SINGAPORE – There will be a changing of the guard soon at the National Council of Social Service (NCSS).
Mr Lim Shung Yar will be appointed chief executive (designate) of the organisation from Nov 1.
He will succeed current NCSS CEO Tan Li San and fully assume the role on Feb 1, 2026, said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in a statement on Oct 14.
Mr Lim is currently a senior director in the Public Service Division, where he oversees leadership development and talent management in the public service. He has also held leadership positions at the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Education.
At MCCY, Mr Lim built partnerships with religious and community organisations to strengthen social cohesion and trust across communities, said the MSF statement. He also worked closely with the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and other stakeholders to develop charity platform Giving.sg and promote corporate giving.
Ms Tan joined NCSS in January 2020 as its CEO. During her tenure, she led the organisation through a period of transformation and rapid responses to community needs arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, added MSF.
She also pioneered initiatives such as the Courage Fund (Covid) and Invictus Fund, which provided financial and social support to Singaporeans in need and to social service agencies.
MSF said that Ms Tan also drove digital transformation across the social service sector, including overseeing the launch of the Social Service Digital Plan, which sets out a road map to accelerate digital adoption among social service agencies.
Under her leadership, NCSS’ philanthropic arm Community Chest introduced new ways of fund raising and worked closely with community partners and corporations to advance sustainable philanthropy, said MSF.
NCSS president Anita Fam expressed the organisation’s appreciation to Ms Tan for her leadership and dedication.
She said: “Under Li San’s stewardship, NCSS has strengthened its role as a sector developer and advanced partnerships to uplift lives and communities.”
Ms Fam added: “As we welcome Shung Yar, we are confident that with his experience and commitment, he will steer NCSS to another exciting new chapter with continued growth and innovation.”
