Action Lead, 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 Action Lead for Education, Skills and Learning will specialize in managing country-level action-oriented 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 Action Lead 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 Action Lead will work within the Mission on Education, Skills and Learning and will lead a portfolio of action initiatives within that mission.

These include primarily the network of . 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 :

Develop, manage and continuously refine the content, outreach, recruitment, and management of the within the Accelerators network, in close collaboration with the Forum’s regional teams and the Centre for the New Economy and Society.

Foster strong connections with local coordinators, co-chairs and members of the .

Design and facilitate quarterly virtual and in-person Global Learning Network meetings of the Skills Accelerators.

Lead the documentation and consolidation of the Skills Accelerator Playbook, integrating learnings from across the as well as relevant insights from the broader initiatives and communities across the Mission on Education, Skills and Learning.

Shape the development of impact reporting frameworks and communication strategies to showcase the contributions and outcomes of the Accelerator Network.

Monitor and report quantitative and qualitative metrics to assess impact across the Skills Accelerator Network.

Represent the Centre for the New Economy and Society internally across the organization and externally as required.

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.

Oversee all aspects of planning and executing in-country workshops, demonstrating accountability from inception to completion.

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

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

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.

Ability to independently manage activities within their thematic portfolio of work in alignment with best practices of the Centre’s functional practice(s).

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

Formulating clear strategies and workplans for activities within their thematic portfolio of work, integrating multiple views.

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

Ability to engage with senior stakeholders and disseminate key narratives within the context of the Lead’s thematic portfolio, the broader Mission, and the Centre as a whole.

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

Advanced university degree in public policy, economics, social sciences, or other relevant fields.

8+ years of relevant professional experience, ideally across business, government, non-profit, international organization and / or think tanks.

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.

Experience in facilitating high level interactions and discussions with constituents, preferably on the topics of education and skills.

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!