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Senior Organisational Strategy Officer

Reference: BIOPOLIS 2022-72
Job description:
Senior Organisational Strategy Officer

Reference: BIOPOLIS 2022-72
Main field: Organizational Strategy
Sub field: Development Strategy

1. Summary
A position is open for a Senior Organisational Strategy Officer at BIOPOLIS, on a part-time (20% full-time equivalent) basis. BIOPOLIS is a Centre of Excellence in Environmental Biology, Ecosystem Research and AgroBiodiversity located in Portugal, which results from a H2020 Teaming project involving CIBIO – Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Porto Business School, and the University of Montpellier. BIOPOLIS is a private, non-profit scientific association, which will have an overall budget of around 130 million euros for 10 years, funded by the European Commission, national funds, and private partners. The successful candidate will assist the Board of Directors in the delivery of a range of BIOPOLIS’ strategic and innovative projects, build and manage strategic partnerships with business, public and third sector organisations and with the public, and support the delivery of BIOPOLIS communication and dissemination objectives. The successful candidate will be a senior officer with significant international experience working across academia, public policy, business, and the wider society, and showing ability to think strategically, communicate effectively and deliver complex projects.

2. Background
BIOPOLIS is a new and ambitious Centre of Excellence located in the north of Portugal with a genuine commitment to excellence in environmental biology, ecosystem and agrobiodiversity research with an innovative and dynamic community addressing the major challenges confronting the environment and society. BIOPOLIS was possible because of a successful H2020 Coordination and Supporting Action (Reference 857251) funded by the European Commission under the call H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019: Teaming Phase 2 (https://www.biopolis.pt/en/), which involves the Porto Business School, the University of Montpellier and CIBIO (Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources). As leading global institutions with strong values, a unique sense of community and strategic intent, they aim to spread, through BIOPOLIS, excellence towards innovation and contribute to the socioeconomic development at the regional and national levels. It counts on significant support and investment from the European Commission, national funds and private partners amounting to an overall budget of around €130 million for the next 10 years.
The main objective of BIOPOLIS is to upgrade the existing CIBIO; a private and independent research institution hosting 31 multidisciplinary research groups, around 175 PhD level researchers and over 100 MSc and PhD students from across the world, conducting world-class research in biodiversity and evolution, and elevate it to a Centre of Excellence by integrating new and innovative strands of research in the fields of environmental biology, ecosystem research and agrobiodiversity. The Centre has state of the art ecology and molecular laboratories, and it conducts research projects at a global scale. The working language of the institute is English, and it offers a vibrant, multicultural and enthusiastic working atmosphere.

3. Role and responsibilities
BIOPOLIS is seeking to appoint a Senior Organisational Strategy Officer, which will work under the direct supervision of the Board of Directors (BoD) and its Executive Committee. The successful candidate will assist the BoD in the delivery of a range of BIOPOLIS’ strategic and innovative projects and partnerships including, among others, the renovation and upgrade of infrastructures at Campus de Vairão and implementation of new BIOPOLIS facilities, the engagement with external stakeholders in the development of innovative pilot initiatives and projects, and communication and outreach initiatives including partnerships with media companies, municipalities and other public authorities. The post holder will assist the BoD by leading BIOPOLIS’ approach to specific external collaborations and help find, negotiate, and deliver new partnerships with business, public and third sector organisations. He/she will also assist the BoD in promoting cross-departmental collaboration within BIOPOLIS and its PIs to enable delivery of innovation and communication projects and strategic partnerships, and contribute to enhancing BIOPOLIS’ communication and engagement capabilities in accordance with the organisation’s Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Plan.

The post holder will report to the Board of Directors (BoD) and its Executive Committee, providing key assistance to help delivering BIOPOLIS’ corporate strategic objectives related to non-academic activities, and in the internal and external communication and dissemination of the cutting-edge research produced by BIOPOLIS and its partners.

4. Requirements
The successful candidate is expected to have:
• Relevant experience working with different types of organisations, including businesses and public sector organisations.
• Knowledge of academic research processes and organisations, preferably within both Portuguese and international contexts.
• Demonstrable ability to build and manage relationships and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, experts and other stakeholders.
• Excellent planning, organising and project management skills, with demonstrable experience and/or a professional qualification in project management.
• Excellent strategic thinking skills, using an understanding of the bigger picture to uncover potential challenges and opportunities for the organisation and turning these into a compelling vision/strategy.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with proficient command of both the Portuguese and English languages.
• A PhD in a topic relevant to the role, including economic development, public policy or urban and environmental planning and sustainable development, or related areas is a plus.

5. Benefits
Exceptional conditions will be offered to this role:
• A non-fixed term contract on a part-time basis equivalent to 20% of a full-time position.
• Internationally competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience indexed to TRU rates between 88 and 92 (€5020.06 and €5228.50).
• Ability to work remotely.
• Possibilities of career progression, upon evaluation of performance and achievements.
• Other fringe benefits to be negotiated.

6. Application
Applications should be submitted at the electronic address http://www.cibio.pt, from 10th until the 30th of November 2022.

Expect starting date: 1st of January 2023

A summary of the BIOPOLIS project is available upon request to the mail address cibio.up@cibio.up.pt. The application should include at least the following elements:
Personal statement (Up to one A4 page), detailing the candidate’s vision for BIOPOLIS and the role of Senior Organisational Strategy Officer in achieving its ambitious objectives in the short, medium, and long term. The statement should also describe how her/his past achievements and experience provides excellent qualifications to the position.
Applicant’s CV (Up to three A4 pages), providing evidence that the applicant’s comply with the call requirements, and describing achievements related to the call.

7. Evaluation
The evaluation process and subsequent recruitment will be made according to the principles of the Code of Conduct for Recruitment of Researchers established by the European Commission. These principles ensure observance of values such as transparency of the recruitment process and equal treatment of all applicants, in particular about the development of an attractive, open and sustainable European labour market for researchers, and are complementary to those outlined in the European Charter for Researchers.
Selection will be made by a panel including: Pedro Beja (Vice- President Executive of Associação BIOPOLIS, President of the Jury); Luís Folhadela (Associate Director for Administration & Finances of BIOPOLIS); Rita Araújo (Executive Coordinator - Science at Associação BIOPOLIS, Vogal) and Sandra Aresta (Knowledge Transfer and Dissemination Officer at Associação BIOPOLIS; substitute).

7.1 Evaluation criteria based on Personal Statement and CV are as follow:
I. diversity, coherence and quality of the CV - 40%
II. theoretical and practical knowledge of organizational and development strategy - 25%.
III. development/promotion of liaison and stakeholder engagement actions, and enhancement activities of institutional economic development – 20%
IV. experience in institutional representation – 15%

7.2 Based on these elements, candidates will be ranked, and a short list of candidates will be produced.

7.3 In the case of candidates’ evaluation does not differ more than 10% from that obtained by the best positioned candidate, the jury will interview these candidates. In this case, the curricular evaluation has a weight of 70% and the interview 30%.

8. Employer
The Associação BIOPOLIS (https://www.biopolis.pt/en/)

9. Location:
BIOPOLIS, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal (coordinates: N41.328940, W8.672635).
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