Director Centre for Development Innovation Wageningen UR Amsterdam, Netherlands

Vacancy code: SSG-CDI-0017

 

We are looking for

Are you ready for a new challenge? CDI is looking for a Director who is passionate about working with people to create a more sustainable and equitable future.

 

We work on

You will join Wageningen UR’s Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) as our new visionary and inspiring leader. As a research and capacity-building institute, we facilitate innovation, broker knowledge and help to develop the capacities of individuals and organisations working for sustainability. Working on global issues and in countries with developing and transitional economies, our focus is on innovation and change in the areas of secure and healthy food, sustainable markets, adaptive agriculture and ecosystems governance. Increasingly we also operate in areas recovering from conflict or natural disasters. Our group of 60 staff help to link Wageningen UR’s scientific knowledge and expertise with processes of society-wide learning and innovation. We work to inspire new forms of collaboration between citizens, governments, businesses, NGOs and the scientific community.

 

We look for

As the chosen candidate you will lead CDI’s management team and play a central role in developing and marketing our international profile and portfolio and expand our international public and private sector networks. You will be internationally recognised for your progressive and strategic leadership in CDI’s thematic areas; and for stimulating dialogue among leading actors in society and business and facilitating societal change. Bringing together specialist expertise from across Wageningen UR and linking this with policy and business opportunities, you will work with our scientific staff to develop new programs and funding opportunities for the Centre and identify new trends and markets. You will also spend approximately 40% of your time implementing programs and projects related to the Centre’s six program areas.

 

We ask

We ask for a special type of professional

·         An inspiring communicator who can link theory and practice and facilitate the learning and development of others. To apply you should have a good grasp of current debates in policy and academia of the issues facing global agri-food systems, have international work experience in emerging economies and a proven track record in international fund raising;

·         You can articulate CDI’s mission and represent our interests within the university nationally and internationally;

·         You should be an excellent facilitator with a strong interest in participatory processes of innovation and change;

·         Being able to think strategically about the global challenges of creating sustainable and equitable agri-food markets is essential as well as the ability to translate these insights into realistic plans and actions;

·         You understand field realities and are able to link between these and business and policy processes;

·         You have a good understanding of the academic environment and you are able to work and communicate across boundaries between business, government, NGO and academic worlds;

·         You are able to work effectively in a consultancy mode and have experience in coaching others to do the same;

·         You will be an internationally-recognised thought-leader with strong analytical skills, and a PhD degree in a field relevant to our central themes;

·         A strong track record of writing for both academic and non-academic audiences is also important;

·         You will have at least 15 years professional experience with extensive international engagement, field experience, an excellent international network and a proven ability to work in cross-cultural contexts;

·         Excellent spoken and written English is essential. Fluency in other languages, in particular French or Spanish, and a willingness to learn basic Dutch is desirable.

 

We offer

The opportunity to join a friendly, dynamic, highly professional and motivated team of inter-disciplinary development professionals and researchers who enjoy working within an enabling, collaborative, and entrepreneurial environment on socially-relevant matters at the science and society interface.

An initial one year contract of 32 or 36 hours/week with a performance based possibility for extension and an eventual permanent contract within Scale 15 CAO Stichting DLO depending on education and experience. Minimum salary: € 5.036,-- gross, maximum salary: € 7.145,-- gross.

 

Information and application

Additional information about the Centre for Development Innovation can be found on our website atwww.wageningenur.nl/en/Expertise-Services/Research-Institutes/centre-for-development-innovation.htm   

 

For any further information about this position or an informal talk please feel free to contact: Wouter Leen Hijweege, Acting Director, Tel. +31 (0)317-487384, E-mail: Wouter.Hijweege@wur.nl

 

An assessment is a component of the recruitment process. Please apply online by uploading your CV and letter of motivation before the end of Monday 26th November 2012 at
www.wageningenur.nl/en/Jobs/Vacancies.htm or
https://www20.igrasp.com/fe/tpl_wageningen_ur_01.asp?newms=jj&id=48133&aid=12529&newlang=1

 

We are

Wageningen University and Research centre

Delivering a substantial contribution to the quality of life. That's our focus – each and every day. Within our domain, healthy food and living environment, we search for answers to issues affecting society – such as sustainable food production, climate change and alternative energy. Of course, we don’t do this alone. Every day, 6,500 people work on ‘the quality of life’, turning ideas into reality, on a global scale.

 

Could you be one of these people? We give you the space you need.

 

For further information about working at Wageningen UR, take a look atwww.wageningenur.nl/en/Jobs.htm