Senior Manager, Innovation Strategy & Partnerships (Corporate Innovation)

About the organisation

The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) is a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. It works to strengthen Singapore’s standing as a global hub for business, innovation, and talent. EDB drives investment promotion and industry development, partnering with international companies, both foreign and local, by offering information, partner connections, and access to government incentives that support their investments. Its broader goal is to deliver sustainable economic growth and create strong business activity and quality jobs for Singapore.

For more information on EDB, please visit www.edb.gov.sg

About Innovation Strategy & Partnerships (ISP), Corporate Innovation

ISP, Corporate Innovation is EDB’s venture-building arm. The team focuses on helping high-potential new ventures from Singapore grow into globally leading businesses. It does this by developing new ways to work with companies on their corporate venturing journeys and with established global founders building their next ventures from Singapore. The work includes joint venture-building sprints with partner corporates and global founders, support for corporate-startup partnership programmes, co-investment with corporates to share early-stage risk, and active support to create value across the venture portfolio as it scales.

Role summary

This is an individual contributor position within a collaborative team. The successful candidate will help shape and deliver new strategies and initiatives that advance corporate innovation and venturing, with a particular emphasis on startup partnerships.

What you will do

• Develop and maintain relationships with large enterprises and multinational companies to expand their innovation and venturing activity in Singapore.
• Create customised engagement plans for corporates based on their needs, using whole-of-government resources and EDB products and services to deliver value such as capability building, startup pilots, tailored incentive packages, and non-financial support.
• Gain a strong understanding of corporate challenges, as well as regional and global industry trends and innovation ecosystems, to spot gaps and identify opportunities.
• Work alongside public- and private-sector partners, multipliers, and other ecosystem stakeholders to promote corporate innovation and startup partnerships.
• Design and lead thematic or sector-focused partnership initiatives with other EDB divisions and external stakeholders to encourage collaboration between corporates and startups in priority areas.
• Plan and execute international publicity and marketing efforts to raise awareness and strengthen the profile of corporate innovation and startup partnership work.
• Develop and implement new approaches that further strengthen Singapore’s value proposition in corporate innovation and startup partnerships.

What the role requires

• 4 to 6 years of relevant experience in strategy development, account management, new business development, and/or partnerships.
• Proven ability to coordinate partnerships across multiple stakeholders and turn strategy into practical results.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the confidence to influence senior leaders and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Analytical strength that can be applied to systems-level programme design, research, identifying opportunity areas, interpreting qualitative and quantitative information, and assessing venture opportunities.
• A positive, hands-on mindset and the ability to work well in a changing and ambiguous environment.
• Confidence, resourcefulness, independence, and the ability to collaborate effectively as part of a team.
• Strong organisation and time-management skills.
• Singaporean citizenship.

Preferred experience

• Background in the corporate or startup innovation ecosystem, such as corporate innovation, incubation, accelerators, venture capital value creation, or similar fields.
• Experience with agile, lean, or user-centred design methods, or with market research analysis.

Application notes

Applications are reviewed and interviews are conducted on a rolling basis. Candidates can expect to receive an outcome within 8 weeks from the date of application.