Team leader Engineering Support (x/f/m)

who wishes to lead our team of 10-15 highly skilled technicians who play an essential role in enabling DIFFER’s strategy. The Engineering Support group, together with the Operations & Facility Support group, is part of the Facilities & Instrumentation department which is dedicated to the design, construction and operation of our cutting-edge (large scale) research instruments for materials for the energy transition.

As team leader Engineering Support you are in charge of leading a multidisciplinary team of highly skilled technicians. The group consists of the following teams: software engineering, electrical engineering, drawing office and mechanical workshop. You are responsible for supporting and motivating the team members to work together in an effective way towards achieving goals. You will chair the Technical Coordination Committee, which sets the goals and priorities in collaboration with the scientists. It will be your responsibility to distribute the numerous tasks over the available resources in an efficient way. You actively monitor the current and expected workload of the team and develop a vision about team size and required skills which you report to upper management.

As team leader you are the contact point between the management team and engineering support. You prepare the annual budget for the team, manage allocated budgets and make proposals for procurement and replacement of equipment and proprietary applications. Project management, resource planning and optimization will be an important aspect of the work.

Tasks:

• Supervise, manage and motivate the technical team members on a daily basis.
• Create and manage project schedules including progress monitoring using e.g. Oracle Primavera or MS Projects; Proactively propose improvements in the actual progress of work versus schedule.
• Set clear goals and deadlines within the available resources and make sure the team functions effectively.
• Delegate tasks based on each member’s strengths and skills and offer the training necessary to complete certain tasks.
• Develop a vision for a service-oriented Engineering Support department.
• Ensure safe working conditions in the workshop and technical labs.

You are a team leader or project manager with a bachelor's degree (HBO or higher) and a proven track record in project management and planning in an (international) engineering environment. Naturally you have excellent communication leadership skills and a proven experience in collaborating with technical staff with wide range of (technical) expertise. You poses a willingness to learn new skills and follow additional training if needed. You also have an excellent knowledge of the Dutch and English language. A degree in engineering is a pré.

Our institute offers a top class international research environment with various interdisciplinary but related research topics and projects. The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres.

We offer:

• An initial contract for two years duration with the expectation that, based on performance and alignment with DIFFER’s long term vision, it will be converted into an indefinite contract;
• Depending on relevant work experience, a salary scale 11/12. This salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance and end-of-year bonus;
• An excellent package of secondary benefits including a pension plan, group discounts on individual insurances and travel expenses. We offer generous relocation expenses and support with finding accommodation

This position is for 0,8 - 1 FTE, will be for a period of 2 years and is graded in pay scale 11, 12. The position will be based at DIFFER (www.differ.nl) and the working location will be at TU Eindhoven. When fulfilling a position at DIFFER, you will have an employee status at NWO. You can participate in all the employee benefits NWO offers. We have a number of regulations that support employees in finding a good work-life balance. At DIFFER we believe that a workforce diverse in gender, age and cultural background is key to performing excellent research. We therefore strongly encourage everyone to apply. More information on working at NWO can be found at the NWO website (https://www.nwo-i.nl/en/working-at-nwo-i/jobsatnwoi/)

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research

The Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) performs leading fundamental research on materials, processes, and systems for a global sustainable energy infrastructure. We work in close partnership with (inter)national academia and industry. Our user facilities are open to industry and university researchers. As an institute of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) DIFFER plays a key role in fundamental research for the energy transition.

We use a multidisciplinary approach applicable on two key areas, solar fuels for the conversion and storage of renewable energy and nuclear fusion – as a clean source of energy.