We are looking for a team player with strong leadership abilities with a passion for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and excellent skills in the field of interdisciplinary and innovative research-led teaching in higher education.  Our new Dean should take a leading role in realizing LUC’s mission and the key points from the strategic agenda; strengthening the LAS and interdisciplinary profile of the College; stimulating educational excellence and innovation; further developing and executing LUC’s diversity and inclusion action plan, including in the realms of hiring, admissions, staff and student skills, and the curriculum; and expanding LUC’s relations with societal partners in terms of both teaching and research, with a focus on The Hague.

The LUC Dean is expected to invest in staff career development through supporting extracurricular activities, research, networking, exchange with other institutes, valorization, and grant acquisition, both on the individual and the group level. The College also wants to explore and develop the expansion of LUC’s educational activities for other, non-undergraduate target groups, such as a master’s program or executive education.

Formal responsibilities

• Overall responsibility for the LUC institute, including the educational program, organizational management, budget, research profile, and strategy development.
• Responsible for ensuring that the team works towards shared goals, and responsible for an inclusive and transparent work and study environment within LUC, e.g. through regular meetings and communication with staff bodies such as the College Council, with staff in general both in groups and individually, and with various student bodies.
• Responsible for constructive institutional relations within Leiden University: the FGGA Faculty Board and the two other FGGA institute directors, with other faculties/institutes contributing to the LUC program, with the Leiden University Executive Board, and with other departments as needed.
• Responsible for institutional relations outside of Leiden University: the University Colleges Dean’s network, national and international stakeholders, local partners, and the city of The Hague.
• Chair of the LUC College Board, currently consisting of the Dean, the Educational Director, and the Operational Manager.
• Direct supervisor of the Educational Director and Operational Manager, as well as of academic staff members.

Profile and qualifications

• You are preferably a full professor with an authoritative and international academic profile, extensive management experience within higher education, and experience in the Dutch academic landscape
• Experience or at least proven affinity with Liberal Arts and Sciences, Global Challenges and interdisciplinarity
• A passion for teaching that fits a leadership position in an environment where high-quality education is key to the institute’s identity, and a clear vision on how to integrate teaching and research activities within the College    
• A natural leader with excellent social, empathic and intercultural skills, who facilitates the growth of staff, and supports bottom-up ownership and initiatives in the program
• Ability to motivate and unite a team consisting of people with widely diverging academic and personal backgrounds
• Commitment to an inclusive work and study environment with a clear vision on issues such as diversity, anti-racism, and gender equality in all aspects of the institute’s processes, including recruitment and admissions
• Networking abilities, a good eye for opportunities for LUC, and persuasive in promoting the LUC program and furthering LUC student and staff opportunities
• Strategic vision on maintaining LUC’s position as the leading University College in the Netherlands
• Community spirit, enthusiastic about staff- and student-led activities and events that call for active extracurricular participation
• Ability to deal with the challenges of a residential student setting and related issues of student safety and wellbeing
• Fluent in English and Dutch (at least C1 level). If the Dutch requirement is not met at the time of appointment, the successful candidate is required to learn Dutch within two years (with support from the university)

Terms and conditions

The successful candidate will be part of an ambitious and dynamic team. We offer a fulltime, temporary, appointment for maximum 18 months. Following good performance, this employment will be converted into a permanent employment. You will be appointed to the position of Dean LUC for three years. After that, the appointment to this position can be extended with at least three years. When the appointment to the position of Dean LUC ends, Leiden University, in consultation with you, considers itself responsible for a suitable continuation of your career, either within the Faculty, another position within the Leiden University, or another organization.

Note that we are open to exploring the option of dedicating 0.8 fte to the Deanship, and 0.2 fte to a professor position within a suitable academic institute within one of Leiden University’s faculties.

The maximum salary is € 8.508,- gross per month (pay scale H2; full time appointment) according to the terms of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities). On an annual base this amounts to approximately € 118.000,- gross (including holiday allowance (8%) and end-of-year-bonus (8,3%).
Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. For international spouses we have set up a dual career programme. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. More information can be found at the website.

Leiden University College

Leiden University College The Hague (LUC The Hague) was founded in 2010 as the international honors college of Leiden University in the Netherlands for a select group of excellent and highly motivated students from around the world.

Our mission statement: LUC builds knowledge for a better world through excellent, research-led interdisciplinary teaching on global challenges. LUC fosters critical, independent, and creative thinking in students, and provides them with the knowledge and skills necessary to become socially responsible and engaged citizens. LUC provides a supportive and inclusive working environment that values and fosters staff initiative and creativity, and invests in staff career development.

The LUC academic staff consists of highly ambitious and international scholars recruited from top institutes across the globe, who combine teaching excellence with innovative research (35fte, and 15fte support staff). Both research-led teaching and teaching-led research are key characteristics of LUC’s academic profile.  LUC has consistently received a Top Rated Program seal from the Dutch University Guide (Keuzegids Universiteiten) and has been listed as the no. 1 University College in the Netherlands for two years in a row (2020 and 2021).