We are looking for an all-round project manager for supporting the newly established UNIC European University Alliance, including the newly awarded Horizon-funded research programme: UNIC4ER.

UNIC, the European University of Post-Industrial Cities, is a transnational alliance of eight universities: the Koç University (Turkey), the Ruhr University Bochum (Germany), the University College Cork (Ireland), the University of Deusto (Spain), the University of Liège (Belgium), the University of Oulu (Finland) and the University of Zagreb (Croatia).

UNIC was formed as response to the European Commission’s call to create bottom-up networks of universities throughout Europe (“European Universities”). Through the transnational alliances built under the European University Initiative the European Commission aims to enhance the quality and international competitiveness of European higher education, while promoting European values and identity.

Our ambition is to develop innovative and sustainable means of university collaboration that boost student and staff mobility while fostering social inclusion and further social impact. We are working hard to build a truly European UNIC University, including an inter-university campus, a superdiversity academy and an array of joint education opportunities.

UNIC4ER is the research programme of the UNIC European University. It complements the education-related activities of UNIC and supports UNIC’s focus on inclusion and impact through the development of a joint research structure around the concept of engaged research[1]. It actively facilitates the use of community-based research methodologies (such as citizen science, action research, participatory research, co-creation approaches, etc.) to ensure that cities, citizens and civil society actors are involved in the research development and implementation processes, thus maximizing the potential impact of research.

The programme offers support structures for our UNIC researchers, such as fundings opportunities, trainings and knowledge sharing (both across and beyond our alliance). It also actively builds relationships with our city partners (e.g., Gemeente Rotterdam, industry partners and civil society actors).

We are looking for an enthusiastic new colleague who can support the UNIC4ER team in achieving its goal of developing and implementing our innovative European Engaged Research Programme.  

[1]  ‘Engaged Research’ is an umbrella term that describes research approaches that have a common interest in collaborative inquiry with society. It assumes knowledge, insight and expertise comes from a variety of sources - researchers, citizens, policy makers, practitioners - and that research outputs are concerned with the process of co-production of knowledge through partnership for societal impact.

Role and responsibilities
You will support the UNIC Core Team, particularly the UNIC4ER programme manager, with the day-to-day operational activities. This includes organisational tasks within the Erasmus University as well as activities with our UNIC partners, city partners and our EU networks. We are looking for an enthusiastic, solution-driven individual who can support the team by carrying out the following tasks:

• Plan and provide administrative support in EUR/UNIC4ER meetings
• Plan and provide administrative support for work trips and events
• General administrative duties (e.g., archiving, organizing meetings, formatting documents, etc.)
• Support the building of the Community of Practice on Engaged Research, by maintaining a database of EUR researchers involved in Engaged Research activities
• Reaching out to EUR researchers and professional staff about UNIC4ER activities and opportunities
• Maintaining the mailing list of the European Network of Alliances involved in Citizen Engagement (FOREU2 sub-group) and organizing the sub-group meetings
• Gathering monitoring data from within the EUR/UNIC partners for publication on the UNIC4ER Pulse Dashboard
• Supporting the UNIC team with joint events/activities, e.g., the upcoming EUR strategic week in October 2022 where all UNIC partners will come to Rotterdam.
• Basic financial administration (e.g., processing invoices, expense claims, etc.)
• Basic financial monitoring, i.e., liaising with the UNIC project controller to get basic updates on the financial situation of the programme.
   

Who will you work with?
Your position will be embedded in Erasmus Research Services (ERS). You will report substantively to the UNIC4ER programme manager and will be line managed by the head Grant Support Office of ERS.

In your day-to-day work, you will be surrounded by a group of 7-8 enthusiastic colleagues within the UNIC Core Team but will mainly work with the UNIC4ER programme manager and the UNIC4ER Taskforce (consisting of Engaged Research Officers in UNIC partner universities). You will also work with colleagues from central administrative teams, ERS, other strategic programmes and faculty members.

We are looking for someone with the following qualifications:

• You have a degree or working experience in project management of European funded projects;
• You have strong organizational skills; you are result oriented and focused on getting things done
• You have experience working in an international and multicultural environment
• You are an excellent, clear communicator with demonstrated ability to communicate
• and coordinate among internal and external stakeholders of various levels and backgrounds
• You are a very pro-active person who is willing and capable of pioneering new initiatives 
• You have excellent verbal and written communication and storytelling skills in English
• You master English at C1, C2 level and if non-Dutch you communicate in Dutch at B2 level.

Fixed-term contract: 1 year.

What do we offer?
An internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with good working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU).

The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of
€ 2.960,-  to a maximum of € 4.670,- gross per month based on a full-time contract of 38 hours, in accordance with scale 10 of the CAO-NU.

In addition, we offer an 8% holiday allowance, an end-of-year payment of 8.3%, and a very generous paid leave scheme. Furthermore, EUR is affiliated with ABP for the pension provision, and we offer partially paid parental leave, fully paid extended birth leave for partners, a personal career budget, work-life balance coaches, discounted collective health insurance, and more. As an employee, you can also use EUR facilities such as the University library and receive a discount on subscriptions for the Erasmus sports center.

Erasmus University Rotterdam offers a Dual Career Programme (DCP) to assist the life partners of new academic staff (on payroll) in finding employment in The Netherlands. The programme is offered in close cooperation with the nearby universities of Delft and Leiden.

Erasmus University Rotterdam aspires to be an equitable and inclusive community. We nurture an open culture, where everyone is supported to fulfill their full potential. We see inclusivity of talent as the basis of our successes, and the diversity of perspectives and people as a highly valued outcome. EUR provides equal opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, neurodiversity, functional impairment, citizenship, or any other aspect which makes them unique. We look forward to welcoming you to our community.

We will give preference to a candidate with a migration-background. 

Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

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 3.700 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.

The General Management Directorate (ABD)

The General Management Directorate (ABD)
The General Management Directorate (Algemene Bestuursdienst, ABD) is the central staff organisation responsible for the organisation and support of EUR’s policy and administra-tion at the institutional level. ABD supports the Executive Board in fulfilling its responsi-bilities with regard to the quality, accessibility and financing of EUR’s education and re-search programmes. ABD handles the joint design of integrated policy, ensures the timely submission of policy within decision-making procedures and the implementation of the adopted policy measures and constantly monitors and evaluates developments in the inter-est of further improvement. ABD comprises the departments of Academic Affairs (AZ) in-cluding D&I Office, Corporate Planning & Control (CPC), Administrative Affairs (BZ), Legal Affairs (JZ) and the Chief Information Office (CIO). The independent university pub-lication Erasmus Magazine also falls under ABD in organisational terms. The management directorate is headed by the Director of the General Management Directorate, who also serves as Secretary of the Executive Board.

Erasmus Research Services (ERS) 
Erasmus Research Services (ERS) advances excellent research and knowledge transfer 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).