Mission Specialist, Skills Initiative

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 Centre for the New Economy and Society provides a trusted platform to build prosperous, innovative and resilient economies that create opportunities for all. It enables leaders to understand, shape and navigate a new social and economic context through insights, action and dialogue for:

• Fostering economic growth and risk preparedness

• Investing in talent and human capital

• Promoting equity and inclusion

The Centre has over 40 staff in a mix of permanent, grant-funded and fellow roles working across these themes. Its work and methods are enabled by functional practices that encompass Impact Design and Coordination as well as Community Engagement activities. The Centre also hosts the institutional team responsible for embedding experts, universities, think tanks and Global Future Councils across the Forum's work.

The Specialist, Skills Initiatives will specialize in supporting communities and initiatives focused on skills, with an objective of delivering a tangible impact on life-long learning, reskilling and upskilling globally.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Specialist, Skills Initiatives will report to the Skills Initiatives Manager and will work closely with other staff across the Centre and the organization to deliver outcomes efficiently.

The Specialist, Skills Initiatives will work within the Mission on Education, Skills and Learning to support a portfolio of initiatives within that mission. These include supporting the management of the Community of Chief Learning Officers, the Future Skills Alliance, and the broader portfolio of outputs under the Reskilling Revolution. The Specialist will also support the development of industry and regional collaboration strategies on the team.

Externally, they will interact with current and potential partners of the Centre from business, government, media, civil society, and academia to deliver on the Centre’s ambitions. The Centre engages over 180 business partners and over 30 governments, among other stakeholders.

Main responsibilities

• Curate the Chief Learning Officer and Future Skills Alliance communities, including identifying and onboarding new members, refining the value propositions for engaging in the communities, managing communication with the community and maintaining all marketing materials.

• Design quarterly virtual and in-person community meetings for Chief Learning Officers and the Future Skills Alliance.

• Support the development of outputs from the Future Skills Alliance and the Chief Learning Officers, in collaboration with the team’s Insights and Action Leads. Outputs may include policy frameworks for incentivizing lifelong learning and relevant insights on skills of the future.

• Support members of the Chief Learning Officers and the Future Skills Alliance in implementing skills frameworks.

• Support the team’s Action Lead and Skills Initiatives Manager in the development of the team’s industry and regional collaboration strategy.

• Shape the development of impact reporting frameworks and communication strategies to showcase the contributions and outcomes of the Chief Learning Officers and the Future Skills Alliance.

• Support Centre-wide planning, communication flows and delivery against the Centre’s strategy and objectives.

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

• Ensure clear documentation and databases, including through Salesforce, Excel, and other digital management tools, as well as through presentations and papers.

• Collaboratively engage and actively support team members' initiatives, fostering a culture of mutual assistance and collective success.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

• Strong knowledge regarding the life-long learning, skills and reskilling agenda, relationships and experience with public-private collaboration on these topics, and an up-to-date awareness of key global trends relevant to this portfolio and to the broader socio-economic agenda.

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, as demonstrated by partner engagement and retainment and scaling of the accelerator network.

• Strong coordination with internal teams in a highly matrixed organization, especially the Forum’s business teams.

• Clarity of communication, writing and relationship management skills, as well as systems thinking skills, agility and ability to work with others.

• Ability to effectively communicate the portfolio’s systemic impact.

• Ability to collaborate efficiently and transparently within the team as a strong team player.

• Proficiency in the use of internal and external digital platforms and tools for activity design, project management and constituent engagement.

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

Requirements and preferred experience

• University degree in public policy, business, social sciences or other relevant fields. Candidates who have completed digital accreditations or taken different routes to upskilling are welcome to apply.

• 3+ years of relevant professional experience, ideally across consulting, industry, government, non-profit, international organization and/or think tanks.

• Proven interest in one or several of the thematic areas covered by the Centre’s Missions.

• Proven track record of interest and knowledge regarding education, skills and learning topics, relationships and experience with public-private collaboration on these topics, and an up-to-date awareness of key global trends relevant to this portfolio and to the broader socio-economic agenda.

• Proven excellent project management and coordination; attention to detail; dedication to interdisciplinary approaches; 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 environment.

• Excellent teamwork, collaboration and operational 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!