September 17, 2024

NAC National Arts Council

FULL TIME

Director, Infrastructure Planning & Development

Under Arts Plan 2.0, NAC’s blueprint for the arts sector from 2023-2027, a key strategic thrusts is to develop Singapore into a Distinctive City for the arts. Our vision is to create vibrant spaces inspired by and for the arts., encompassing:

A cultural city that embraces and showcases our unique and shared identities through the arts, engendering a sense of belonging.
An Iconic city where places, structures and streetscapes are transformed, reimagined and rejuvenated through creativity and innovation.
An Inspiring city and endearing home for everyone, where public and private spaces are animated through arts and culture.

To support the development of arts in Singapore, there is a need to balance the demand for arts spaces for creation and presentation with the supply of such spaces. Traditionally, NAC has provided subsidised rental spaces for artists and arts groups to create works. Increasingly, NAC now need to look beyond our stock of arts housing spaces and unlock more opportunities by:

Collaborating with public and private space owners to facilitate arts access catering to diverse needs
Reviewing our policy levers and tools
Brokering partnerships to open up more spaces for the arts

Furthermore, NAC must work closely with land planning agencies such as URA and SLA to integrate the arts into their masterplans, thereby realising our vision of vibrant, arts-inspired spaces.
Your role will be to lead the team responsible for growing and diversifying infrastructure support by unlocking suitable spaces for arts use from both public and private building resource owners, as well as strategically engaging key stakeholders to incorporate the arts into public masterplans developed by URA and SLA.

You will lead a team to:

Infrastructure policy and planning

Develop a roadmap for an arts infrastructure masterplan that is needed to support the needs of Arts Plan 2.0, leveraging existing land resources and sizing up additional resources needed
Develop space policies and SOPs that ensure good stewardship of Gross Floor Area (GFA) allocated to NAC
Build strong relationships with land planning agencies like URA and SLA to tap onto their masterplans and policies to co-create vibrant spaces inspired by and for the arts
Manage engagement plans and change initiatives whenever required to support policy shifts or new strategies

Infrastructure development

Implement existing and new development projects as identified in the 5-yearly NAC’s Arts Plan on arts infrastructure support
Where new arts spaces need to be built, put up the development plan, secure the budget and project manage the development project

Leasing and tenancy management

Guide your team on leasing and tenancy management matters to ensure adherence to the infrastructure support framework for NAC's portfolio of properties
Initiate Open Calls for arts spaces to artists and arts groups and will see through the process life-cycle, from call to award and onboard. Where the Open Calls are outsourced, this team will need to ensure that the agreed process will be well implemented by the outsourced party
Develop policies and SOPs to ensure good practices are consistently upheld and further improved upon whenever necessary, such as from audit exercise
Work with NAC’s venue manager for the appointed arts centres to oversee agreed deliverables specific to the centre’s tenancy and leases management
Identify and build strategic partnerships with government and private stakeholders to unlock and secure diversified space opportunities for the arts sector and create more support pathways; develop and recommend policy incentives and toolkits to diversify infrastructure support

Facilities Management

Lead the team to ensure that venue cyclical, repair, maintenance programmes of NAC’s inventory of arts spaces are undertaken satisfactorily, including maintaining oversight of the managing agent, venue managers or arts tenants to implement the required and agreed work
Oversee that the necessary procurement complies with the Government Instruction Manual

What we are looking for:

Minimum 15 years of relevant experience, including at least 8 years in a supervisory position, preferably in the public sector
Proven track record of successful collaboration with public and/or private sector partners to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes
Strong policy development skills, particularly in infrastructure support and space resource planning
Experience in managing leases and addressing tenancy management issues
Expertise in stakeholder engagement and change management
Excellent analytical, communication, and presentation skills
Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, automation tools, and analytical software
Understanding of placemaking concepts and space resource planning
Knowledge of workflow optimisation and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure sound governance
Interest in driving automation and workflow digitalization
Meticulous with a commitment to delivering high-quality work
Eager to explore new opportunities with public and private sector players
Persuasive, resilient, and resourceful
Strong interpersonal skills; comfortable interacting with diverse arts tenants and stakeholders
Ability to coach and enable team members to reach their full potential
Applicants who require work passes need not apply