Research manager in the field of “Circular Economy Monitoring”

(ref. OZK-2022-23)

Laatst aangepast : 3/05/2022

The research group “sustainability assessments of materials and circular economy” (SAM) of the department of Materials Engineering, Group of Science and Technology of KU Leuven brings together researchers who are motivated to strengthen Circular Economy strategies by well-founded scientific insights. We develop monitoring and perform assessments of the environmental, economic and social hurdles and opportunities of circular technologies and business models. The research manager position is linked to the Circular Economy Policy Research Center, coordinated by the SAM group and funded by the Flemish Government. This center performs policy research in order to monitor, stimulate, and contextualise the progress of the Flemish region towards a circular economy. It consists of five interdisciplinary and complementary research clusters and is a joint venture of KU Leuven, UAntwerpen, UGent, UHasselt and VITO. Currently, we are looking for a motivated research manager in the field of circular economy monitoring.

Responsibilities

As research manager you are responsible for the development of the research on circular economy indicators, monitoring and data governance. This includes the following responsibilities:

• Coordinating research in CE monitoring.
  More specifically, you are the daily manager of the policy research center Circular Economy (CE-Center). That includes setting up the yearly research program of the center in collaboration with the staff of the Center and the Flemish Administration, (co-)supervising the research within the center, recruiting and coaching the co-workers of the CE center, managing the finances of the center, publishing the results in peer-reviewed journals, reporting and communicating about the results with the general public. Besides the CE-center, you will be coordinating new research projects with the aim to scientifically deepen the research on indicators and monitoring of the circular economy, extend it to other actors such as cities and companies, and to complement it with new research on data standards, architectures and models. You develop the vision and strategy of the group in this research area, co-supervises PhDs, and translates the research in scientific output, and societal impact.
• Setting-up new research projects.
  You identify opportunities in industry and society for new R&D activities. You develop a portfolio of projects and scientific output on indicators and monitoring of the CE on regional and city level, for companies, governmental agencies and NGO’s. The process of acquiring project funding is in close collaboration with academic staff in the SAM research group and the dept. of Materials Engineering, as well as other research managers and experts of KU Leuven
• Coordinating the interface with society and building a knowledge network on circular economy.
  The research of the CE Center and our research group is in close interaction with governmental agencies, cities and companies. Capturing the needs and translating these into research (proposals) is an essential task, as well as co-developing the research, communicating the results and translating them into policy or management support. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary character of the research asks for a good networking and interaction with a lot of other research groups within and outside KU Leuven, in first instance the KU Leuven Institutes SIM² and LUSI.

Profile

Background

• a PhD degree in engineering (engineering science, bioscience engineering, business engineering)
• a proven track record in at least one of the following domains: Circular economy, policy research, circular business models

Experience

• at least five years of professional experience in an industrial setting or equivalent;
• experience with the management of large research projects (research, management, technical and financial aspects); 
• experience in networking with companies and government institutions, building business relationships and preparing project proposals in consortia with industrial involvement;
• experience in working in complex, transdisciplinary settings and in managing a diverse project partner and stakeholder landscape;
• a proven track record of project proposal writing and good knowledge of national and international funding schemes;
• experience in presenting research at industry-oriented and public authorities oriented events or conferences;
• a working knowledge of contracts and intellectual property rights;
• a working knowledge about ethics, privacy (e.g. GDPR), and data management;
• excellent knowledge of Dutch and English, in speaking and writing, and excellent writing skills.

Personality

• broad interest, strong affinity with sustainability themes
• eager to acquire new skills and to learn about new disciplines
• enthusiastic system thinker who loves to solve complex challenges

Offer

We offer a permanent research manager position (100%) in a very attractive international research environment, with an excellent track record in sustainable materials management. The research group “Sustainability Assessments of Materials and Circular Economy” (SAM) currently consists of 7 PhDs and 3 postdoc. We host the policy research center “Circular Economy” for the Flemish Government and make part of the interdisciplinary KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals (SIM²) and KU Leuven Institute for Urban Studies.  The context of our group is very interdisciplinary, and bridging ground-breaking research with societal and industrial valorisation, and education. Sustainability is central in all our activities and in our being.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Karel Van Acker, tel.: +32 16 32 12 71, mail: [email protected].

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at [email protected].