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 and societies 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 includes six thematic workstreams and its work and methods are enabled by two horizontal functional practices: 1) Impact Design and Coordination 2) Community Engagement. The Centre also hosts the institutional team responsible for embedding expertise and frontier thinking across the Forum's work.

The Action Lead will specialize in managing action-oriented initiatives focused diversity, equity and inclusion, within one of the thematic Missions of the Centre. In the context of persistent economic gaps experienced by underrepresented groups, the objective will be to deliver tangible impact in creating more inclusive business ecosystems and economies globally.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Action Lead will report to the Head of the corresponding thematic Mission and will work closely with other staff across the Centre and the organization to deliver outcomes efficiently. 

Main responsibilities:

• Develop and curate Mission-aligned project communities related to the Lead’s thematic portfolio of work, in particular the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lighthouse Programme and including workstreams advancing racial and ethnic equity and closing economic gaps for people identifying as LGBTQI and people with disabilities, initiating, expanding, and maintaining relationships with diverse stakeholders.

• Work in close alignment and collaboration with their Mission team, corresponding functional teams, and other colleagues across the Centre to co-design the overall Mission objectives and to ensure seamless internal and external engagement with the Mission.

• Support the integration of relevant Forum members and partners into the Lead’s thematic portfolio of work, creating efficient pathways for stakeholders to engage and ensuring the community derives value.

• Ensure implementation of harmonized approaches and methods across the Lead’s thematic portfolio of work and supporting continuous improvement and iteration.

• Keep a consistent focus on ambitious impact and engagement outcomes. Track and report quantitative and qualitative metrics for systems-change impact across the Mission and within the Lead’s activity portfolio.

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

• Support the Head of Mission and Head of relevant functional practice on Centre-wide planning and coordination, support Centre-wide communication flow and delivery against the Centre’s strategy and objectives, and, as applicable, responsibly manage financial and human resources within the matrix structure.

• Support onboarding and guidance of new colleagues and understand and role model a supportive, ambitious and collaborative team culture.

The successful candidate will be assessed on

• Ability to formulate strategies and workplans for activities within their thematic portfolio of work in alignment with the mission team and corresponding functional practice(s), integrating multiple views and evolving and innovating within a rapidly shifting context.

• Agile coordination and management of action frameworks, leadership alliances and multistakeholder initiatives within their thematic portfolio of work in alignment with the mission team and corresponding functional practice(s).

• Developing, managing and coordinating strategic partnerships with external partners, including major efforts by leading businesses, governments, civil society and international organizations, fully leveraging the Forum’s platform approach.

• Ability to engage with senior stakeholders and assess collaboration opportunities within the context of the Lead’s thematic portfolio, the broader Mission, and the Centre as a whole.

• Analyzing, synthesizing and leveraging quantitative and qualitative data in support of project-related insight, community and strategy development.

• Ability to collaborate efficiently and transparently within the team as a strong team player and in an agile matrix organization. As applicable, supervising and coaching Specialist(s) across relevant functional competences and thematic content.

• Ensuring that results and milestones are documented consistently and regularly shared with internal and external stakeholders.

• Fluency in the use of internal and external digital platforms and tools for activity design, project management and constituent engagement.

• Keeping abreast of relevant issues, developments, initiatives and stakeholders pertinent to the Centre’s broader remit and objectives, as well as specifically within the thematic Mission corresponding to their activity portfolio.

• Developing and role-modelling a strong understanding of the Centre’s mission and culture within the broader Forum context.

Requirements and preferred experience

• Advanced university degree in public policy, economics, business, 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 and interest in driving impact and systems change in one or several of the areas covered by the Centre’s Missions and dedication to interdisciplinary approaches, across one or more business, public sector, non-profit, think tank or international organization settings.

• Proven excellent project management and coordination skills; attention to detail; 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, dynamic 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!