Are you ambitious, custom-oriented and passionate about data-driven work? Do you prefer to work with others in an international and multidisciplinary environment? Then we would like to get in touch with you!  Join our team and contribute to good data management, based on the FAIR principles.

We are looking for a Data Steward to complement our current team of Data Stewards at Maastricht University. As a Data Steward you will help researchers make their research outputs FAIR. Research outputs are the most impactful when they are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FAIR). Data Stewards work within the faculties, where they guide their fellow researchers the way to generic support and provide domain-specific help with the implementation of FAIR data management

Job Description
As a Data Steward you play an important role in implementing FAIR-Research Data Management (RDM) as a regular aspect of research within Maastricht University (UM). RDM concerns all actual data-related activities in any phase of the research data lifecycle. The goal is that existing data, where possible, become reusable. To this end, data must be findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable, and permanently safely stored for longer term.

The context for this position is helping the research community with RDM skills support (e.g. training and workshops) and providing RDM tools (e.g. data management plan template) and services on ‘how to use’ (e.g. crafting data management plans, providing support materials via RDM portal) . You support researchers in the planning of collecting, managing, publishing and securely storing data in a FAIR way. Making sure that researchers find existing data is one of the challenges. You will be working on improving existing software and developing new features along the way. 

Focus for this position is therefore on data engineering and data scientist related aspects in order to make research data interoperable and re-usable. 

As a data steward you will work together with multiple experts, faculty based (e.g. research staff, information manager, database administrators, software engineers) and from central service units (e.g. University Library, ICT Service centre, DataHub and Institute for Data Science) to support researchers. Together with your colleagues, you will further develop a joint Research Data Management service portfolio.

Description

• Work on data management issues in every single phase of the research data cycle;
• Support researchers in writing a Data Management Plan;
• Advise researchers and working together with partners to implement the FAIR principles across different digital resources;
• Work with researchers to create high quality data and metadata;
• Guide data submissions into appropriate data repositories;
• Advise researchers on carefully handling research data, including privacy sensitive data according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
• Design, direct and implement ETL processes, including data acquisition, data integration, data quality testing, data indexing and query answering;
• Experience in specifying, designing, documenting, developing and testing, software applications, and particularly web applications and APIs;
• Build innovative data management, with real-time and predictive analytic capabilities;
• Create reproducible data-driven scientific workflows (including the use of ontologies and vocabularies) using internally generated research data, and optionally in combination with external data;
• Develop and/or improve tools, software to find existing research data for re-use.

Basic Qualifications

• An academic level of working and thinking, completed Master or preferably PhD;
• Broad interest in scientific research and in the research process;
• Experience in FAIR research data management, preferably for multiple scientific disciplines;
• Knowledge of / experience with all kind of Data Management related technologies, like storage solutions, RDM tooling, etc.
• Affinity with the basics of programming languages (e.g. Java, R, Python, HTML, Nginx, CSS, SQL, GIT);
• Experience with statistical computer program like SPSS, Stata, SAS; and/or semantic technologies;
• Have a working knowledge of security and privacy measures as it relates to sensitive data;
• Customer-oriented and gain energy from supporting and solving issues for others;  
• Ability to easily connect requirements of scientists, legal requirements and policy ambitions concerning research data management, and solutions from data stewardship and ICT.
• Strong verbal and written communications skills;
• Proficiency of the English language. Proficiency in Dutch language is an advantage;
• Proven experience in collaborative multidisciplinary teams;
• Pro-Active and can work independently;
• Ability to easily assimilate new knowledge and not afraid to learn on the job.

We offer a rewarding career at a young university in the heart of Europe, with a distinct global perspective and a strong focus on innovative research and education.

The salary is competitive, depending on qualifications and work experience scale 9 or 10 (€ 2.920,- and a maximum of € 4.402,- per month), based on a full-time appointment (38 hours/week). On top of this, there is an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end of the year allowance.

We offer an attractive package of fringe benefits such as, reduction on collective health insurance, substantial leave arrangements, parental leave packages, attractive retirement benefits, making use of sport facilities for a small fee and application for attractive fiscal arrangements for employees from abroad;

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > Support > UM employees.

38 hours per week (less is possibility with a minimum of 30,4 hours a week)

The duration of the appointment is initially for one year with the possibility of extension.

We provide a stimulating, collaborative and interdisciplinary work environment with excellent opportunities for professional and personal development;

Maastricht University has an excellent international reputation, and Maastricht itself is a beautiful, open-minded city located in the centre of Western Europe.

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 20,000 students and 4,700 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

University Library

The Data Stewardship services are coordinated by the University Library, where a team of Data Stewards is active for the UM research community and where every Data Steward is partly assigned to a specific faculty. A network of RDM support takes care of interaction with embedded RDM support units within faculties. In total, the UM Digital Competence Centre is the umbrella where all FAIR RDM services are integrated.