Specialist, Davos Baukultur Alliance

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

Cities and local communities face daunting new challenges as they confront increased demands for city services, growing budget deficits, increasing inequity, climate change and economic uncertainty. To establish a foundation for more future-ready, inclusive and resilient places, the Forum has developed a global platform for private and public sector leaders to commit expertise and resources to support places in their path to holistic improvement. 

At the Forum’s Annual Meeting 2023, Switzerland, through its Federal Office of Culture, and the Forum launched the Davos Baukultur Alliance : a multi-stakeholder global alliance dedicated to advancing quality design, construction and management of more vibrant and sustainable communities.

The Alliance brings together a diverse community of partners including 28 national governments, municipal leaders, businesses from across finance, real estate, data analytics, engineering, manufacturing, and construction, as well as international organisations, and civil society. The Forum serves as the secretariat for the Alliance, uniting public, private and civil society stakeholders around a set of shared principles to improve the quality of our living environment’s Baukultur (building-culture).

The Alliance is now entering an exciting phase of growth oriented around on-the-ground impact after it’s foundational first two years, key events and outputs of which can be found within the Tools & Resources section of the website. This expansion is structured around the Alliance’s three key pillars:

• Expanding Thought Leadership: Creating and promoting publications, opinion editorials, videos, and other public-facing materials; support capacity building activities; and engage in public events that help to raise awareness about the Alliance's work and inspire action towards creating high-quality Baukultur.

•  Growing Our Global Network: Bringing together and helping align the work of diverse global stakeholders involved in its focus areas, helping to forge new collaborations, and expand the Alliance’s reach and impact across sectors and geographies.

•  Practical Tools:  Support the development of practical tools and their application, in the form of shared case studies, model policies, and expanding education and awareness of best practices and actionable strategies, that are effective, replicable, and scalable. These tools are intended to be implemented at the international, national, and local level, by public and private entities, to advance and accelerate adoption and implementation of high-quality Baukultur.

The Alliance is led by a Chair and steering committee. Its work is advanced under the framework of these pillars and through the lens of its four focus areas:  Affordability & Social Value Creation, Resilience & Climate Adaptation, Sustainability & Circularity and, Rebuilding Ukraine. Through a regular programme of in-person and virtual convenings of its members and the Alliance’s broader network the Alliance’s strategic goals and corresponding activities are undertaken. These include regular working meetings of the Alliance’s focus groups; the ‘Baukultur Talks’ round table series, leading sessions at key international events such as the Forum’s Urban Transformation Summit and; the Alliance’s central in-person annual convening where members shape the immediate and long-term vision and activities of the Alliance.  

In addition, to strengthen its global impact, the Alliance will launch its inaugural Pioneering Places cohort – a group of municipalities committed to serving as champions of high-quality Baukultur. These places will actively strengthen enabling environments to improve quality across the eight Baukultur criteria – governance, functionality, environment, economy, diversity, context, sense of place, and beauty. The programme will run for an initial 12 months, guided by key impact-oriented convenings, milestones, and outputs.

Reporting Lines & Interactions

The Specialist will report to the Alliance’s Lead and will be part of a diverse, high-profile global team. The Specialist will work across the Centre for Urban Transformation and Forum and in close collaboration with the Lead of the Davos Baukultur Alliance and the Swiss Confederation Federal Office of Culture (FOC) to advance the work of this growing multi-stakeholder global alliance, while liaising with city and regional government leaders, as well as World Economic Forum business partners, community organizations and other relevant internal and external stakeholders.

Core Responsibilities

This role will place you on the front line of engaging with global leaders and subject matter experts. The Specialist will support the facilitation and management of engagement across a robust network of the Forum's existing global communities of business executives, leading academicians from the world's top research universities, government officials, start-ups, media, civil society organizations, social entrepreneurs, and affiliated centres. Key areas of responsibility undertaken in consultation with the Lead of the Davos Baukultur Alliance include, but are not limited to, the following:

Community Management Support

• Help manage the day-to-day operations and activities for the Davos Baukultur Alliance in close consultation with the Alliance Lead.

• Support the acquisition, onboarding and ongoing member engagement of  Alliance members with the goal of growing the Alliance’s engagement with partner companies, governments and civil society organizations, including management of membership nomination and agreement process, development and monitoring of engagement plans and all related data collection. 

• Support the Alliance’s chair and the steering committee by assisting with the development and implementation of the annual working program for the Alliance and by developing planning and meeting materials in collaboration with the Alliance’s Lead.

• Support the planning, launch and management of a new group of Pioneering Places affiliated with the Alliance.

Communications and Impact Measurement Support

• Implement and manage communication efforts for the Alliance, including management of the Alliance’s website and LinkedIn page, and promotion on other social media platforms etc., in coordination with the FOC.

• Collaborate with the Alliance’s focus groups to document and share key milestones, outcomes and impact stories related to our work with the broader Alliance membership, the Forum’s network of partners and stakeholders as well as with a broader global audience.

• Support the development, collection and analysis of standardized impact metrics related to Alliance activities and outcomes.

Events and Operations

• Support the Alliance’s delivery of, and participation in, virtual and in-person events, including event planning and logistics, participant registration, event communications development and dissemination, budget coordination and budget reconciliation.

• Contribute to the planning and coordination of Alliance meetings, including communications, event promotion and logistics, as needed. 

• Align and collaborate internally with Centre for Urban Transformation team members, and with other Forum teams and offices to ensure successful delivery of events, key meetings, and workshops.

• Support the creation and management of digital content for event promotion and follow-up.

• Coordinate with external vendors and partners to ensure seamless event execution.

• Monitor and report on event metrics and feedback to help drive continuous improvement.

Requirements and Experience

• University degree (Bachelor’s or higher) in urban development, urban planning, urban design, architecture, sustainability  or a related field preferred.

• 3+ years of professional experience working on urban development or related field.

• Understanding of local and national government operations and public-private collaboration.

• Experience coordinating complex projects and working with a high level of independence. Comfort engaging with executive leaders.

• Excellent writing and communications skills in English, including creation of visually compelling presentations and outreach materials. Knowledge of other languages would be an asset but is not required.

• Strong familiarity with MS Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) and project management tools is highly preferred, familiarity with Salesforce a plus.

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!