Business Development & Partnerships Officer

Are you looking for a challenging position as a Business Development & Partnerships Officer, and do you want to contribute to collaboration and engagement between private, public, and academic sectors, as well as between the Global North and the Global South? Then the International Institute of Social Studies is the place for you!

As ISS Business Developer & Partnerships Officer, you initiate collaboration with domestic or international parties who need expert consultants, excellent teachers for non-degree courses or who are looking for a knowledge broker between public, private and academic organisations.

Your goal? Acquiring new contract research assignments, creating teaching programmes for interested parties, and connecting organisations with ongoing research. Another goal is establishing and maintaining new strategic partnerships both in The Hague, the Netherlands and abroad. Thanks to you, future partners understand the importance of our research and expertise and are prepared to invest in it.

We are looking or someone with expertise in the broader development field, who understands and gets along with academics and who enjoys working with an established team, while having distinct individual tasks. The role will be pivotal for the consultancy and contract research desk that ISS is establishing; a unit that can work quickly and efficiently when reacting to calls and opportunities. We expect the Business Development & Partnerships Officer to be able to create new and build on existing networks locally in The Hague (NGOs, government, city) within the Netherlands (public and private organisations) and internationally.

Our Business Development & Partnerships Officer will pro-actively scout funding opportunities for both research and teaching and will initiate, organise and coordinate the application for these opportunities

Job description
You will have a good understanding of the Institute’s areas of expertise and be able to advise external parties about them; you will also be able to work closely with academic staff to understand their skillsets and needs with regard to income-generating activities.

You will pro-actively scout funding opportunities for both research and teaching and will initiate, organise and coordinate the application for these opportunities.

You have will develop and foster relationships with customers, clients, partners, sponsors and donors to generate repeat business as well as finding new opportunities.

You will make time to research and identify new business opportunities - including new markets, growth areas, trends, customers, partnerships, products and services - or new ways of reaching existing markets.

You will work closely together with the ISS Institute Board and Research Teams to provide data and information which will support them to develop their strategies on external income – through your regular interaction with the academics within the ISS and with the Institute Board you will be able to see the bigger picture and thus help setting aims and objectives in order to develop and improve our business and reach new audiences.

You will co-design and advise on ways to improve the organisation of the ISS support structure for income-generating activities, through continuous planning, monitoring and evaluation processes to create an effective and efficient environment.

You will actively research the opportunities in the field and will attend and present at appropriate seminars, conferences and events to build ISS’ network and profile.

You are educated to Master's level (having a PhD would be a bonus), with experience in Business Development or Partnership Development, preferably in Development Studies/Social Science.

Your command of Dutch and English language is at a high-level as the role will require embeddedness in both Dutch and international networks.

You have excellent interpersonal and networking skills for building and developing relationships both with external partners and clients and ISS/EUR staff; ideally you have a proven track-record of acquiring contract research and/or consultancy work and an existing network of client-organisations.

You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, as well as presentation skills – these are needed as you will be communicating with a range of people, both internally and externally, as well as representing ISS and its expertise in smaller and larger settings.

You will have a flexible approach to the job with the ability to adapt to a fast-paced, ever-changing environment and you have the ability to think outside of the box to come up with new funding sources for either research or teaching activities.

You are motivated by targets, deliverables and opportunities, while not losing sight of your work-environment and the sensitivities and needs of others.

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1 June 2025 and you will be based at International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. This position is for 0.8 fte - 1 fte. The salary is dependent on your experience and knowledge and ranges from a minimum of € 4.537 to a maximum of € 6.209 gross per month Scale 11 on a fulltime basis (38 hours), in accordance with the CAO-NU. The contract is offered for a period of 1 year and can be converted into an employment contract for an indefinite period if suitability is proven and if (financial and/or organizational) circumstances remain the same.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

• Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!
• Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.
• Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.
• Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.
• Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).
• Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)
ISS is a leading academic centre for international development studies. While based in The Hague, the ISS is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam.

ISS was established in 1952 as a post-graduate institute of policy-oriented critical social science and development-oriented research. ISS offers a PhD in Development Studies, a 15,5 month MA in Development Studies, a joint MA in Public Policy (Mundus MAPP), a MPA in Governance delivered in Suriname, and post-graduate Diploma courses.

ISS brings together a highly diverse international community of scholars and students from both the global South and the global North, who on average originate from over 50 different countries. The Institute brings together people, ideas, and insights in a multi-disciplinary setting which nurtures, fosters and promotes critical thinking and innovative research on fundamental social problems. Our strong partnerships with organizations and individuals in the global South make up a vibrant network where we co-create knowledge so that teaching and research are societally relevant. Key to the ISS philosophy and practices is the wish to contribute to achieving social justice and equity on a global level.