Director Engagement & Research Services (1 fte)

We are looking for a Director Engagement & Research Services (ERS). ERS supports the scientific staff and faculties of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) in promoting excellent science and external collaborations. As Director you think strategically, lead an internationally oriented team with a clear vision on the societal role of EUR and create positive societal impact at the regional, national and European level.

You play an important role in connecting EUR’s rich knowledge with social partners, such as research funders, NWO, the European Commission and the Dutch government. You promote open and responsible science and optimize EUR’s ability to obtain competitive funding. Do you want to contribute to EUR’s societal impact? Then apply now!

Job description
As Director ERS, you will be responsible for the further embedding of this relatively young business unit in the EUR organisation. After the build-up phase of recent years, ERS now has an important task to contribute to further diversification of the revenue streams of EUR. ERS also has an important role to play in realising the EUR strategy to become a future-proof university firmly embedded in society.

Maintaining and strengthening good relations with the EUR faculties as well as central services such as the University Library (UB), IT (EDIS), Academic Affairs (AZ) and Marketing & Communications (M&C), is part of your daily tasks. You also work closely and develop a close-knit network with external parties such as research funders, NWO, the European Commission and the Dutch government to meet the demand for appropriate research support within the faculties.

Tasks as Director ERS include:

• Managing and being a sparring partner for the three department heads within ERS (Research Grants, Innovation & Partnerships, Open & Responsible Science) and a group of staff members, including communications, legal, external relations, office management, research intelligence and information management.
• Operating as an experienced manager with the vision, listening skills, persuasiveness, steadfastness and connecting qualities to perpetuate and further embed ERS’ services within EUR.
• Creating connections between the research services of different faculties and central services using a collaborative and flexible attitude with jointly defined goals as a starting point.
• Collaborating with existing departments and services in developing policies and support services. Key themes are Engagement, recognition & appreciation, talent management, research vision, open science, and Research Data Management.
• Positioning the EUR in external alliances, such as the Convergence (collaboration of TU Delft, Erasmus Medical Centre, EUR), LDE (collaboration of Leiden University, TU Delft, EUR), other strategic partnerships and broad, thematic networks with stakeholders.
• Acting as a sparring partner for the Executive Board, (vice) deans, and directors of services, faculties and departments within the university.
• Working closely with the Strategic Dean Impact & Engagement to jointly contribute to the impact mission of the EUR and create and develop (new) initiatives. The Strategic Dean Impact & Engagement acts as a sparring partner for all impact related matters.

You are familiar with the academic world, navigate complex environments easily and are able to create connections in an informal manner. In addition, you have:

• Academic work and thinking level. A candidate with a PhD would be an advantage.
• Affinity with the impact theme and with the strategic and organisational aspects of engaged, inter- en transdisciplinary research.
• Broad leadership and management experience (5 years minimum) in a complex, knowledge-intensive organisation.
• Proven ability to lead in a coaching manner based on trust. You are able to garner support, optimise interactions between ERS and the faculties, and achieve results with attention for both people and organisation (see Erasmian leadership profile).
• Strong connecting leadership qualities that you utilize to get the entire organisation on board in a more collaborative, mission-driven and impact-oriented strategy of research acquisition and execution with a clearly defined and supported role for ERS.
• Broad national and international network of external partners and research funders.
• Excellent command of the Dutch and English languages, both in speaking and in writing (CEFR level C1).

The Erasmian leadership profile is the basis of leadership within EUR. The guidelines, competencies, attitudes and behaviours in the profile provide a shared framework for leadership.

Role Model

• Approachable and accessible
• Self-aware and able to reflect
• Sets the right example regarding well-being and social safety

Enable & Engage

• Able to build bridges and connect people
• Focused on employee development and learning organisations
• Encourages and builds a safe, diverse and inclusive work environment

Inspire Vision

• Sensitive to the needs of the organisation and its people and politically astute
• Inspiring and persuasive
• Not afraid to think outside the box

Drive Achievement

• Follow-through and able to implement ideas
• Decisive, able to act when necessary
• Attention to both process and results

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is November 1st 2024 and you will be based at Campus Woudestein, Rotterdam, in the business unit Engagement & Research Services (ERS). This position is for 1 fte. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 7.679 to a maximum of € 10.038 gross per month (Scale 16) on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is entered into for the duration of one year and can be converted into a permanent contract if performance is good and the organizational circumstances remain unchanged.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service
Engagement & Research Services (ERS) advances excellent research and engagement to maximize positive societal impact. ERS creates conditions for transparent, inclusive, collaborative, and impactful research through strategic and operational expertise.

We provide pathways for talents to reach their full potential and we advance fruitful collaborations, enabling Erasmus University to be a front runner in embedding excellent research in society. The following areas of support are embedded within ERS: Business Development, Grant Support, Legal Counsels, Open Science, Research Data Management, Ethics Review and Research Intelligence. ERS is a relatively young service department within Erasmus University Rotterdam and is steadily building and extending its service portfolio. ERS provides support to all faculties of Erasmus University Rotterdam (occasionally to Erasmus University Medical Center).

Please submit your application, consisting of a CV and motivation letter (in PDF), before the vacancy closing date. The selection process consists of two interviews focused on the position and your qualifications, and one benefits interviews. We will be requesting references as part of the selection process.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.