Lead, Strategy and Operations

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, engaging the foremost leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Forum’s Centre for Energy and Materials (CENMAT) serves as the multi-stakeholder and cross-industry platform that enables building new coalitions and delivering cutting-edge insights required for a sustainable, secure and equitable energy future globally and locally. The Centre engages leaders from the public and private sectors to deliver new insights and multistakeholder collaborations at the global, regional and national levels.

Why we are Recruiting

We are hiring a Lead, Strategy and Operations to drive the development and operationalization of key strategic priorities for CENMAT. The Lead will be responsible for translating ideas into action, will focus on the strategic integration and coordination of key functions across the Centre’s portfolio of initiatives and projects, accelerating progress while ensuring alignment and communication with key stakeholders. The Lead will be responsible for the Centre’s portfolio management and reporting processes. will serve as a central point of contact on inbound institutional requests involving the Centre and will also engage closely with the coordination, programming and communications functions in the Centre.

Reporting Lines & Interactions

The Lead will report to the Head of the Centre for Energy and Materials. S/he will work closely with programme teams across the Centre and will also build and sustain strong and collaborative relationships with other relevant Centres and industry community teams across the Forum whose work intersects with the Centre’s areas of Focus. Establishing productive relationships within the Centre and across the Forum will be of utmost importance for succeeding in this role.

Centre and Institutional Relationship Management

• Serve as the first point of contact for all inbound Centre solicitations originating from internal or external parties.
• Support the development of synergies, consistency in approach, and knowledge sharing across multiple flagship initiatives, projects, and activities within the Centre
• Connect and communicate with Centre staff to understand multiple needs, perspectives, and strategic priorities, and translate those requests into consistent and actionable steps leveraging institutional platforms and tools

Centre Strategy and Portfolio Management

• Work closely with the Centre leadership team to implement a holistic design and execution strategy for the Centre activities throughout the year, with the objectives of streamlining activities, increasing operational efficiency and effectiveness, and increasing impact-oriented results.
• Identify opportunities, in close collaboration with the Centre Head and Leadership Team, to strengthen Centre strategy and impact.
• Lead the simplification and streamlining of the Centre’s portfolio management process
• Work collaboratively with program teams to drive effective monitoring, collation, presentation and reporting on the Centre portfolio performance.

Centre Operations and Processes

• Drive strategic priorities forward through comprehensive planning and communication, streamlined processes and the creation of frameworks where necessary.
• Develop documentation, tools, and data to facilitate strategic decision making.

Initiative Incubation and Resource Mobilisation

• Build and maintain a quality pipeline of issues being considered for potential nurturing and incubation including the underlying rationale (i.e., strategic fit, risk analysis, resourcing needs etc).
• Define and lead the incubation process of selected issues, developing them into special projects with clear expected outcomes follow-on steps.
• Lead resource mobilisation (in particular for direct funding and fellows) efforts for new project opportunities as identified through cross-centre engagements.

Key deliverables and measurable outcomes

• Strategic relationships formed and maintained with relevant Centres and industries across the Forum on issues of common interest or intersection.
• A streamlined portfolio management framework and process.
• A well-structured and managed Centre repository that is regularly maintained and that acts as a strategic reference point for the Centre’s engagement on issues that have interdependencies with energy and materials.
• A pipeline of issues that are being nurtured and incubated as special projects/assignments with clear expected outcomes and assimilation processes into the Centre’s activities and Centre Strategy
• Identified and pursued resource mobilisation opportunities

Preferred requirements and experience

• Advanced university degree in strategy & management, business, or other relevant fields.
• 8+ years of proven experience, including in strategy development and operations, with a focus on results.
• Understanding and experience in energy and materials is preferred.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and management skills, including the ability to forge strategic relationships and collaborate with internal (Forum) and external stakeholders.
• Executive level presence and presentation skills with the ability to interact efficiently and confidently external parties.
• Proven project management and coordination skills; attention to detail; capacity to apply critical thinking, synthesize various viewpoints, effectively communicate critical messages, and consult broadly across diverse stakeholders.
• Proactive and self-driven, with the ability to work independently, managing both long- and short-term objectives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Agile, with a positive and constructive attitude towards getting things done, connecting the dots, and delivering results while embracing change.
• A flexible, agile, and politically astute mindset necessary for working with fast-paced teams in dynamic environments.
• Outstanding command of English, with excellent written, digital, and verbal communication skills; knowledge of other languages would be an asset.
• Ability to understand multi-stakeholder interests, align those to meaningful societal action and drive impact.

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!