Director SIOS

Job Description

SIOS is seeking an experienced, creative and executive person to lead the continued development of SIOS. SIOS-KC presently has five employees and the Director is in charge of running the day-to-day activities. The Director is responsible for executing the decisions from the SIOS consortium General Assembly. The Director will play a central role in developing SIOS in direct contact with the SIOS Board of Directors and also with users and stakeholders. The position is located in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

The responsibilities of the Director include to:

• Serve as SIOS official representative.
• Co-ordinate and implement the SIOS plans.
• Take initiatives to develop SIOS further.
• Lead the day-to-day operations of SIOS-KC.
• Take the lead in assembling and guiding work groups and task forces towards the goals allocated by the SIOS Board of Directors and General Assembly.
• Stimulate, follow, coordinate and when appropriate lead processes of acquiring external funding for the furthering of SIOS.
• Report to the SIOS Board of Directors and the SIOS General Assembly.
• Serve as Director for SIOS Svalbard AS and in that capacity report to the Board of Directors of SIOS Svalbard AS.

Qualifications:

The applicant should have the following background and experience:

• Higher academic education, preferably a PhD, in a field related to SIOS activities.
• Solid experience with leadership roles in international scientific cooperation.
• Record of accomplishment of acquiring external funding for research projects.
• Good collaboration and communication skills.
• Excellent and proven leadership abilities and managerial skills.
• Excellent oral and written English skills.

The applicant needs to be structured, result oriented and a creative team leader with an innovative and problem solving attitude. Personal attributes of the successful candidate are essential. It is of paramount importance to have knowledge about research activities in Svalbard and in the Polar Regions, and to have an international network of contacts. Leadership experience from a not-for-profit company is an advantage.

Employer:

SIOS is a regional observing system for long-term measurements in and around Svalbard addressing Earth System Science questions. SIOS integrates the existing distributed observational infrastructure and generates added value for all partners beyond what their individual capacities can provide. SIOS brings observations together into a coherent and integrated observational programme that will be sustained over a long period. Within SIOS, researchers can cooperate to access instruments, acquire data and address questions that would not be practical or cost effective for a single institution or nation alone.

SIOS has been on the European roadmap for research infrastructures since 2008, and is currently organised as a project owned by the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). The consortium is scheduled to become an independent structure at its General Assembly at the end of 2017. The not-for-profit limited company SIOS Svalbard AS will be the consortiums legal entity and the formal employer of the personnel at SIOS-KC. SIOS Svalbard AS is be an equal opportunity employer. For more information please visit www.sios-svalbard.org.

We offer:

• A five-year contract with the possibility of extension for one further five-year period.
• Free arrival passage for you and your family, and relocation expenses associated with initiation of the engagement.
  • An annual holiday grant for you and your family.
  • Membership in the Norwegian Public Pension Fund.

Salary:

All salaries are set in accordance with the Norwegian Government's University salary scale. The position as director (code 1062) is normally offered a gross salary within the scale of 515 000 NOK - 835 100 NOK depending on qualifications. As resident of Svalbard, an annual allowance of NOK 32 000 (Svalbardtillegg) will be added to staff salaries. A social Security contribution of 2 per cent to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted from the salary. Income tax on Svalbard is 8 per cent, plus 8.2 per cent toward National Insurance coverage. Employees at SIOS Svalbard AS have identical benefits and rights as employees of UNIS (http://www.unis.no).

Selection and appointment

The Board of Directors will select a committee to evaluate the qualifications of the applicants. Based on the report, the top ranked person(s) will be invited for an interview process. The appointment will be made by the General Assembly, based on the proposal from the SIOS Board of Directors, and approval from the Board of Directors of SIOS Svalbard AS. The hiring process is handled by the UNIS administration. The successful applicant is required to live and work in Longyearbyen.

Application:

Inquiries about this position may be directed to: SIOS chairperson of the Interim Steering Board, International Director Kim Holmén, phone: + 47 79022612 or +47 48002935, e-mail: kim.holmen@npolar.no, or to the HR section at UNIS: Phone +47 79023300, e-mail: hr@unis.no.

Deadline for application is 1 September 2017

Apply online on https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/139563/director-sios

In the end of the form, please attach your curriculum vitae and education certificates. The committee may ask for further documentation of the education history and former work experience described by the applicant.

You can request to have your application kept from public access cf. the open files act § 25. The request must be explained. UNIS will determine if the application will be kept from public access or not, based on the explanation and the regulations from the open files act. If the application will not be accepted, the candidate will be contacted.