We are a diverse team of program staff, subject expert advisors and experienced leadership. We are equally proud to be part of a vibrant community, and to work in close consultation with a group of research partners.
Leadership
Khai is the Executive Director of Octava Pte Ltd, a single-family office with investments in real estate, fintech, and biopharma. As Chairman of Octava Foundation, he is dedicated to addressing Singapore’s unique social challenges.
Khai believes in stepping up as a Singaporean to fill gaps where structural policies may fall short, focusing on impactful, accessible solutions. He is committed to innovation and supports changemakers and with bold visions.
He is a member of the Asia Philanthropy Circle and serves on various boards and advisory groups for charitable organisations and impact funds.
Leadership
Raman is a passionate advocate of venture philanthropy and collective impact, and firmly believes in the potential of private capital collaborating with public and social purpose sectors to enable sustainable and just societies.
While starting her professional journey in the private sector working across UK, India and Singapore, she has spent the past 10 years in the practice of venture philanthropy, working with diverse philanthropists, foundations, impact investors and social purpose organisations.
At Octava Foundation, Raman stewards philanthropic investments in Singapore and across the Asia region supporting social innovation in Education, Student Finance and Technology in Education.
Team
Mun Hoe is a former banker with close to 20 years of experience working in the financial sector with major banks. After an extended medical leave of absence, Mun Hoe re-evaluated his priorities and was on a quest for a new beginning with a keenness in social impact related work.
Mun Hoe first joined the Octava family as an Investment Manager under Octava Impact Investment, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with start-ups and high-growth companies targeting social issues. He has since transitioned to join Octava Foundation with a focus on program evaluation, design and implementation for Octava Study Awards, in the Student Finance vertical. He also supports the finance and process functions internally.
Team
Felicia previously spent six years in the public service, initially advancing local efforts to better support individuals with mental health challenges through service planning and piloting initiatives, before supporting government’s efforts to nationalise an early childhood development program for families facing socio-economic barriers.
At Octava Foundation, Felicia oversees the Young Learners Fund in the Education domain, identifying and supporting catalytic solutions that create equitable learning opportunities for primary school-aged children.
Team
As a local non-for-profit sector native, May has broad social sector experience, from traditional charities to government grantmaking and corporate philanthropic advisory. She believes change starts at the margins and aspires to weave support systems in community.
May leads an upcoming domain in Mental Wellbeing. She also oversees a development program for Octava’s bursary recipients, and supports communications-related work for the Foundation
Advisor
Alice is passionate about children and play. Play is one of the key ingredients to a healthy childhood. Alice has worked extensively in Asia, designing and implementing early childhood training programs for caregivers working with children in low-resource settings. She also held leadership and teaching positions in tertiary institutions in Canada and Hong Kong. Alice earned her doctorate from the University of Toronto/ OISE in early childhood education and adult learning. Currently, she is the Executive Director of Playright Children’s Play Association, a Hong Kong-based non-profit advocating for children’s play and well-being. She is also serving as the Hong Kong representative for the International Play Association (IPA) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC).
Advisor
Dr Joanne Yoong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Research For Impact, a Singapore-based think-tank dedicated to making the behavioural and social sciences accessible, inclusive, and transformative for all. She is an applied micro-economist and interdisciplinary researcher working on consumer and household decision-making in vulnerable populations. Dr Yoong holds multiple faculty appointments and is the author of over eighty peer-reviewed articles in leading economics, medical and public health journals. She has worked on projects around the world including Singapore, the United States, India, China, Ghana, Kenya, Cambodia, Indonesia and Iraqi Kurdistan. Dr Yoong received her PhD in Economics at Stanford University as an FSI Starr Foundation Fellow after an early career in financial services, and her AB summa cum laude in Economics and Applied and Computational Mathematics from Princeton University.
Advisor
Tom Kaye is an international education expert with 15 years of experience working with organisations, including UNICEF, the World Bank, and governments. His experience includes designing, implementing and evaluating education programs in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Tom is currently the Senior Advisor, Global Programmes, at UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited. In this role, Tom works with governments, development partners the private sector, young people, and UNICEF colleagues to build and scale innovative approaches to support the world’s most marginalised 15- to 24-year-olds to transition into decent work. Before joining GenU, Tom was EdTech Hub’s Global Country Engagement Lead, where he built and led a team of 15 people who provided support and guidance to education decision-makers globally on how to impactfully deploy EdTech tools to make education systems more effective, efficient and equitable. Tom is a dual master’s graduate with a Master’s of Public Administration from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and a Master’s of Evaluation from the University of Melbourne. Tom has also undertaken professional development including at Harvard University and University College London.
Advisor
Better Purpose works to shape and accelerate the work of organisations that seek to make a difference through education. Better Purpose brings rich and varied experience in the education sector, gained from helping clients to address critical challenges, and from operational experience of building and running organisations. The team draws on experience from ‘big four’ consulting (including PwC), start-up consulting business (GEMS Education Solutions), international research and policy organisations (OECD, UNICEF, UNDP and RAND Corporation), philanthropic organisations (Comic Relief, Dubai Cares) and education not-for-profits working internationally (Education Development Trust, the Varkey Foundation, and Ark Education Partnerships Group). The team helps partners navigate complexity by collaboratively defining the challenge to be addressed, curating the right team members and experts to explore the challenge, and finding the right set of solutions to meet the needs of the specific context. We bring capabilities in programme management, stakeholder engagement, strategic consulting, policy analysis, research, and monitoring and evaluation.
We’re looking for a Program Associate to join our team at Octava Foundation.
Location: Singapore | Job Type: Full-time
Application Deadline: 9 June 2025
Are you passionate about education, social equity, children and youth development? We’re seeking a personable individual who demonstrates integrity, aligns with Octava Foundation’s values and mission, and brings a strong mix of skills, initiative, and curiosity to their work.
Apply via: My CareersFuture Portal
