IMDEA Materials Institute, a María de Maeztu centre of excellence in Madrid (Spain), is looking to fill the position of Director of the Institute for the next 4+ years.

The Institute, a public foundation of Community of Madrid, is one of the seven IMDEA centres founded 15 years ago to transform the research landscape of the region. Its mission is to do research of excellence in Materials Science, contributing to tackle the challenges of society and fostering the sustainable development of the region of Madrid.

The Institute, located in the south of Madrid, currently employs about 120 people and has a yearly budget of approximately 8M€. Research at the Institute is organised under five programmes: advanced materials for multifunctional applications, the next generation of composite materials, novel alloy design, processing and development, multiscale characterisation of materials and processes, and integrated computational materials engineering. Also, a new programme on materials for healthcare is under development.

The selected director is expected to lead the institute during the next years, continuing its pursuit of excellence in science while helping to transform the industrial ecosystem in the region of Madrid through collaboration with industry, technology transfer, creation of spin-outs, etc.

Successful candidates should have a demonstrated experience in the field of Materials Science with a solid international reputation as scientist, proven by high-impact publications, project coordination, advising of Ph.D. thesis, event organisation, collaboration with industry, ability to raise funds, etc. The director will work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, reporting to the Board of Trustees and the Regional Government.

The candidate should possess a proven record of leadership and management experience within academic, public or private research organizations. As part of his/her duties, the selected director will work closely with the management of the Institute, overseeing the budget, monitoring infrastructures, coordinating project strategies, and guiding Institute policies.

Core responsibilities include:

Leadership

• Embrace the vision of the institute and ensure alignment with foundational goals, helping to align the day-to-day decisions with the long-term plans.
• Ensure a stimulating, collaborative and well-managed environment that supports the performance of excellent science and high-quality research in Materials Science and Engineering.
• Uphold a culture of excellence, accountability, and transparency that facilitates effective and respectful collaboration.
• Promote the attraction, good management and retention of researchers and staff.

Management

• Implement the strategy approved by the Board of Trustees, and report to it regularly.
• Ensure the effective and efficient use of the Institute’s resources and the implementation of the strategy. For these tasks, the new director will be supported by the Executive Committee that consists of the Deputy Director, the General Manager and the Managers of Projects & Technology, HR, and Finance & Accounting.
• Oversee the financials of the Institute, ensuring the short- and long-term viability of the project.
• Interact with public authorities at the local, national, and European level and with international research and academic organizations.
• Guide strategic decisions regarding research lines, hiring, and investments in infrastructures, with the assistance of the Technical Committee of the Institute

Research

• Promote excellence in research and technology transfer.
• Encourage multidisciplinarity to perform cutting-edge fundamental as well as applied research that tackles the interests of the Institute’s industrial partners.
• Support research-oriented collaboration with universities, research centres, companies and public institutions.
• Facilitate industrial collaborations to provide long-term technological leadership to our long-term strategic partners.

Candidate profile

• Demonstrated academic/scientific record with an international reputation.
• Strong ability to make decisions while at the same time instilling trust and respect.
• Excellent communication skills, development-oriented drive with a visionary approach, integrity, and willingness to delegate as needed.
• Ability to inspire researchers and staff and to achieve results in partnership with others.
• A drive to set high standards and to encourage innovative ideas.
• Strong interpersonal skills, genuine interest in other people, the ability to listen, openness, sound judgment, fairness, accessibility.
• International mind-set.

Sharing the values of the Institute will be important for the successful candidate. These are, above all:

• Collaborative attitude.
• Excellence, understood as the set of behaviours taken in order to reach the highest level of quality, with rigour and honesty.
• Transparency, as the effort to openly show that we follow the rules and expectations of people and organizations in everything related with our activities, management, and use of resources.
• Integrity, since we strive to behave justly and accountably following ethical principles.
• Compromise, implicating and identifying people with the mission of the Institute
• Flexibility to adapt quickly to changes and needs in our environment, in accordance with our mission.
• Diversity, acknowledging that it holds the key to talent and that we are ready to manage it.

Conditions of the offer:

• The appointment will be for four years, extensible to four more after a performance evaluation by the Board of Trustees.
• Competitive salary (40% higher than a senior full professor in Spain)
• After completion of the appointment, if the new director has developed a successful research group and under the recommendation of the Scientific Committee, she/he will be offered to remain in the Institute as a senior researcher.

Interested candidates should submit to director.jobsearch.materials@imdea.org their cv as well as a document explaining their motivation for the job, why they fit the position, as well as their mid-term vision for the Institute.

Dates:

• Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2020.
• The selection and evaluation of candidates will be done during January and February 2021.
• The expected starting date for the new director is April 2021.