DesignLab at the University of Twente (UT) has a vacancy for a Communication Advisor (32-38 h). You collaborate closely with the Marketing & Communication division of the University of Twente (M&C) on activities that connect DesignLab and the UT community. The Marketing & Communication division of the University of Twente takes an integrated approach in order to strengthen the University of Twente’s impact and reputation, create ambassadors and communities and promote effective information provision and recruitment. 

DesignLab    

DesignLab is a student driven open space to experiment and innovate and take care of the demands of a fast-changing society. This is achieved through new types of education (such as the master-insert Shaping Responsible Futures), different forms of research (e.g. responsible design, open science, and citizen science) and public-private partnerships.

DesignLab is a ‘sandbox’ environment for citizen science on the UT-campus, with a view to promoting interaction between researchers, students and end-users. In general, DesignLab bridges societal challenges with educational activities, research and transdisciplinary ways of working. 

As a communication advisor, you will work towards achieving DesignLab’s vison and mission on Responsible Design, Citizen Science and Transdisciplinary Research, and within Shaping 2030 (mission and vision UT wide) together with the staff, student employees, and the communication officer (to be hired). The working language at DesignLab is English. 

Job description

• You support in shaping the communication policy of DesignLab in relation to university’s corporate communication strategy, will draft communication plans and calendar and -together with the communication officer- implement it.
• As communication advisor you are able of establishing, linking and expanding networks and communities to enable researchers and staff in strengthening relations with students, societal organizations, citizens, and public bodies.
• Using a mix of traditional and novel channels and media, you develop and implement tools to support the creation of and linkage to communities and networks that work on societal challenges that fits the mission of DesignLab, with an emphasis on citizen participation and community management.
• You explore external communication and profiling opportunities to maximize the impact of DesignLab within the university, and beyond, with colleagues from DesignLab, M&C and UT wide.
• You are capable of translating complex information (e.g. science/research) into comprehensible content to a variety of target groups (such as students, researchers, policy makers, entrepreneurs, and citizens) via different communication channels such as websites, social media, press releases and newsletters.
• You suggest improvements for the daily work process around marketing and communication, and actively take part in implementing these improvements together with colleagues from DesignLab, M&C, and UT wide.

• We look for a creative, strategic minded communication advisor, who has professional experience (five years or more) with community management and external profiling in an (inter)national setting and for (inter)national target groups.
• You possess a (academic) Bachelor or Master’s degree in communication or marketing and have proven affinity with technical education and research programmes.
• You have excellent communication and writing skills in Dutch and English (at least C1 level, but preferably C2).
• You are a proactive candidate with a hands-on approach and proven experience with project-based work within the communication field, who enjoys working on several projects simultaneously.
• You feel comfortable to work in a dynamic, strategic and political environment with hardworking people. You feel secure to work both in a flexible manner as well as in a solitary way. You are an enthusiastic teammate and like to engage in innovative initiatives that evolve in uncertain ways.
• You are result-oriented, analytical, inventive and dare to take initiatives.

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION

For more information about the vacancy, please send an email to Miriam Iliohan, Co-founder and Manager Operations & Innovation DesignLab, at m.iliohan@utwente.nl.

You can indicate your interest in this position up to 8 December 2019  by sending your application letter, accompanied by an up-to-date CV, via the link below to the application form.

The first round of job interviews will be held on Thursday 12 December from 11 to 12 a.m and the second round is planned for Tuesday 17 December from 3 to 5 p.m.

We offer you a challenging job in a pleasant and inspiring working environment with an attractive campus and lots of facilities for sports and leisure. The university provides a dynamic ecosystem with hardworking colleagues in which internationalization is an important part of the strategic agenda. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Universities (CAO), and include:

• we offer you an employment contract for one year, with the possibility of an extension for another year. After two years, there is an option for a permanent position.
• a gross monthly salary between € 2.709 and € 4.274 based on relevant work experience;
• a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• professional and personal development programs.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The UT is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

Marketing & Communications (M&C) has a pivotal function between the Executive Board, other departments, faculties, institutes and the world outside the University of Twente. M&C helps to realise the strategic institutional plan through a strong positioning of the University of Twente and by ensuring optimal communication between the university and the various target groups. The marketing and communications strategy of the M&C is aimed at the primary goals: a greater visibility and profiling; inflow and recruitment (excellent quality and quantity) and by training and retaining internal and external ‘ambassadors’. This calls for a strong joint effort of the entire marketing and communications column.