Lead – Urban Innovation

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

This role is funded through 29 May 2026, with the possibility of extension.
 

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.
 

Why we are Recruiting 
 

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, cities and local communities have become a vital testing ground for public-private collaboration and an essential means for scaling up impact. Cities are home to a growing majority of the world’s population and generate more than 80% of global GDP. As such, they serve as essential incubators and testbeds for new solutions and the businesses of tomorrow.
 

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.
 

In summer 2025, the World Economic Forum and its partners will bring this model to India. This role will place you on the front line with global and local leaders from the public and private sector to shape, launch and lead this bold, new initiative to reimagine and transform urban life in India.
 

Reporting Lines and Interactions
 

This position is part of a high-profile, rapidly growing team of experts and practitioners at the Centre for Urban Transformation and UpLink. This post will operate out of the World Economic Forum’s Liaison Office in Mumbai (C4IR India) with a dual reporting structure to the Head of C4IR India and the Centre for Urban Transformation’s Lead for Urban Innovation in Geneva. The Lead will collaborate closely with colleagues from the San Francisco, New York and Geneva Forum’s offices.
 

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:  

1. Project management

• Develop short, medium and long-term strategies to develop, launch and implement a new initiative called Yes/Bengaluru, advancing the Yes/Cities mission of addressing urban development challenges through strengthened local innovation ecosystems, while fostering social wellbeing, economic prosperity and environmental resilience.
• Design and implement processes to execute the strategic plan, managing and monitoring activities effectively.
• Create a consistent and coordinated engagement approach for local stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of innovative solutions and drive local and regional impact.

2. Partner and investor engagement 

• Lead the value proposition articulation to engage key stakeholders from the public and private sector. 
• Build a local, multi-stakeholder community (complementary organisations, other similar platforms, NGOs, accelerators, impact investors, VCs, and experts) in support of place-based innovation and impact across social, environmental, and economic goals.  
• Facilitate introductions and meaningful collaboration opportunities between Top Innovators, the UpLink Challenge Partners and related Forum platforms, communities, and networks.

3. Innovation ecosystem development 

• Lead the local innovation ecosystem mapping, including active outreach to formalize collaborations and build a local multi-stakeholder coalition.
• Develop a pipeline and network of mission-aligned external organizations, with resources to support entrepreneurs - either financially, with expertise, coaching, or otherwise – and committed to supporting existing or new UpLink Place-Based Urban Transformation Challenges.  
• Support the design and programming of Top Innovators growth and acceleration journey by nominating experts, investors, incubators, or organizations that can get involved in events and sessions such as investor roundtables, expert talks, etc.  

4. Cross-team collaboration 

• Collaborate closely with the Urban Transformation and UpLink teams, in the development of a strategy and pathway to mainstream, accelerate, and scale place-based innovation efforts within the Forum. 
• Ensure links to broader Forum and Urban Transformation-specific events and sessions, relevant to Bengaluru and the region.
• Collaborate across the Forum to identify and support Partners who can help accelerate and scale the impact of the Bengaluru (and India) ecosystem for place-based innovation. 
• Collaborate closely with the UpLink Marketing & Communications team to develop and deliver outcome-oriented communications strategies that translate this work into compelling narratives and help mobilize to broad, collective action through a combination of op-eds, media briefings, press releases, social media posts, videos, and other tools. 
   

Requirements and Experience 

• Master's degree in urban planning, economic development, innovation, sustainable development, public policy, public administration, business or related fields.  
• 7-10 years of professional experience working on urban issues. Deep understanding of how local governments work, including prior experience leading initiatives with local governments and/or working on public-private collaborations.  
• Hands-on experience developing and managing complex project and communities, including interacting with executive leaders and helping to turn ideas into tangible action and impact. 
• Experience or familiarity with accelerator, incubator or investor ecosystems. 
• Strong network and experience of close interactions with India and Bengaluru public, private and civil society stakeholders. 
• Comfort driving entrepreneurial projects and working with a high level of independence. 
• Excellent writing and communications skills, including creation of visually compelling presentations and outreach materials. 
• Strong familiarity with MS Office Suite and project management tools.
• Familiarity using Salesforce for stakeholder management, planning and reporting.

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!

If you meet these requirements, please apply online and provide us with your CV and a cover letter describing your motivations for applying.

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!