Course Code: NPM520

Synopsis

NPM520 Lead and Manage Diverse Stakeholders focuses on leadership, engagement and management of diverse stakeholders including employees and volunteers in organisations. Volunteers, including individual and corporate volunteers, have different needs and motivations. Students will examine the disruptive forces and challenges organisations face in driving performance with diverse teams. The course equips students with relevant evidence-based frameworks, which they can practise in simulations and cases to produce positive impact of significance to organisations and communities.
Level: 5
Credit Units: 5
Presentation Pattern: EVERY JAN

Topics

  • Collaborative models and decision-making
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Core principles of organisation behaviour
  • Diversity in the workplace
  • Employee-volunteer relations
  • Managing roles and responsibilities
  • Negotiating differences
  • Performance appraisal and discipline
  • Recruitment and hiring practices
  • Stakeholder relations and management
  • Strategic human resource management and volunteers as human capital
  • Team dynamics

Learning Outcome

  • Compare and contrast knowledge and principles of people management against different stakeholder needs (employees, volunteers).
  • Appraise the forces that disrupt a team’s performance.
  • Examine the challenges non-profits face in driving performance with diverse teams
  • Improve communication and presentation skills to enhance team effectiveness.
  • Discuss evidence-based frameworks through simulations and cases, to produce positive impact on issues that matter to organisations and communities
  • Combine diverse stakeholders groups to pursue non-profit mission and purposes creatively.

Dates for 2026 January Semester

SessionTimeLocation
19am to 6pmSUSS
29am to 6pmSUSS
39am to 6pmSUSS
49am to 6pm
SUSS


Who Should Attend

  • Non-profit organisation executives and staff


Relevance of Course to Employment / Upskilling / Reskilling

Nonprofit organisations today operate in an environment where stakeholder complexity is the norm - employees, volunteers, corporate partners, donors, community groups and regulators all shape mission delivery. Those who can bring diverse actors into alignment uphold their responsibility to advance mission and serve stakeholders effectively. 

NPM520 develops exactly these capabilities. The course builds practical competence in managing multi-stakeholder dynamics, navigating diverse motivations, and sustaining team performance amid disruption. Students learn evidence-based management frameworks, practise negotiation and decision-making through simulations, and gain hands-on tools for engaging diverse stakeholder groups. 

Whether stepping into a supervisory role, preparing for leadership progression, or reskilling into the social sector, learners gain the ability to recruit, appraise, motivate and integrate different stakeholder groups to drive mission results. These are core competencies for any professional seeking to lead people effectively and deliver meaningful organisational impact in today’s nonprofit landscape. 


Admission Prerequisites

  • Bachelor's Degree

Please refer to Graduate CET Admission Eligibility Criteria for Graduate CET Modular Courses.


Schedule

SessionTime Topic
Session 1
17-Jan-26
9am to 1pm
    Introduction: Non-profit organizations 
    and their stakeholders 
    Topic 1: 
    Macro-environment of non-profit 
    organizations (NPOs). Why do we need to manage stakeholders? 
    • NPO ecosystem and the key 
    • players involved 
    • Values, missions, purpose, strategy 
    • Purpose of managing stakeholders 

    1pm to 2pmLunch Break
     2pm to 6pmTopic 2: 
    Understanding your stakeholders 
    • Stakeholders’ attributes, interests, and claims 
    • How to manage powerful stakeholders 
    • What capabilities are needed to manage stakeholders 

    Session 2
    24-Jan-26
    9am to 1pm

    Key stakeholder groups: board of directors (Part 1)
    Topic 1: Stakeholder management in cross-institutional settings

    • Who are the different stakeholders involved in cross- institutional collaboration?
    • How do the various stakeholders’ attributes apply (i.e., power, legitimacy, urgency and claims)
    • Stakeholder management plan in the process of change 
     1pm to 2pmLunch Break

    2pm to 6pmTopic 2: Stakeholder management through organizational change 

    • What are the sources of change  
    • How to lead change while staying close to the organizational mission 
    • Stakeholder management during change (Guest speaker) 
    Session 3
    31-Jan-26
    9am to 1pm
      Key stakeholder groups: internal stakeholders (Part 2)  
      Topic 1: Change management: Strategy and leadership  
       
      • What is change management and how is it different from change leadership  
      • Managing stakeholders during change 
       1pm to 2pmLunch Break
       2pm to 6pm Topic 2: Digital transformation journey as a context of change 
      Session 4
      7-Feb-26
      9am to 1pmCommunicating and monitoring engagement with stakeholders (Guest speaker)  
       
      Topic 1: Engaging with the board: Analyze the role and capacity of board of directors in NPO’s governance  
      • The roles and responsibilities of board members  
      • How to build rapport with the board 
       1pm to 2pm Lunch Break
       2pm to 6pm  Topic 2: Techniques of communication and storytelling to craft a narrative with your stakeholders
      • How to handle rejection?  
      • How to communicate your values 
      Assessment 

       

      Assessments

      • Assignments
      • Others
      • Participation
      • Written Examination


      About the Trainer

      Dr Millie Yun Su 

      Millie Yun Su receives a Ph.D. from the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers University, New Jersey.  Her expertise encompasses transformative services and strategic human resource management.   Her research bridges service ecosystems and strategic human resource management, with a focus on health and social care, workforce sustainability, and non-profit leadership. Using qualitative approaches, she examines how services and organisations empower vulnerable consumers and build inclusive pathways for care and well-being.  She has also published case studies about business strategies, particularly in the context of Asian markets.

       

        Course Fee

         International ParticipantsSingapore Citizens (below 40yrs), Permanent ResidentsSkillsFuture Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy1 (S'poreans aged 40 and above)Enhanced Training Support for SME2 (Singaporean and PRs)
        Full Course fee (A) $3,168.00$2,640.00$2,640.00$2,640.00
        SSG grant (70%) (B)-$1,848.00$1,848.00$1,848.00
        Nett course fee (A) - (B) = (C) $3,168.00$792.00$792.00$792.00
        9% GST on nett course fee (D)$285.12$71.28$71.28$71.28
        Total nett course fee payable, including GST (C) + (D) = (E)$3,453.12$863.28$863.28$863.28
        Less additional funding if eligible under various schemes (F)---$528.00
        Total nett course fee payable, including GST, after additional funding from the various funding schemes (E) - (F) = (H)$3,453.12$863.28$335.28$335.28

        Note:

        Singaporeans aged 40 years and above may apply to offset out-of-pocket course fees from  their SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career) 60 days before the programme start date, and up to 90 days after the programme start date. More information at /academics/executive-lifelong-learning/courses/grant---schemes/skillsfuture#skillsfuture-credit

        For payment, please refer to /payment-modes for the various payment modes.

        For Refund Policy, please refer to /admissions/financial-matters/tuition-fee-subsidy/cet-courses#refund-policy.

        1. A written request for a refund must be submitted and is subject to approval. 
        1. If written notice of withdrawal is given within the cooling off period and before the course start date, a full refund of the fees paid less an administrative charge of $110.00 (exclusive of GST) will be given. 
        1. No refund will be given for withdrawal thereafter. 
        1. The cooling off period is defined as 7 working days after payment of course fee. 

         

        Course Completion Requirements

        • Participants are required to achieve at least 75% attendance and pass any prescribed examinations/assessments or submit any course/project work (if any) under the course requirement.
        • Participants are required to complete all surveys and feedbacks related to the course
        • The course fees are reviewed annually and may be revised. The University reserves the right to adjust the course fees without prior notice.
        • Singapore University of Social Sciences reserves the right to amend and/or revise the above schedule without prior notice

        For clarification, please contact the SUSS Academy via the following:

        Telephone: +65 6248 0263
        Email: [email protected]