Job Purpose
The Head of Strategy & Commercial is responsible for driving the organization's long-term strategic direction, business performance, commercial growth, fare policy governance, revenue governance, and value creation initiatives. This cross-border role integrates corporate strategy, enterprise performance management, innovation, sustainability, commercial development, fare policy, revenue assurance and commercial governance to support the company's objectives as a world-class mass transit operator between two countries.
The position will lead the development and execution of corporate strategies, commercial and fare strategies, identify new revenue opportunities, optimize utilization of transit assets, strengthen commercial partnerships, and ensure alignment between business priorities, shareholder expectations, regulatory requirements, and national mobility objectives.
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the Head of Strategy & Commercial will provide strategic insights to the CEO RTS Operations Pte.Ltd and leadership team, translating market trends, passenger needs, operational data, fare analytics, and stakeholder priorities into actionable business strategies.
Key Accountabilities
Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth
- Develop and implement the organisation's commercial strategy to maximise fare and non-fare revenue opportunities.
- Drive optimisation of station assets, retail spaces, advertising opportunities, partnerships, and other commercial platforms.
- Develop commercial frameworks based on passenger flows, station typology, catchment analysis, and market trends.
- Identify new business models and revenue streams aligned with transit-oriented development and evolving mobility ecosystems.
- Establish commercial performance targets, revenue strategies, and growth plans.
- Establish commercial and fare strategies that balance customer accessibility, financial sustainability and regulatory compliance.
Retail & Station Commercial Development Oversight
- Provide strategic oversight for station retail development, tenant mix strategy, and commercial activation across the transit network.
- Ensure commercial developments enhance passenger experience while supporting operational requirements.
- Oversee commercial governance frameworks covering leasing principles, tenant performance, and revenue optimization.
- Ensure collaboration between Commercial, Finance, Operations, Engineering and Health, Safety & Security teams.
- Support commercial readiness for asset upgrades and major infrastructure projects under RTSO's purview.
Fare Policy and Operations
- Establish and maintain processes for revenue reporting, auditing, reconciliation and revenue assurance across fare collection and payment systems.
- Provide strategic oversight of fare collection operations, ticketing systems, Ticket Vending Machines and fare payment infrastructure to ensure operational effectiveness.
- Lead the development, review and governance of fare policies, including fare structures, ticketing products, fare escalation principles, conditions of use, compensation mechanisms and cash handling policies.
- Oversee governance and implementation effectiveness for fare compliance, ticket inspection, fraud prevention, concession validation and revenue protection programs.
- Establish and maintain policies and processes relating to fare compensation and fare disputes, to ensure consistency and customer service excellence.
- Establish and maintain processes relating to fare and payment reconciliation.
- Drive continuous improvement of fare collection processes (e.g. digitalization, smart mobility solutions, smart ticketing and integrated payment technologies).
Corporate Strategy & Business Planning
- Lead the development, implementation, and continuous refinement of the organization's corporate strategy and multi-year strategic plans.
- Translate shareholder objectives, national mobility priorities, cross-border agreements, and industry developments into actionable business strategies.
- Establish strategic frameworks to align business units and functions towards common organizational goals.
- Conduct market intelligence, environmental scanning, scenario planning, and strategic risk assessments to support long-term decision-making.
- Identify growth opportunities, strategic partnerships, and business transformation initiatives that enhance organizational value.
Enterprise Performance & Business Analytics
- Establish enterprise performance management frameworks, including strategic objectives, KPIs, and business scorecards.
- Monitor organisational performance against strategic goals, operational targets, financial outcomes, and service commitments.
- Lead performance reviews and provide data-driven insights to senior management and shareholders.
- Benchmark organisational performance against international transit operators and industry best practices.
- Identify improvement opportunities through analytics, trend analysis, and performance diagnostics.
Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Management
- Manage strategic engagements with shareholders, government agencies, regulators, transport authorities, and key industry partners.
- Develop strategic papers, business cases, investment proposals, and board submissions.
- Support CEO and senior leadership engagements through strategic insights and executive materials.
- Build partnerships that enhance commercial opportunities, operational capability, and organizational reputation.
- Lead engagement with regulators, grantors and transport authorities on fare policy, regulatory compliance and commercial matters.
- Oversee strategic commercial contracts with fare system providers, payment service providers and technology partners.
Qualifications, Skills & Knowledge
- Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Finance, Engineering, Transport Management or an equivalent.
- Minimum 10 years of working experience.
- Experience in commercial development and business growth, preferably in the public transport industry.
- Knowledge of Automated Fare Collection (AFC) systems and ticketing technologies.
