Senior Advisor, Delivery

Focus of the Role

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

We would consider supporting applicants not currently based in or with a right to work in Singapore to relocate for this role.

Job Introduction

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), we work at the highest levels of government to help leaders go further and faster to make their citizens’ lives better. Moving the dial on the great global challenges of our time requires engaged, incentivised, focused and motivated leaders.  When political leadership is relentlessly deployed, at the highest levels, incredible things can be achieved.

Using our distinctive expertise and global outlook and guided by the unique insights and perspective of our Executive Chairman Sir Tony Blair, our dedicated experts and embedded teams advise governments all over the world in strategy, policy and delivery, underpinned by technology; and on the subjects at the top of the senior political agenda.

Our new Global Client Solutions team is at the heart of how we define “what we do” and then distribute the best of the Institute and our networks to global leaders through our country advisory teams. Our globally and regionally-situated experts provide valuable counsel, technical support, thought partnership, and surge capacity and lead the development and evolution of our solutions, methods, and offers in the service of our partner governments. Through our embedded advisors and country teams working hand-in-hand with government counterparts we are able to assemble, tailor and distribute our offer to address specific and ever evolving needs in the various contexts we operate across the world. 

Government Delivery is about the processes, tools and techniques used by political leaders to steer more effective and faster implementation of government priorities. Delivery is at the heart of TBI’s offer, and origin drawing from Mr. Blair’s time in Downing Street and establishing the first Delivery Unit.  We help leaders in ‘Getting things done’ or ‘making change happen’ in complex delivery ecosystems. We constantly draw from our practical experience to innovate and to offer best-in-class delivery solutions to our clients: senior political leaders.

TBI is hiring a Senior Advisor, Delivery with extensive experience working with or for senior levels of government in Asia and/or globally to join our growing team supporting political leaders and partners on making change happen through innovative delivery mechanisms. The role is global, but will take a primary focus on supporting our portfolio and teams in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. As part of the global client solutions Delivery team, you will also support and lead the development and evolution of our methods, tools, and other central assets that drive TBI’s work on Delivery at scale.

Reporting into the Director Delivery and working with the Executive Director Client Solutions and our experts, this is a senior role requiring exceptional candidates with relevant expertise, deep networks with governments.

Some of the global initiatives the team is leading include: a global study on the Future of Delivery reflecting on evolving best practices; building on user experience to drive the 2.0 version of our delivery dashboard and a toolkit on using performance data to guide decision-making; and planning for our next global delivery exchange, a platform to assemble expertise and exchange lessons on delivery from practitioners across the globe.

Key Responsibilities

Key responsibilities for the role include:

1. Provide expert hands-on support to Global advisory regional leadership (e.g. Managing, Regional Directors, Country Directors in Delivery projects scoping and setup primarily in Asia

• Lead delivery scoping exercises and develop a clear understanding of governments’ overarching vision, implementation challenges and opportunities
• Lead diagnosis of implementation capability and key drivers to deliver on senior leaders’ national development priorities
• Facilitate high level discussions with senior government counterparts on TBI’s support areas and jointly define and agree on TBI’s scope of work, and work through the available options to ensure delivery
• Help TBI teams determine the appropriate Delivery mechanisms and solutions suitable to the client context and best practices

2. Quality assurance and thought partnership

• Provide Delivery expertise, thought partnership and advisory support to Regional Directors, Country Directors and Advisors on their workstream plans, drive top performance, and effective resource planning for delivery projects and supporting new delivery unit set-up or refresh
• Provide sound thought partnership support to country teams to help projects ensure end to end impact of TBI client work in Delivery and draw from best of TBI
• Assess existing capability gaps and support project teams to build capacity of governments to effectively implement their transformation agenda, including technological transformational initiatives 

3. Strengthening and innovating our Delivery Offer and solutions

• Identify game changers and lead creative, context specific processes to push the frontier on delivery solutions
• Champion and directly support the design, operationalization and mainstreaming, and adaptation of new delivery solutions in various contexts. This includes but not limited to data-driven prioritization (e.g., data analytics for granular targeting), combining design thinking, behavioral insights and data science with delivery planning tools (e.g., delivery labs and sprints), and clear line of sight and tools to scaling up results (e.g., pay-for-success contracts, outcome funds, results-based financing)
• Ensure feedback loops between the implementation of our delivery offer with areas like strategy, policy, strategic communications and private office functions

• Work with other the sectoral team (e.g. Economic Prosperity) to strengthen our delivery offering when a sectoral lens is required

4. External Engagement and partnerships

• Lead establishment and maintenance of productive partnerships which enhance our offer and solutions in Delivery with a focus on the Asia region
• Support TBI as a visible expert on government Delivery in the region includes participating on panels, and working with our Policy & Politics team on thought leadership publications

5. Contribution to wider TBI

• Contribute to wider TBI activities as an expert on government Delivery and political leadership driving cross-TBI collaboration
• Participate in the Political leadership internal community of practice which connects our experts and coordinates across our 3 primary departments Strategy & Partnerships, Policy & politics, and government advisory
• Quickly become a valued and supportive team member of the GCS team on matters of delivery working across subject matter areas with other pillar teams
• Support the Director Delivery in overall strategy development and implementation, and thought leadership

Person Specification

This is a role in a fast-paced globally situated team working out of different geographies and in complex policy areas. We are looking for candidates with proven track record of leadership, who can demonstrate the following:

• Broad and comprehensive experience in government Delivery and political leadership including experience leading a Delivery Unit and/or supporting the set-up of Delivery Units in multiple countries with demonstrable success in achieving tangible outcomes for citizens

• Extensive experience in a leadership role, cutting across centre of government, delivery, and/or management consulting globally
• Strong political acumen able to work at highest levels of political decision-making structures; able to rapidly understand of the needs of senior officials; and to support the emergence of trusted relationships
• Highly developed analytical skills that can be deployed in a range of contexts
• The ability to work in the face of a range of competing views and priorities, possessing highly developed negotiation skills
• Strong team player with excellent soft skills as well as flexibility to help where needed
• Ability to work independently, think strategically and translate priorities into concrete implementable plans
• Strong attention to detail, organisational, communication, drafting and presentation skills
• Experience with project development and project management
• Able to motivate and influence others, including TBI country specific roles, as well as funders, government counterparts and partners
• Willingness to travel extensively, sometimes at short notice; Experience of living and working in a variety of resource settings is strongly desirable
• Strong sense of ethics, discretion and perseverance required
• Fluency in English is required. Business Proficiency in another language of the Asia region is desirable

#LI-Hybrid