IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, the world’s largest international graduate water education facility, works to strengthen water sector capacity to contribute to a world free of poverty and injustice, in which people manage their water and environmental resources sustainably and equitably. More than 120 of IHE Delft’s 200 staff members are academics from all over the world. About 250 guest lecturers from global academia and industry contribute to the Institute’s educational programmes.
Each year, 750 international professionals, including about 200 MSc students, attend courses at IHE Delft. Our working language is English, and we promote a healthy work-life balance. IHE Delft is a unique knowledge institute in the Dutch research and educational landscape that combines excellence in education and research with work to advance global sustainable development. Partnerships are integral to achieving this mission: The Institute works closely with universities, government agencies, NGOs, and private sector institutions in the Netherlands and around the world. Through research, education and institutional strengthening, Institute staff make a tangible contribution towards all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in which water is key. The Office of the Rector (OR), is responsible for providing policy, strategic and administrative support to the management of the Institute. OR consists of a Communications Office and a Liaison Office.
The Liaison Office provides acquisition, donor relations and project management services within the organization and works in close cooperation with the Academic Departments, the Rectorate and other units. The Liaison Office intends to recruit a:
Liaison Officer EU 32 hours per week
The main goal of the Liaison Officer EU is to coordinate IHE Delft overall participation in key EU programmes (e.g. Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, EuropeAid), by ensuring an active institutional response to EU programmes and calls for proposals with the ultimate goal of further strengthening the EU project and programme portfolio of the Institute. This will be achieved by creating and maintaining excellent relations with relevant European institutions and European platforms that are directly or indirectly related to water, as well as identifying new EU funding opportunities and supporting the administrative processes related to project proposal submissions. The Liaison Officer EU will also, based on the experience in dealing with EU grant management activities, support the improvement of project management processes and systems at the Institute. The working language is English.
Responsibilities
• Monitor policy developments at the EU level, participate or contribute to policy dialogue meetings and propose ideas (e.g. in the form of briefing papers) to strengthen IHE Delft’s position within EU programmes;
• Identify, assess and internally disseminate new EU funding opportunities within relevant EU funding programmes, including but not limited to Education (Erasmus +), Research (Horizon Europe), development cooperation (EuropeAid);
• Support academic staff members in all pre-award administrative aspects, workflows and procedures related to EU projects’ submissions, including reviewing call regulations and assisting with budgeting; “ad hoc” support to post-award phase as required;
• Liaise with the internal and external stakeholders to develop potential consortia for project proposals;
• Establish and maintain excellent relations with relevant departments of the EU as well as Dutch agencies dealing with EU affairs and other relevant networks (e.g RVO, Water Europe, EARMA);
• Maintain a solid and organised information system concerning individual project as well as general administration of EU funding;
• Assist to develop project management frameworks, processes and tools for different phases in project preparation and implementation;
• Other support to Liaison Office activities as requested (e.g. ad hoc support to other programmes, support in giving workshops on funding opportunities and grant writing). Requirements Qualifications and Skills • University degree (bachelor or master) in a field relevant to the work of IHE Delft;
• Familiarity with various donor programmes, especially those of the European Commission, is essential;
• Experience with European Commission funding mechanisms, rules and requirements, with focus on developing procedures, workflows, templates, guidelines;
• Experience in coordinating applications to competitive grants.
• Knowledge about trends in the water sector (and related sectors) especially at EU policy level;
• Experience with / proven interest in international/European co-operation; experience in working with multilateral and-or bilateral organisations would be an asset;
• Experience with project management methodologies/frameworks and tools;
• Excellent proficiency of English and preferably Dutch. Any other UN language would be an asset;
• Computer software application skills at professional level (in particular MS Excel). Knowledge about other application like MS Project or database systems is a plus;
• Willingness to travel (typically for short term missions).
Competences
• Excellent communication, negotiation and networking skills;
• Excellent technical reporting and writing skills;
• Excellent team-worker who enjoys working in an international and multicultural environment;
• High degree of flexibility and ability to work under pressure, prioritise workload, keep deadlines, be able to work on different tasks in parallel;
• A proactive team player who can think strategically and focuses on solutions and drives (unsolicited) improvement actions;
• Excellent organizational skills with attention to detail and accuracy;
• Client-centred approach.
Terms of employment
The employment contract is for 32 hours per week, 0.84 FTE. The candidate will be stationed in Delft, the Netherlands, and needs to be eligible to work in the Netherlands. There is a possibility to work remotely 50% of your working hours, with necessary equipment provided to create a comfortable home-office working environment. The position is in accordance with scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. IHE Delft offers an attractive, multiple-choice employee benefits scheme, year-end bonus and generous pension scheme. The appointment implies entry into the Netherlands' Civil Service Pension Fund (ABP). We also offer 31 days’ leave based on 38 hours working week. Information and application Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from Gaetano Casale, Manager Liaison Office (+31 15 215 1868 or g.casale@un-ihe.org).
Applications in English should be sent before 15 September (closing date) through the following link: https://join.un-ihe.org/vacancy-publication/liaison-officer-eu .
Acquisition by staffing agencies and other 3rd parties is not appreciated. By submitting your application for this vacancy, you agree with the privacy statement below:
The personal data you share through your application file and other means will only be used by IHE Delft for the purpose of the recruitment and selection process in order to evaluate your suitability for the vacancy for which you have applied, as well as for communication purposes related to the vacancy. IHE Delft will process your personal details in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation of 25 May 2018. For more information we refer you to the privacy statement of IHE Delft: https://www.un-ihe.org/privacy-statement Without your prior consent or other legal basis, no information will be shared with third parties.
