Assistant Director, Stakeholder Engagement

A young and research-intensive institution, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in engineering, business, science, humanities, arts, social sciences, education and medicine. It is ranked among the world’s top universities. We are seeking experienced professionals to join us as an Assistant Director, Stakeholder Engagement. The position will support the NTU Entrepreneurship Academy (NTUpreneur), which is part of the University’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) cluster. NTUpreneur provides students with the academic rigour and immersive experiences to develop an innovative and entrepreneurial (I&E) mindset as well as equip students with the necessary skillsets, tools and networks that will help them to be future-ready and be better able to thrive in an increasingly disruptive and unpredictable global environment.

Reporting to a Senior Assistant Director, Overseas Entrepreneurship Programme, the candidate will contribute to the fulfilment of NTUpreneur’s mission through initiating and developing strategic partnerships and engagements with student groups, alumni, corporates, government and non-government organisations. S/he will nurture, maintain and steer these relationships towards achieving the goals and aspirations of the University in entrepreneurial education. S/he will develop and implement an effective communications plan, leveraging on social media, digital and physical and hybrid event platforms. The goal is to keep all stakeholders abreast of the work, growth and development of the NTU I&E ecosystem and to thereby raise the profile, visibility and reach of NTU I&E in Singapore and around the world.

Responsibilities:

1. Drive and oversee student engagement through co-curricular activities to advance and grow the adoption of I&E ideals and mindset among the NTU student body

• Drive I&E activities among students, such as creating platforms and opportunities to advance students’ entrepreneurial innovations and projects.

• Create a vibrant I&E culture among the student community by initiating and organising relevant activities such as hackathons, fireside chats, panel discussions, talks, etc.

• Identify and collaborate with other relevant student clubs and societies to promote and recruit I&E advocates among student leaders.

• Identify suitable experts among external stakeholders that can enhance and contribute to classroom learning, and supplement theories with industry best practices 

• To grow student leadership in I&E activities. One important group is NTUpreneur Students Interest Group/ Clubs and other student networks to lead I&E activities.

2. Lead and drive engagement with industry and corporate entities that can create value for students and I&E community

• Identify and reach out to appropriate corporations in Singapore and key overseas locales to hold joint activities that are meaningful for NTUpreneur community, especially for our students and alumni.

• Explore other collaboration opportunities such as corporates offering internships, speakers’ series and co-organising hackathons, competitions and innovation challenges.

3. Lead and direct engagement with alumni to garner their support in helping NTUpreneur to achieve its mandate

• Develop an overarching NTUpreneur alumni engagement plan which will cater to organised alumni groups (from various programmes) and individual alumni.

• Work closely with Alumni Association to help the association grow its membership and appeal to fellow alumni.

• Consolidate and update NTUpreneur alumni master database and provide visibility of alumni profile, contact information and contact history.

• Develop a system to identify and provide recognition and acknowlegdement to alumni who do well in the industry.

• Work out an engagement plans for overseas alumni and develop a “Voluntary Pathway for Alumni” (VPA) for alumni to “pay it forward” to their alma mater (e.g. volunteer mentors).

• Liaise closely with NTU Office of Alumni Engagement to leverage on their reach and resources to enhance alumni outreach for the University.

4. Facilitate interaction between students, alumni and industry through an effective voluntary mentorship programme

• Be the main custodian of the NTUpreneur Entrepreneurship Mentoring Programme (EMP).

• Identify and appoint (with regular reviews) suitable alumni and/or industry professionals who can act as mentors for our students and young alumni.

• Develop a comprehensive system to onboard and organise the mentors and students with a workable matching process suited to the needs of different students participating in various NTUpreneur programmes.

• Plan, budget and initiate effective strategies to ensure high take-up rates and sustainability of the programme.

• Track and monitor the progress of EMP and facilitate any follow-up actions by interested parties after the mentorship sessions, as required.

5. Lead and oversee effective communications strategies to raise the profile of NTUpreneur in NTU, external I&E community and key social media platforms

• Employ effective communications strategies through digital channels such as websites, social media, blogs and newsletters to allow NTUpreneur to gain mindshare among all stakeholders and thereby enhance NTUpreneur’s standing and appeal among peers.

• Gain insights into student engagement and audience reach by performing regular data analytics on social media and key platforms.

• Advise and guide the production of communications materials for NTUpreneur to ensure effective and consistent messaging, based on CCO guidelines.

6. Secretariat Duties

• Act as Secretariat to NTUpreneur Faculty Fellows.

• Function as the custodian of NTUpreneur alumni database comprising participants of our undergraduate, postgraduate  and executive education programmes.

• Oversee the development of corporate and student gifts as part of marketing efforts.

Requirements:

• A Degree in Education or Communications and Marketing from a recognised university is preferred. Any other disciplines may be considered, depending on relevant experience.

• Experienced working in Institutes of Higher Learning or equivalent.

• Strong understanding of how stakeholders contribute to the education approach to entrepreneurship.

• Experienced with outreach and engagement, partnership development and stakeholder management

• Experienced with events management, and/or overseeing events planning.

• Experienced with creating marketing campaigns, possess knowledge of social media platforms. 

• Strong communications skills in both written and spoken.

• At least 10 years’ experience in senior management position. 

• At least 5 years’ experience in outreach and engagement, partnership development and stakeholder management. 

• Experience working in a university or Institute of Higher Learning.

• Excellent presentation skills.

• Enjoy working with young people/ students.

• Possess a good network consisting of entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and industry partners.

• Possess a good network from other Institutes of Higher Learning or equivalent. 

We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.