Lead - Urban Innovation

Please Note: This role requires the ability to work onsite 3 days per week per company policy.

This role is funded through August 31 2026 with the possibility of extension.

The salary range for this role in New York is $120,000-$140,000.

About the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change. In this spirit, the Forum engages the foremost political, business, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas and solve shared global challenges.

About the Centre for Urban Transformation

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation advances public-private collaboration in cities to enable more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient communities and local economies. The Centre’s initiatives and year-round activities provide a diverse range of opportunities for partners to learn from urban development trends, share insights, forge new relationships, and collaborate to drive local impact across the globe.

About UpLink

UpLink is a World Economic Forum initiative, founded in collaboration with Deloitte and Salesforce, designed to unlock the power of entrepreneurship to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges. UpLink builds ecosystems that enable purpose-driven, early-stage entrepreneurs to scale their businesses for the markets, economies, and urban centers that are essential to a net-zero, nature-positive and equitable future.

Why We Are Recruiting

Amid rising global uncertainties, cities have become critical grounds for collaboration, innovation, and resilience. Boston, with its rich ecosystem of academic institutions, startups, civic leadership, and public-private initiatives, is uniquely positioned to demonstrate what urban transformation can achieve.

In January 2025, the World Economic Forum announced the launch of Yes/Cities, an ambitious global initiative to accelerate the on-the-ground deployment of innovative solutions, reimagining and transforming urban life across the globe. Yes/Cities is a shared commitment by Forum partners to accelerate investments in urban innovation ecosystems with the goal of providing direct support to more than 1,000 innovators by 2030 and helping scale their game-changing solutions across 50+ cities in the next five years.  
 

The initiative builds on the success of Yes San Francisco (Yes SF), a collaboration between the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation, UpLink, Deloitte, Salesforce, Citi and the SF Chamber of Commerce to support the post-pandemic recovery and revitalization of San Francisco’s downtown business district. Over the last two years, Yes SF has grown into a coalition of 90+ organizations with an innovation hub in the heart of downtown, dedicated to supporting innovators working on sustainability solutions while revitalizing the city and local economy.

Boston has been selected as a next site due to its dynamic innovation landscape, leadership in climate action and health equity, and capacity for public-private collaboration.

This role will place you on the front line of working with global and local leaders to accelerate inclusive and sustainable urban development in Boston and create a replicable model for other cities.

Reporting Lines and Interactions

This position will be based in Forum’s New York Office with significant time spent in Boston. The role will report to the Global Ecosystem Lead based in San Francisco. It is part of a high-profile, rapidly growing team of experts at the Centre for Urban Transformation and UpLink. The Lead will collaborate closely with colleagues from the Forum’s offices in New York, Geneva, and San Francisco.

Main Responsibilities

The Lead will build local coalitions and manage engagement across a robust network of the Forum's existing global communities of business executives, leading academicians from the country’s top research universities, government officials, start-ups, media, civil society organizations, social entrepreneurs, and affiliated centres.
 

Key areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to, the following:  

Project Management

• Develop strategies to launch and implement the Yes Boston initiative, addressing urban development challenges through strengthened innovation ecosystems while fostering social wellbeing, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability.

• Design and manage processes to execute the strategic plan, managing and monitoring activities effectively.

• Build a coordinated engagement strategy for local stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of impactful urban innovations.

Partner and Investor Engagement

• Lead outreach and value articulation to engage stakeholders across Boston’s public and private sectors.

• Build a coalition of multi-sector stakeholders, including innovation hubs, venture capitalists, nonprofits, municipal agencies, universities, and business leaders.

• Facilitate partnerships between Top Innovators, UpLink Challenge Partners, and Forum communities.

Innovation Ecosystem Development

• Lead local innovation ecosystem mapping and activate Boston’s urban innovation ecosystem through outreach, partnerships, and convenings to build a local multi-stakeholder coalition.

• Develop a pipeline of aligned external partners to support innovators with funding, mentorship, and resources.

• Co-design programming to help innovators scale, including investor pitch sessions, mentorship events, and local showcases.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Urban Transformation and UpLink teams to shape and scale place-based innovation efforts within the Forum.

• Ensure links to broader Forum and Urban Transformation-specific events and sessions, relevant to Boston and the region.

• Collaborate across the Forum to identify Partners who can help accelerate and scale the impact of the Boston ecosystem for place-based innovation.

• Work with the Marketing & Communications team to craft and amplify compelling narratives of impact through media, social channels, op-eds, and video.

Requirements and Experience

• Master’s degree in urban planning, innovation, economic development, sustainable development, public policy, business, or related field.

• 7–10 years of professional experience, including deep understanding of urban governance, economic development, or public-private collaboration.

• Proven track record leading complex projects and multi-stakeholder communities, particularly in the Boston metro region, including interacting with executive leaders

• Familiarity with the Boston innovation ecosystem including universities, accelerators, civic tech, startups, or investors.

• Entrepreneurial mindset and ability to manage projects independently.

• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, including experience developing presentations and public-facing content.

• Strong proficiency with MS Office, project management tools, and ideally Salesforce.

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!