About A.STAR
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A.STAR) is Singapore's lead public-sector R&D agency. We collaborate with public and private partners to drive economic growth, build new industries, and improve lives through scientific advancement and innovation. A.STAR is recognized by many accountancy organizations: ISCA, ACCA, CPA Australia, and ICAEW.
Role Overview
The Deputy Director, Finance (HQRDF) provides strategic leadership in financial governance, funding management, investment evaluation and stakeholder partnerships across the Innovation & Enterprise (I&E) ecosystem and the Accelerate (ACCL) Group.
The role oversees the consolidation of ACCL Group accounts, drives strategic initiatives, supports new investment activities, and ensures compliance with financial, audit and regulatory requirements. The position leads a team of Senior Managers/Managers/Associates.
Key Responsibilities
1. Finance Leadership
- Provide financial leadership and insights to senior management, I&E Group, NPCO and key stakeholders.
- Drive financial governance across entities to ensure robust controls, public accountability, and regulatory compliance.
- Lead finance support for new company setups, new initiatives, and high-impact programmes.
2. Mergers & Acquisitions
- Evaluate potential M&A opportunities including financial modelling, valuation, due diligence and risk assessment.
- Assess strategic fit and long-term financial sustainability of potential acquisitions or partnerships.
- Manage the end-to-end transaction process including Business case preparation, Deal structuring, negotiations, coordination with internal stakeholders and external advisors (bankers, auditors, consultants, lawyers).
- Ensure the transactions are executed in compliance with internal governance and regulatory requirements
3. Venture Capital / Investment Finance
- Support A.STARs strategic investment portfolio including venture creation, technology spinoffs and early-stage funding evaluations.
- Review investment proposals, business plans and financial projections for potential VC-style investments.
- Monitor financial performance of portfolio companies and provide insights for value creation, risk mitigation and capital deployment.
4. Budgeting & Resource Planning
- Lead the annual budgeting and mid-year review processes for A.STAR Research Entities.
- Assess sustainability and alignment of budget requests with organisational priorities.
- Support RIE 5-year tranche planning through data preparation and cross-division collaboration.
5. Internal Controls, Audit & Governance
- Maintain and enhance financial policies, internal controls and compliance processes.
- Lead interactions with internal and external auditors, including AGO and statutory auditors.
- Guide the team in resolving audit issues and strengthening compliance culture.
6. Strategic Projects & Digital Transformation
- Drive Whole-of-A.STAR initiatives, including financial process enhancements and digitalisation.
- Support ERP implementation and workflow optimisation to improve financial operations efficiency.
7. People Leadership
- Build, coach and inspire a high-performing finance team.
- Develop staff capabilities and succession pipelines through training, mentoring and exposure to strategic work.
8. Other Responsibilities
- Any other duties assigned as required
Requirements
- Degree in Accountancy/ACCA, Finance, Economics, Business Management or equivalent professional qualification.
- Minimum 10 years of relevant finance experience, with exposure to investment evaluation, corporate finance or M&A.
- Strong financial modelling, valuation, and analytical skills.
- Strong business partnering and communication skills.
- Proven leadership, stakeholder management and changemanagement capabilities.
- High learning agility, meticulousness and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight timelines.
- open to Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents (PRs)
