Snr Manager / Asst Director, Education & Interpretation, Founders' Memorial
Job Description
[What the role is]
Do you love Singapore for punching above its weight as a Little Red Dot? Can you identify with the grit exhibited by our founding leaders and generation as they worked hard to build Singapore to what it is today? Are you excited about creating education experiences to inspire the younger generations? If the answer is "yes", join us at the Founders' Memorial (FM)!At the FM, we are creating a brand-new garden-museum experience for Singaporeans, by Singaporeans. A national landmark at the heart of our garden city, uncovering the story of how independent Singapore came to be, and bringing Singaporeans across generations together to reflect and have bold conversations about what our founding values mean today and for our future.
The FM is seeking a dynamic and passionate individual to join our Education and Interpretation team, to design and implement high- quality education programmes grounded in Singapore’s founding values. You will drive our education strategy and partnerships with key education partners and oversee the development of FM’s signature programmes to engage a wide range of students – from primary to tertiary students – leveraging multimodal and place-based approaches to excite and inspire the younger generation at the Memorial! Look forward to being a part of creating a living Memorial that unites, challenges and inspires Singaporeans of all generations towards a brighter future!
[What you will be working on]
Programme design and development You will lead the development of the cohort learning journey for Secondary 3 students which is tied to the national identity card milestone for the students, and education programmes based on our special exhibitions.
Cohort learning journey: Working with a colleague, you will design the journey based on the permanent exhibition content, leveraging FM's unique indoor-outdoor experience, in consultation with MOE. This includes developing educational resources, training Museum Educators to facilitate the programme, engaging schools to conduct pilots and managing the eventual rollout to all schools in 2029.
Special exhibition programmes: You will work with a team to develop the educational interpretive layer for our special exhibitions, and the accompanying education programmes to draw new and repeat school visits to the Memorial.
Student leadership and youth engagement: You will oversee student leadership programmes developed in partnership with MOE and NYC, as well as youth engagement initiatives through IHLs. This includes working with a team to manage the end-to-end development and delivery of these programmes and ensuring they are meaningfully connected to FM’s broader education and interpretation objectives.
Education partnerships: You will drive strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), and National Youth Council (NYC) to develop initiatives that engage students and youth on the FM’s values-based narrative – sparking reflection on what our founding values mean today and personal application. This includes designing resource kits (both physical and digital) suitable for the student demographic.
Educator empowerment and development: You will engage and develop the FM’s Museum Educators and docents to facilitate educational programmes for students. This includes equipping them with the content and pedagogical skills to deliver the programme content effectively, and conducting periodic reviews on the training programme, the education programme and the facilitation to identify areas for improvement.
Documentation of the founding generation stories: As part of the Education and Interpretation team, you will contribute to the collecting and processing of stories collected through “Student Archivist Project”, an oral history project organised by the FM in which student interviewers collect personal stories from senior interviewees. You will develop the brief and train students to conduct the interviews, and work as a team to oversee the video documentation of the interviews.
Stewardship and operations: In the lead-up to opening, you will play a role in building up the Education team, including training and equipping a group of facilitators as the FM’s Museum Educators and establishing the programmes and operational frameworks for student visits. Post-opening, you will manage the team overseeing the day-to-day operations of student visits to the Memorial, including logistical arrangements, coordination with supervising teachers, and evaluating the effectiveness of programmes in meeting their objectives.
[What we are looking for]
Relevant qualifications or equivalent professional experience in Education, History, Museum Studies, or a related field.
Preferably 5-7 years in the education sector, with experience in History and Social Studies, and developing resources / initiatives based on Character and Citizenship Education. An in-depth understanding of the Singapore education system is advantageous.
Audience Management - Ability to develop and implement complex engagement strategies and activities that cater to different visitor segments, evaluate the effectiveness of engagement strategies and activities, lead and manage programming teams to develop engagement ideas and concepts that align with objectives.
Stakeholder Engagement - Ability to evaluate interest, alignment and influence of key stakeholders in relation to project / initiative, implement stakeholder engagement plans to proactively form positive relationships, and exercise judgement to manage challenging stakeholders and recommend appropriate interventions.
Passionate about education, with a creative approach to designing impactful learning experiences, and the ability to coordinate various aspects of student visits within a museum setting.
Experience in managing / training facilitators to engage youth in meaningful conversations is advantageous.
Strong interpersonal, communication and written skills, with the ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, from students to educators and key education partners.
A collaborative team player with excellent interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, able to work across multidisciplinary and cross-agency teams.
As the FM is an institution being built from the ground-up, the candidate should be able to navigate changes, multiple stakeholders and a fast-moving environment where processes are still being established. Familiarity with or willingness to learn government tools and procurement guidelines will also be essential.
Some weekend and after-work hours engagements might be required – candidates should be prepared to exercise some flexibility in the work schedule.