including reporting on specific grant funding, in an efficient, transparent and collaborative manner, with strong annual and quarterly planning processes.


• Support the development of the Centre’s work as a member of its leadership team, collaborating deeply with other sub-team units within the Centre for the New Economy and Society.


• Develop a strong understanding of the Forum’s mission and regularly monitor relevant global developments in the areas pertinent to global social and economic agendas, and the intersections between them.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

• Ability to navigate the complexity of a matrix organization and leverage synergies across functional competences and thematic content.


• Agile coordination and management of the functional practice and its accelerator initiatives and multistakeholder impact frameworks, integrating m ultiple views and evolving and innovating within a rapidly shifting context.


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


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


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


• Analyzing and synthesizing quantitative and qualitative data in support of project-related insight, community and strategy development.


• Ensuring that results and milestones are documented consistently and regularly shared with internal and external stakeholders.


• Close collaboration with Centre colleagues; managing long-term, short-term, in-house and remote contributors supporting project activities, as required.


• Developing a strong understanding of the Forum’s mission and regularly monitoring relevant global developments in the areas pertinent to the Centre’s remit as well as the intersections between them .

Preferred requirements and experience

• Advanced university degree in public policy, business, or other relevant fields.


• 15+ years of relevant professional experience, ideally across business, government, non-profit, international organization and/or think tanks. Experience in managing global frameworks combined with 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 on the areas covered by the Centre’s mission and dedication to interdisciplinary approaches, across one or more business, public sector, non-profit, think tank or international organization settings.


• Excellent team management, collaboraton, 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 World Economic 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.