Job Description

The mission of SFA is to ensure and secure a supply of safe food for Singapore. The Urban Food Solutions Division drive development of productive, resource efficient and climate resilient technologies and innovation in tropical aquaculture and urban agriculture by building scientific expertise and strategic partnerships with academia and industry stakeholders.The job holder will lead the Agri-tech and Food Innovation Department to:
1) Provide strategic research direction to drive research in tropical urban agriculture
2) Build internal scientific expertise and leverage on strategic partnerships with Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and other R&D ecosystems to develop and translate technology to local industry
3) Provide technical expertise to support policies and operations on urban agriculture in SFADutiesThe job holder will be responsible to:

• Analyse local and international trends (eg. Agri-tech and climate change) to identify technology gaps, challenges, and opportunities to improve the productivity and resource efficiency of Singapore\xe2\x80\x99s urban agriculture industry
• Study, survey and evaluate technologies that are of relevance and make recommendations on how these technologies could be developed and adopted
• Plan, initiate, coordinate and secure funding for research projects with an objective to have these translated to the industry
• Build and grow internal scientific expertise so that they can be regional experts
• Build partnerships with other research institutions, government agencies and industry stakeholders to leverage resources and expertise to solve industry related challenges
• Represent Singapore at regional and international technical meetings and forums
• Ensure that the Department\xe2\x80\x99s operations including finance, budget and human resource issues are properly managed.

RequirementsHe or she will need to possess a Masters/PhD in related agriculture or plant science disciplines such as agriculture biotech, agronomy and crop science, horticulture, sustainability and environmental science.

• Preferably at least 10 years of recent experience in agriculture/plant science or relevant sustainability and environmental science research in academia or industry
• Demonstrated strong leadership and team capability development capabilities in managing teams
• Experience in strategic thinking and building partnerships with academia and industry stakeoholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in finance, budget and human resource issues
• Knowledge and/or experience in digital technologies related to agri-tech, plant science would be advantageous

Other InformationLocation of office is at Techquest, Singapore.We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified for the interview.

Singapore Economic Development Board