Program Coordinator Applied and Engineering Sciences

Do you have a passion for science? Would you like to make an active contribution to strengthening scientific research and its impact on society? NWO is the national science funder and fulfills a bridging function as a connector between research and society. As a Program Coordinator, you have an important role in the assessment process by which NWO selects the best research proposals for funding. You maintain contacts with the scientific field and other parties, organize meetings and contribute to policy development. In short, a diverse range of tasks. No day is the same.

In practice it means that you:

• organize the funding instruments together with your colleagues in such a way that they challenge researchers to come up with innovative research proposals;
• as secretary, supervising the process of assessing research proposals within the funding instruments, including the search for experts for this assessment;
• supervising current research projects, in which you stimulate the achievement of scientific, commercial and social objectives by organizing meetings where the scientific researchers and the organizations involved meet and thereby stimulate the transfer of knowledge of the results in order to ultimately achieve impact with the research;
• contributes to activities to connect parties and stimulate cooperation, for example by organizing meetings or workshops;
• contributes to the development, implementation and evaluation of science policy, such as internationalization, recognition & appreciation, open science or diversity & inclusion;
• contributes to the development of applied and technical sciences together with colleagues from the field.

You bring this

• a completed master’s degree, preferably in a technical/natural science direction;
• a PhD and/or work experience in business and/or applied research organization is an advantage;
• enthusiasm for technological innovation projects and the ambition to translate research into application;
• well-developed analytical skills, result orientation, accuracy, working under time pressure and the willingness to learn continuously;
• an independent work attitude in which you also function well in a team, with a sense of proportion;
• attention to and insight into (in)formal relationships, positions and interests within and outside the organization and the capacity to respond adequately to these;
• interest in and preferably experience with science policy and subsidy processes;
• experience in maintaining contacts and cooperation, both in science and with companies and social institutions;
• good communication skills, both orally and in writing in Dutch and English.

This is where you come to work

Within the NWO domain of applied and technical sciences (AES), we enjoy working with people, we think in terms of solutions and we have a heart for applied scientific research. AES is committed to promoting technical-scientific research with application and visible impact for people and society. Collaboration with the business community is essential in this respect. AES fulfills its role on the basis of a long tradition in the field of public-private partnerships and on the basis of a strong track record in bringing new knowledge to innovative applications. We translate complex questions into concrete calls and work hard to give each application a careful, objective and fair assessment. From the start of each project, AES brings together potential users of the knowledge with the researchers. We connect these people with each other and translate where necessary to bridge differences in background, jargon and expertise. Together with some 75 colleagues, we ensure the spending and supervision of 120 million euros per year on scientific research.

This is what we offer you

A challenging and socially relevant job in an enthusiastic team with excellent terms of employment in accordance with the Collective Terms of Employment Agreement for Research Institutions ( Cao-OI (NL) – WVOI ).

It concerns an employment contract for a period of 1 year with the possibility of extension if functioning properly. The salary depends on your knowledge and experience and amounts to between € 2,960 and € 5,480 gross per month for full-time employment (scale 10 or 11, Collective Labor Agreement for Research Institutions). In addition, we offer you 8% holiday pay, an end-of-year bonus of 8.33% and a very generous leave scheme. Furthermore, NWO is affiliated with ABP for pension provision and we offer partially paid parental leave, a discount on our collective health insurance and extensive training opportunities. We work in a hybrid way (partly at the office and partly at home), offer an allowance for working from home and traveling by public transport, and provide an NWO laptop and mobile phone.