Initiatives Lead, AI and Innovation

The annual salary range for this role is $140,000-160,000 in San Francisco.

** Please note: This role requires the ability to work onsite in the San Francisco Forum office 3 days per week **

About the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

About the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR)

The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) helps leaders anticipate exponential technologies and drive responsible sectoral and industry transformation. The C4IR brings together leaders from business, government, international organizations, academia and civil society to shape the global agenda on technology governance and technology applications for industries and society.

Why we are recruiting

As digital technologies, including Generative AI, continue to evolve rapidly, their impact on governments, enterprises, institutions, and individuals grows. While the benefits of digital technologies are already evident across sectors, their full potential and challenges for industries and society remain to be unlocked.

To navigate the impact and governance of digital technologies, the World Economic Forum has initiated the AI Governance Alliance. This Alliance focuses on consensus-building around technological guardrails and the governance of generative AI systems and applications for industry and society.

The successful candidate will explore how AI and digital technologies can drive innovation across various industries and society. This role will involve identifying ways to create, nurture and support vibrant ecosystems across regions that nurture innovation.

This role involves building multi-stakeholder communities and initiatives, supporting and coordinating with all Forum teams working on AI’s impact and applications, and collaborating with the Network of Affiliate Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Lead will report to the Head of Frontier Technologies in the San Francisco office and work with key stakeholders across the Forum, including other Centre teams. This role offers the opportunity to engage closely with a broad range of external stakeholders, including governments, businesses, social enterprises, and international organizations.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with the World Economic Forum startup ecosystem.

• Consult with members to identify relevant areas of work and activities that foster innovation and growth.
• Ensure they are actively engaged in all innovation-related activities the team is driving
• Brainstorm with stakeholders on how the Forum can support the global AI and digital technologies startup ecosystem, ensuring that companies worldwide have access to growth and collaboration opportunities
• Engage key organizations, particularly in the Bay Area and the broader US ecosystem, in the Centre’s initiatives and activities.
• Maintain regular communication with community members to stay informed about the applications, impact, and implications of digital technologies.
• Plan and facilitate community meetings.
• Cultivate and sustain strategic partnerships with key organizations, governments, and industry leaders to advance the goals of the C4IR.

Initiatives management

• Shape and design flagship initiatives related to innovation and the impact of digital technologies on industries and society.
• Identify clear opportunities for impact, set initiative goals, establish evaluation criteria, and drive execution.
• Engage and coordinate public and private partners from industry, government, academia, international organizations, and civil society in the leadership and management of initiatives.
• Contribute to thought leadership and reports and other publications.
• Ensure effective initiative delivery, integration, and coordination through collaborative approaches and efficient resourcing, budgeting, process management, communication, and reporting.

Team and resources

• Collaborate with Forum partner organizations to onboard new fellows to support the work and drive initiatives forward with project fellows.

Qualifications and Skills:

• 7-10 years of experience in startups, strategy and innovation, digital technologies, industry, industry applications, technology policies, or a related field.
• A master’s degree in business, technology, policy, engineering, science, economics, finance, political science, or equivalent.
• A strong passion for the future of industry and society and demonstrated expertise in the impact of AI and emerging technologies on the global economy.
• Proven ability to manage strategic projects in collaborative and ambiguous environments, involving high-level leaders from government, business, civil society, and academia.
• Strong ability to manage relationships externally and internally and work across different cultures and sectors.
• Excellent verbal and written English skills.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to identify trends and patterns of transformation and experience linking diverse concepts into coherent narratives.
• Experience in creating digital content, research papers, academic articles, or similar is required.
• A proven track record of thought leadership on data, including published articles, speeches/presentations at international forums, and conference participation, is a plus.
• Comfort in driving entrepreneurial projects, starting new teams, and identifying opportunities for impact in crowded spaces.

Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!