This is a fixed-term contract with a maximum duration of 12 months.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, working in partnership with the World Economic Forum, is looking for a Lead, Social Innovation (Public Sector), with a target start date of 1 July 2025. The position is a full-time, on-site role in a growing team.
Why are we hiring
In partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is the foremost global community of pioneering social innovators driving systemic change. Since 1998, it has recognized leading social innovators through its annual awards with the categories of Social Entrepreneurs, Corporate Social Innovators, Public Social Innovators and Collectives.
In 2021, the foundation launched the Social Economy Working Group which evolved into the Policy Leadership Council (PLC) to increase engagement with the public sector on the topic of social economy and social innovation. The council brings together 30+ policy leaders and has introduced numerous initiatives, including a series of insights reports on Unlocking the Social Economy, a global coalition on data collection, and national policy roundtables.
We seek a Lead, Social Innovation (Public Sector), to help advance our mission of driving social innovation in the public sector. Ideal candidates will bring the skills listed below and a commitment to the values of social innovation, believing that diverse perspectives, cooperation, and collective action can create lasting impact. If this aligns with your professional aspirations, we encourage you to apply.
Duties and responsibilities
The Lead, Social Innovation (Public Sector) will report directly to the Head of Social Innovation and enable the Schwab Foundation’s mission to advance social innovation in the public sector by supporting the following activities:
- Public Sector Engagement: Coordination of the activities of the Policy Leadership Council (annual activity planning, agenda preparation for meetings, content development, coordination with co-chairs, etc.)
- Public Social Innovation Awards: Engagement management of the community of Public Social Innovators (PSIs), including the coordination of the annual selection cycle of PSIs for the Schwab Foundation awards;
- Thought leadership: Lead a portfolio of insights and thought leadership activities, focusing on key emerging themes in (public) social innovation. This might include flagship reports, thematic surveys, white papers, outlooks and toolkits.
- Data Harmonization and Sector-Wide Sharing: Coordinate the foundation’s efforts to harmonize data collection and sector-wide data sharing on social enterprises.
Public sector engagement
- Coordinate the activities of the Policy Leadership Council in coordination with the Co-Chairs of the council, the Head of Social Innovation, and the Director of the Schwab Foundation. This includes annual activity planning, coordination of opportunities for public sector engagement, and alignment of activities with other ecosystem organizations and public sector organizations.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key partners, predominantly public sector organisations.
- Prepare the quarterly meetings of the Policy Leadership Council, in coordination with the co-chairs.
- Represent the Foundation at conferences, public forums, and stakeholder meetings.
- Prepare the Foundation’s programming related to social innovation in the public sector at key Forum events, including the development of content and engagement of speakers.
- Lead on the organization of national-level policy roundtables convening public sector representatives as well as national experts on social innovation, with the support of the events team.
Public social innovation awards and community
- Lead in the annual selection process of Public Social Innovators, coordinating with the Forum regional teams and the Schwab Foundation team to prepare the annual pipeline and final candidates for the Public Social Innovation Awards to the Schwab Foundation Board.
- Onboard newly awarded Public Social Innovators into the Schwab Foundation community and define and communicate the value proposition to public awardees, enhancing engagement and recognition within the Foundation's initiatives.
- Act as primary engagement manager for some of the world’s most renowned public social innovators, implementing engagement plans for each.
- Conduct research and assessments to identify potential new awardees and provide informed recommendations for community inclusion.
Thought leadership
- Lead a portfolio of insights and thought leadership activities, focusing on key emerging themes in (public) social innovation. This might include flagship reports, thematic surveys, white papers, outlooks and toolkits.
- Draw upon the rich insights that is to be found within the Schwab Foundation community, and engage social innovators in producing insights in line with the Foundation’s focus and the World Economic Forum’s overall guidelines.
- Manage partnerships with a wide range of insights partners, including consulting firms, research and academic institutions, and other partners.
- Use qualitative and quantitative skills to produce new insights.
- Coordinate ad-hoc advisory groups including experts from the public sector, private sector, industry and academia to contribute to the development of Insights Reports and White Papers.
Data Harmonization and Sector-Wide Sharing
- Coordinate the foundation’s efforts to harmonize data collection in the social enterprise sector and explore data standards, exchanges, or platforms that allow for sector-wide data sharing across networks and organizations.
- Develop and implement a long-term strategy for data collection and harmonization, leading to the emergence of meaningful research on social innovation and increased discoverability of social innovators.
- Engage a global collective of ecosystem actors, public and private sector organisations collaborating on social enterprise data collection, setting clear objectives and ensuring progress over time.
- Manage external consultants by overseeing their engagement, defining deliverables, and ensuring alignment with project goals.
- Develop and implement fundraising strategies to secure funding from government agencies, foundations, corporate sponsors, and other relevant sources
Skills and Qualifications
Some concrete skills and capabilities we are looking for are:
- Demonstrated interest in (public) social innovation, public policy, or stakeholder economy with a minimum of 7 years of experience in the sector or related areas.
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within cross-functional teams and manage relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Political Sciences, Environmental Studies, International Relations). A Master’s degree is a plus.
- Strong networking and representation skills, especially engaging with senior stakeholders.
- Demonstrated success in managing thought leadership and insight-driven activities.
- Strong organisational skills, with attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.
- Strong command of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and database management)
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and fluency in spoken and written English. Additional languages would be an asset.
- Lived experience in low-income countries, ideally supporting the social innovation or development sector are a plus.
- Previous experience with Salesforce CRM, data collection tools (e.g. Airtable, Tableau, Qualtrics), and project management tools (e.g. Wrike) are preferrable.
What will you be assessed on?
- Ability to work and thrive in a team, contributing to a positive and enabling team culture
- Effective and efficient delivery on the above-mentioned roles and responsibilities, particularly improving stakeholder engagement and growing the community of public social innovators and members of the Policy Leadership Council.
- Strength of presentation (written and verbal) of social innovation content.
- Feedback from internal team and external partners on quality and impact of delivery.
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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!