Job Vacancy: GFCE Southeast Asia Liaison

The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) is looking to appoint a GFCE Southeast Asia Liaison based in Singapore.

The deadline for applications is 7 July 2022.

Duration

It is expected that the implementation of this contract requires a maximum of 2 years. Indicative start date is 1 August 2022. The absolute end date for the delivery of services is 31 July 2024.

Background

Established in 2015, the GFCE is a multi-stakeholder community of more than 150 members and partners consisting of governments, international organizations, companies, academia, and project implementers from all regions of the world. Its mission is to strengthen cyber capacity and expertise globally by being a pragmatic, action-orientated, and flexible platform for international collaboration.

The GFCE delivers its mission through coordination to avoid duplication of efforts and blind spots; knowledge sharing to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of projects via the Cybil Portal; serve as a Clearing House to connect requests for cyber capacity building assistance with offers of support, and identifying and filling knowledge gaps with the development of a global Cyber Capacity Building (CCB) Research Agenda. More information can be found via www.thegfce.org.

CSA

Established in 2015, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) seeks to keep Singapore’s cyberspace safe and secure to underpin our Nation Security, power a Digital Economy and protect our Digital Way of Life. It maintains an oversight of national cybersecurity functions and works with sector leads to protect Singapore’s Critical Information Infrastructure. CSA also engages with various stakeholders to heighten cyber security awareness, build a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem supported by a robust workforce, pursue international partnerships and drive regional cybersecurity capacity building programmes. CSA is part of the Prime Minister’s Office and is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information. For more information, please visit www.csa.gov.sg

ASCCE

The ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (ASCCE) was established in 2019 to support coordinated regional cyber capacity building. The ASCCE undertakes a modular, multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and measurable approach to deliver the capacity building programmes in the three principal areas listed below:

1. Conduct research and provide trainings in areas spanning international law, cyber strategy, legislation, cyber norms and other cybersecurity policy issues;
2. Provide CERT-related technical training as well as facilitate the exchange of open-source cyber threat and attack-related information and best practices; and
3. Conduct virtual cyber defence trainings and exercises.

The ASCCE’s campus is located in the city centre of Singapore and was officially opened in October 2021.

Context of the GFCE’s presence in Southeast Asia

The GFCE recognizes the unique regional characteristics that necessitate a tailored, respectful, demand- and community-driven approach to cyber capacity building. Therefore, the GFCE will install a Southeast Asia Liaison at the ASCCE, alongside other regional presences in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

The GFCE held its Annual Meeting 2018 in the margins of the Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW), and since then it has sought to improve representation in the region. At present, five ASEAN Member States are part of the GFCE Community. In partnership with CSA, the GFCE held its inaugural Southeast Asia Regional Meeting in October 2021, bringing together over 90 stakeholders from the GFCE community and ASEAN to identify opportunities and challenges for cyber capacity-building in the region and share good practices and knowledge. The meeting identified a number of important priorities for the region, such as improving coordination and knowledge sharing among stakeholders and supporting capacity needs articulation. A report of this conference can be found here.

Recognizing these priorities, the GFCE in partnership with CSA, aims to appoint a dedicated Liaison officer to represent the GFCE in the region to improve support and visibility to members on a regional level, and offer possibilities of closer inter-regional collaboration in building cyber capacities. The Liaison will also be well positioned to advise on the viability, structure, and role of a future GFCE Southeast Asia Hub.

Role 

The Southeast Asia Liaison will represent the GFCE Secretariat in the region and will connect the work of the ASCCE and GFCE to ensure complementarity and sharing of experiences. This position will enable increased engagement with regional stakeholders to identify national and regional cyber capacity needs. The Liaison will act as the linchpin between regional stakeholders and the GFCE’s activities and community, including the facilitation of information exchange, distribution of GFCE products and best practices, access to the GFCE’s matchmaking “Clearing House” mechanism, and updating of the Cybil Portal (CCB Knowledge Portal). In particular, the liaison will help bridge the GFCE community, members and CCB actors with the ASCCE and ASEAN stakeholders.

The Liaison will need to be permanently based in Southeast Asia (specifically Singapore), leading engagement with a diversity of stakeholders across government, industry, wider society, and academia; in addition to appropriate desk-based research. This engagement will be conducted in a hybrid form (virtual and in-person), and the Liaison will need to have access to the following virtual platforms: ‘Microsoft Teams’, ‘Zoom’, and ‘GotoMeeting’. Where physical travel between Southeast Asia countries is open, the Liaison (in prior agreement with the GFCE) will be encouraged to travel to engage stakeholders. 

Additional experience that will be considered positively include:  

• Lead outreach engagement with the following four core stakeholder groups:
  • regional Southeast Asia forums and organizations (i.e. ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Regional Forum, civil society/academia, etc.) who are engaged in coordinating, discussing and/or sharing information on ICT and cyber policy subjects in the region;
  • regional and international ‘donors’ delivering cyber capacity investment projects and/or programs in the Southeast Asia region;
  • Southeast Asia countries to understand their cyber capacity building needs, ambitions and challenges;
  • regional and international ‘implementers’ engaged in cyber capacity building activity in the Southeast Asia region.
• Gauge views on cyber capacity building needs, challenges, and opportunities in the Southeast Asia region, to inform planning of the ASCCE program and GFCE’s work in the region;
• In support of the GFCE and ASCCE, conduct research on:
  • Regional organizations offering cyber capacity building policy, programme and/or investment support in the Southeast Asia region, to map gaps and opportunities;
  • CCB needs and activities of ASEAN Member States;
  • Cyber best practices that are relevant to Southeast Asia;
  • Other areas of work as identified by GFCE or ASCCE.
• Support the development of the ASCCE’s Cybersecurity Capacity Metric Framework and facilitate the GFCE community’s contribution;
• Plan and organise the annual GFCE Southeast Asia Regional Meeting, and support GFCE’s participation in CCB (expert) meetings hosted in the region where applicable;
• Work with the other GFCE regional liaisons/hubs to identify overlapping needs and ways for closer cross-regional CCB collaboration;
• Support networking and collaboration amongst stakeholders in the region, i.e. countries, industry, civil society, IGOs, GFCE Community, etc.

The Southeast Asia Liaison will report directly to the Outreach Coordinator at the GFCE Secretariat Headquarters.

Candidate profile: requirements, qualifications, and skills

The successful candidate will have:

• Graduate degree in (cyber) security studies, international development, business administration, public administration, or a related field.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of capacity building or technology policy or delivery (including cyber), either at a national or regional level;
• A proven track record of building relationships across government, industry, and academia;
• Experience and knowledge of drafting business cases and/or in-depth project proposals;
• Knowledge of the cyber landscape in the Southeast Asia region;
• A self-starter attitude; being able to work independently, with resilience and ambition;

• Professional, confident, punctual, flexible, and able to work both independently and as part of a multinational team;
• An express will and ability to travel extensively across Southeast Asia once COVID-related travel restrictions ease.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

Desirable:

• Verbal and written communication skills in a Southeast Asian language (i.e. Lao, Thai, Burmese, Khmer, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Malay, Indonesian, Chinese dialects);
• Experience in sustainably growing a new business, operation, and/or unit, ideally in an international setting;
• Experience collaborating with stakeholders in the GFCE community;
• Demonstrable personal interest and commitment to (cyber) developments in Southeast Asia.

*The GFCE is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.