Deputy Director, ICT & SS Risk Specialist

GovTech is the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiatives and public sector digital transformation. As the Centre of Excellence for Infocomm Technology and Smart Systems (ICT & SS), GovTech develops the Singapore Government’s capabilities in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Application Development, Smart City Technology, Digital Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity. At GovTech, we offer you a purposeful career to make lives better where we empower our people to master their craft through robust learning and development opportunities all year round. Play a part in Singapore’s vision to build a Smart Nation and embark on your meaningful journey to build tech for public good. Join us to advance our mission and shape your future with us today! Learn more about GovTech at tech.gov.sg. The challenge What happens when technology, delivery and threats move faster than an organisation’s ability to see and respond to risk? And what could become possible if risk management moved just as quickly? Every organisation needs a way to detect warning signs, connect the dots and act before problems spread. That is the role of governance, risk and control. Think of it as the organisation’s nervous system. It picks up signals from across the organisation, helps leaders make sense of them and enables a timely response. When that system works well, teams can move faster, take smarter risks and deliver with greater confidence. When it does not, warning signs are missed, decisions slow down and governance becomes a barrier rather than an enabler. GovTech has strong platforms, talented people and an important mission. As our role and public impact grow, the risks we manage are becoming more interconnected, fast-moving and consequential. We are looking for Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors in Enterprise Risk Management who want to help build what comes next. You will have the opportunity to challenge established practices, experiment with data and AI, influence senior decisions and shape how one of Singapore’s most important technology organisations manages risk. [What you will be working on] This is a role for people who want more than a steady portfolio. It is for those who want to build, push boundaries and leave the system better than they found it. What you will have the chance to change. We want to move enterprise risk management: • from periodic reporting to more continuous risk visibility • from manual collation to data and AI-enabled insight • from risk registers to clearer decisions and action • from unclear accountability to risks with active owners • from retrospective assurance to earlier intervention • from compliance activity to practical support for delivery This is not simply a reporting role. You will help shape how risk is understood, discussed, owned and acted upon across GovTech. Your mandate Your job is to make enterprise risk management useful. You will work with senior leaders, risk owners and teams across GovTech to identify what matters, make trade-offs visible and support action before issues become incidents. Depending on your experience and appointment level, you will lead or take ownership of significant ERM portfolios and initiatives. You will have room to test ideas, challenge established practices and build better approaches. You will also need to influence people you do not manage and create clarity where risks, priorities or accountabilities are contested. That is part of the job. Break the Frame Modern risk management cannot rely only on inherited frameworks, templates and periodic reporting. We want people who are prepared to question established practices, test better approaches and rethink how risk management should work in a technology organisation. You will explore how data, AI and automation can help GovTech: • detect weak signals and emerging risks earlier • connect information across the organisation • reduce manual reporting and administrative work • give leaders more timely and useful risk insight • strengthen judgement without removing human accountability This requires an experimental mindset. You should be comfortable testing ideas, learning from what does not work and turning successful experiments into practical capabilities. The aim is not to use AI to perform old processes faster. It is to ask whether those processes are still needed and design better ones where they are not. We call this Break the Frame: looking beyond established ways of working, pushing boundaries responsibly and building an ERM function that can keep pace with modern technology. What you will do Strengthen our ERM approach Develop and improve GovTech’s enterprise risk framework, methodology and governance arrangements. Clarify who owns each risk, how issues should be escalated and where decisions should sit. Make sure the approach works for a modern technology organisation rather than forcing teams into processes that add little value. Build a forward-looking view of risk Maintain a current view of GovTech’s key risks across strategy, technology, operations, delivery, vendors, regulation, data, reputation and organisational capability. Look beyond known issues and past incidents. Identify emerging threats, dependencies and concentrations of risk before they become larger problems. Keep GovTech’s enterprise risk profile, register and monitoring approach relevant and useful to decision-makers. Support better leadership decisions Provide clear and practical advice to senior leadership, Board-level committees, auditors and oversight bodies, including SNDGO and relevant central agencies. Turn complex risk issues into straightforward choices, trade-offs and recommendations. Help leaders understand what matters most, what needs to be done, who should act and where attention is required. Modernise how risk management is done Improve processes that are too manual, retrospective or disconnected from day-to-day operations. Use data, AI, automation and emerging technologies to improve the timeliness and quality of risk information. Run practical experiments, test new approaches and turn successful ideas into reusable capabilities. Develop tools and guidance that help teams manage risk as part of their work, not as a separate compliance exercise. Work across GovTech Partner with product, engineering, cybersecurity, operations, policy, procurement and corporate functions. Help leaders balance delivery speed, resilience, governance and risk appetite. Build trusted relationships and support honest conversations, especially where risks or accountabilities are unclear or contested. Represent GovTech in relevant cross-agency risk and governance forums. What good looks like Success will not be measured by the number of reports produced. You will know the role is making a difference when: • leadership has a clearer view of GovTech’s most important risks • risks are surfaced earlier and acted on faster • ownership and accountability are clear • risk insight improves strategic and operational decisions • governance supports responsible delivery rather than slowing it down • manual reporting is reduced • successful experiments lead to better ways of working • teams see ERM as a practical partner • GovTech is better prepared for disruption and emerging risks [What we are looking for] We are looking for people who want to improve how things work, not simply maintain existing processes. You should bring: • relevant experience in enterprise risk, governance, assurance or a related field • experience in a technology-intensive, operationally complex or regulated organisation • a strong understanding of risk appetite, governance, accountability and assurance • sound judgement and the confidence to challenge constructively • the ability to turn complex issues into clear choices and actions • credibility with senior leaders, auditors, regulators and technical teams • experience influencing across organisational boundaries • curiosity about how data, AI and automation can improve risk management • a willingness to experiment, learn and challenge the status quo Candidates considered for the Deputy Director level should have substantial leadership experience, enterprise-wide influence and the confidence to advise senior leaders and oversight bodies on complex risk matters. Candidates considered for the Assistant Director level should have strong delivery capability, sound risk judgement and the ability to lead significant portfolios and stakeholder engagements. What would be useful Experience or strength in one or more of the following would be valuable: • government technology • critical digital infrastructure • large-scale platforms or digital services • technology or operational resilience • digital transformation • risk analytics, automation or AI-enabled risk management • systems thinking, including the ability to see dependencies, feedback loops and second-order effects • narrative competence, including the ability to turn complex risk issues into clear and persuasive stories that support decisions You do not need to tick every box. Relevant experience matters, but so do judgement, curiosity and the ability to make change happen. What we offer you: GovTech is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive workplace that values diverse voices and perspectives, as we believe that diversity is the foundation to innovation.    Our employee benefits are based on a total rewards approach, offering a holistic and market-competitive suite of perks. These include leave benefits to meet your work-life needs and employee wellness programs.  We champion flexible work arrangements (subject to your job role) and trust that you will manage your own time to deliver your best, wherever you are, and whatever works best for you.  Learn more about life inside GovTech at go.gov.sg/GovTechCareers. Stay connected with us on social media at go.gov.sg/ConnectWithGovTech