Assistant Director, Operations Excellence & Programmes (2 years contract)

[What the role is]

The Health Promotion Board’s vision is to make Singapore a nation of healthier people.

Come be a part of this journey if you’re passionate about creating boundary-pushing work that drives behavioral change.

You will be part of HPB’s Physical Activity Department, within the Physical Activity and Healthy Ageing Division, dedicated to making active living a cornerstone of daily life. The department works across government, healthcare, community and industry to connect residents to the right physical activity opportunities and support them in building sustainable habits. Through shared journeys, coordinated programming and trusted partnerships, it seeks to make the physical activity ecosystem simpler to navigate, more inclusive and better aligned to residents’ needs. Evidence, data insights and technology are used to guide decisions, personalise support, strengthen delivery and improve outcomes across partners.

[What you will be working on]

As Assistant Director, Operations Excellence & Programmes (Physical Activity), you will report to the Head of Department and lead, organise and develop the team to deliver its full range of workstreams and outcomes. Your success will depend on building a capable, accountable and well-coordinated team, setting clear direction and ensuring effective execution across two equally important complementary portfolios: strengthening operational excellence across the physical activity programme landscape, and overseeing the delivery and governance of department-led physical activity programmes. Through the team, you will turn strategic direction and partnership approaches into coordinated workplans, deploy resources and ensure programmes are of high quality and delivered safely, consistently and effectively for residents.

Across both portfolios, lead the team to deliver. Set direction, organise the team around its workstreams and translate priorities into an integrated workplan. Deploy resources, assign accountable workstream leads, coach officers, review performance and manage dependencies, risks and escalation so the team delivers its collective outcomes.

Operations Excellence portfolio

Set operational governance and assurance. Establish practical standards, processes, controls and reporting across the physical activity programme landscape. Oversee quality assurance, audits, operational risks and incidents, and ensure corrective actions are completed and lessons applied.

Provide visibility of operational performance. Develop indicators, dashboards and assurance reviews that give management clear sight of operational health, service quality, control effectiveness and emerging risks, and drive timely follow-up.

Drive continuous improvement and productivity. Simplify workflows, strengthen controls and improve productivity using data, feedback and root-cause analysis. Assess suitable automation, AI and digital tools, and support teams across the organisation to adopt better ways of working.

Programmes portfolio

Oversee portfolio planning and programme delivery. Work with the department’s Strategy and R&D team to translate agreed direction into viable plans. Guide programme managers on capacity, deployment, budgets, timelines, dependencies and risk controls, and keep delivery aligned with intended outcomes and resident needs.

Maintain programme performance and governance. Oversee outcomes, participation, service quality, safety, access, budgets and vendor performance. Direct recovery actions where needed, resolve material trade-offs and hold programme managers accountable for follow-through.

[What we are looking for]

We are looking for a leader who has successfully run a team to deliver multiple, interdependent workstreams. You should be able to set direction, create the conditions for strong team performance and drive outcomes through others, while connecting strategy with delivery and strengthening operations. You should bring:

• Qualifications: A degree in Business or Operations Management, Engineering, Quality Management, Data Analytics, Economics, Public Health, Health Services Management, Exercise and Sport Science, or a related discipline. Relevant professional certification is an advantage.
• Experience: At least 7–10 years in operations excellence and programme management, including substantial experience leading a team to deliver multiple workstreams and holding workstream leads accountable in a multi-stakeholder environment.
• Leadership: A strong track record of building and running successful teams—setting direction, designing clear roles and accountabilities, balancing resources, developing officers and driving coordinated delivery through empowered workstream leads.
• Capabilities: Strong skills in operational governance, process improvement, programme and vendor management, performance reporting, risk, audit and quality assurance. Able to turn data into practical decisions and improvements.
• Attributes: A collaborative, adaptable and solutions-focused leader with strong stakeholder, facilitation, written and presentation skills. Familiarity with automation, AI or digital productivity tools is advantageous.

Successful candidates will be offered a 2-year contract.