Job Description

What the role is:
The National Research Foundation (NRF) is a department within the Prime Minister's Office. We set the national direction for Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) by developing policies, plans and strategies; funding strategic initiatives that strengthen our scientific and technological capabilities, grow our RIE talent base, and achieve economic and national impact; and fostering RIE collaboration in Singapore and internationally. This traineeship is an opportunity for successful candidates to develop transferable skills and knowledge for a career in the Public Service, while contributing to the mission success of the organisation under dynamic real-world conditions.
What you will be working on:
The scope of the traineeship may include but is not limited to the following: RIE Talent o Engaging RIE ecosystem stakeholders to understand their needs and perspectives, including public research institutions, private sector organisations and partner agencies; o Formulating, implementing, and reviewing policies and programmes for RIE talent development; o Driving the implementation of strategic plans, including qualitative and quantitative assessments of our progress in attracting, developing and retaining talent, including global competitive benchmarking; and o Managing research grants administered by NRF RIE Talent Directorate and other operations. This includes overseeing grant call processes, assessing applications and preparing updates to senior management. Innovation & Research Translation o Working with Economic Agencies to develop sector-specific strategies to build sectoral leadership and grow a critical mass of companies with strong Innovation Mandate in Singapore, including emerging sectors that drive the next bound of growth for our economy; o Working closely with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, including universities, research institutes, start-ups, venture funds, companies and government agencies, to implement schemes effectively and to identify any gaps that require intervention in our Innovation and Enterprise (I&E) ecosystem; o Monitoring the overall I&E ecosystem to identify gaps in deep tech commercialisation, particularly at the early stages of research translation; and o Manage relevant funding schemes that are administered by NRF in support of our efforts to grow the deep tech and I&E ecosystem.
What we are looking for:
Background in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) or Economics is an advantage. The candidate should possess strong analytical abilities, be able to pull together information from different sources, and be comfortable working with complex concepts and detailed numbers. In addition, the candidate is required to have a broad sense of perspective, the ability to collaborate well with others, and good communication skills.
About National Research Foundation:
The National Research Foundation (NRF) was set up on 1 January 2006 as a department under the Prime Minister's Office. It was set up to perform the following: a) To provide secretariat support to the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the Senior Minister; b) To coordinate the research of different agencies within the larger national framework in order to provide a coherent strategic overview and direction; c) To develop policies and plans to implement the five strategic thrusts for the national R&D agenda; and d) To implement national research, innovation and enterprise strategies approved by the RIEC, and to allocate funding to programmes that meet NRF's strategic objectives.

Skills Required