Assistant Director, Design Management at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)

About the Role

GovTech leads Singapore's Smart Nation initiatives, focusing on public sector digital transformation including Data Science, AI, Smart City Technology, Application Development, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. Join GovTech to build impactful technology for public benefit and grow through continuous learning opportunities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) works to protect and promote Singapore's interests globally. Facing an unpredictable international environment, MFA's digital services must enable diplomats and operational teams to quickly make informed decisions.

Key Responsibilities

• Define a comprehensive, strategic user experience vision for MFA's digital offerings, covering citizen-facing services and internal platforms, ensuring that design enhances operational efficiency, interdisciplinary collaboration, and user clarity.
• Lead and expand a design team by coaching members into skilled practitioners and recruiting 2 to 3 additional full-time designers.
• Manage relationships with external design contractors and vendors, setting expectations, workflows, and quality standards aligning with GovTech and MFA security protocols.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Engineering leads to integrate diplomatic workflows with technical solutions, while advocating user-centered design at senior MFA leadership levels, emphasizing design's impact on national resilience.
• Establish and optimize design operations, including standardizing processes, research methods, and critique frameworks to enable seamless teamwork among staff and external contributors.

Candidate Profile

• At least ten years of experience in Product, UX, or Service Design, with a strong background in mentoring and developing high-performance design teams.
• Proven skills in designing complex, scalable user experiences for data-intensive systems operating under high cognitive load, such as emergency management dashboards.
• Effective management of hybrid teams combining internal and external designers, with ability to set clear delivery objectives and quality controls.
• Ability to influence senior non-design stakeholders and align design choices with operational and diplomatic goals.
• Expertise in building and embedding design infrastructure and processes across multiple project streams.
• Experience navigating government or public-sector environments, including handling sensitive and secured information while maintaining user advocacy.
• Relevant qualification such as a Diploma or Degree in Industrial Design, Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction, or equivalent practical mastery in design.

Additional Information

GovTech promotes an inclusive workplace valuing diverse perspectives as key to innovation. They offer comprehensive, competitive employee benefits and support flexible working arrangements as per role requirements, trusting employees to manage their time effectively.

Interested candidates will join a mission to enhance Singapore's diplomacy through innovation and design leadership within a respected government agency.