After a decade as the leading urban regeneration agency in Malaysia, Think City is expanding and deepening its platform in a range of new endeavours and ventures. While its core functions, specialities and impact focus will remain, the organisation’s shareholder has asked Think City to pivot to a more self-sustaining model. This will require on-going advocacy and development of relationships to ensure that existing/ new programmes and investments continue to evolve and eventually become self- sustainable. The new mandate also includes the opportunity to seed and invest in ventures and innovations that have the potential to help cites achieve the SDGs.
A dedicated and highly skilled team is identified to support the delivery of this function, which includes to build and maintain meaningful relationships with various actors in the ecosystem including communities, government, international and private sector partners.
The position is primarily external facing and may include other duties assigned by the Senior Director – Partnerships and Creative Sector. The key outcomes of the position are to be measured in terms of policy shifts, funding, and higher levels of collaboration across sectors.
Ideally the candidate will have additional specialised domain knowledge in an industry relevant to Think City’s core business, such as the creative sector. The experience here will be drawn on to direct selected projects, in the first instance realising the Kuala Lumpur Creative and Cultural District will be a key responsibility. This should link to a network of similar districts whereby Think City has an existing or potential stake.
Reporting Relationship
Direct Reports
- Senior Associate, Partnerships and Creative Sector (Not Existing)
Budgetary Responsibility
- KLCCD
- Partnerships
Key Accountabilities
1. Managing strategic relationships
Key Actions:
- Work with the senior leadership team and practice leads to audit existing strategic partnerships, relationships, and institutional arrangements
- Jointly develop a set of strategies and a workplan to deepen and strengthen existing relationships
- Jointly develop key messages and protocols related to stakeholder management
- Actively enhance existing relationships
- Research and provide data to support a set of strategies and a workplan to deepen and strengthen relationships
- Monitor monthly reporting on progress of relationship engagements
- Prepare and review proposals, reports, and manages grant applications and budget submissions
- Facilitate day-to-day relationships and communications with identified stakeholders
- Manage grants calendar
- Maintain income and expense projections
Measures:
- Establish an agreed baseline of local and international partners
- Establish a calendar of grant applications for this baseline of partners
- Establish the stakeholder management process
- Prepare and monitor submitted proposals for more than 50% of identified partners
- Report leads of new relationships and necessary actions to nurture it in a timely manner
2. Advocating Think City’s value proposition to potential government and GLC clients
Key Actions:
- Work with senior leadership teams and flagship leads to identify relationship and collaboration gaps;
- Jointly develop a strategic framework and workplan to build new relationships
- Actively build new strategic relationships and networks
Measures:
- Presentation and engagement for new partners at an operational level completed
- Secured meetings with new partners’ senior management
- Heightened awareness of Think City via multiple platforms
- Drafted terms of reference for a tax exempted pool of funds under Subsection 44 (11c) that focuses on neighborhood or other geographic community challenges in line with building SDG and creative cities
3. Creative Sector
Key Actions:
- Advocate to position Think City as a lead to go to organisation or development of Creative sector.
- Provide strategic direction for the realisation of various creative and cultural districts in various cities
- Take leadership of the realisation of the KL Creative and Cultural District including attracting new content and leveraging off past work to ensure ongoing government and private sector support
Measures:
- Heightened awareness of Think City’s role in the creative sector via multiple platforms
- Facilitation of identified key creative platforms to be anchored in KL
- Drafted terms of reference for the Malaysian Creative Cities Network
- Launch the KLCCD with the establishment of a working committee
Qualifications, Experience and Skills
Minimum Qualifications
- Degree in a social science, communications, international relations, government administration or similar
Minimum years of experience
- 7 years of work experience
- Exposure to government processes
- Strong communicator
- Strong local networks
- High EQ and CQ
Kind of Experience
- Track record in government related organisations, or projects
- Experience in delivering partnerships and collaborations
- Experience in managing multiple programme strands
- Experience in project monitoring and reporting
- Experience in stakeholder management, including playing an advisory and development role in supporting partners to achieve their goals
- Demonstrated team leadership experience
Critical Skills
Competencies
- Drive for Results
- Self Awareness and openness to learning
- Problem solving
- Ability to absorb and analyse complex information
- Project monitoring and reporting (including busines planning and financial reporting)
- Team Work
- Building Partnerships
- Influencing others
- Team Leadership
- Developing Others
Technical Skills
- Stakeholder management
- Strategic communications
- Policy development and advocacy
- Creative sector know-how
- Written and verbal communication