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Director General

Employer
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Location
Grenoble (Canton), Isère (FR)
Salary
To negociate
Closing date
Apr 23, 2019

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Discipline
Physical Sciences, Physics, Other, Particle Physics
Position Type
Contract
Job Type
President/CEO/Director/VP
Organization Type
Govt.

The European Synchrotron, the ESRF, is an international research centre based in Grenoble, France.

Through its innovative engineering, pioneering scientific vision and a strong commitment from its 700 staff members, the ESRF is recognised as one of the top research facilities worldwide. Its particle accelerator produces intense X-ray beams that are used by thousands of scientists each year for experiments in diverse fields such as biology, medicine, environmental sciences, cultural heritage, materials science, and physics.

Supported by 22 countries, the ESRF is an equal opportunity employer and encourages diversity.

THE INSTITUTE:
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is a world-leading international research institute. Since the 1990’s it operates a storage ring as a dedicated source of synchrotron radiation in the hard X-ray region and experimental beamlines which use the most advanced technology in X-ray optics, detectors and data management systems, to push experimental measurements to optimum performance. The ESRF welcomes close to 6000 scientists every year for experiments in fundamental and applied research, in fields such as physics, biology, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, cultural heritage, materials and surface science. The cutting-edge research carried out at ESRF results in about 1800 peer-reviewed scientific publications every year. ESRF is currently involved in 15 Horizon2020 competitive grants.

The ESRF is a joint undertaking by twenty-two countries with the common interest to strengthen European research and to improve scientific cooperation across disciplinary and national boundaries. It is established as a “Société Civile” under French law.

The ESRF supports the use of its experimental facilities by the scientific communities of its partner countries within the budget decided yearly by the Council. The ESRF has an annual budget of 100 M€ and employs close to 700 international staff.

Since 2009, the ESRF is undergoing a major Upgrade Programme which is foreseen to be completed in 2022. The second phase of this programme, which started in 2015, the so-called ESRF-Extremely Brilliant Source programme (ESRF-EBS), is centred on the construction of a revolutionary low-emittance light source that will increase the brilliance and coherence of the X-ray beams produced by a factor of 100:  https://www.esrf.eu/about/upgrade. The facility has currently interrupted its operation until September 2020 in order to proceed with the installation and commissioning of the new storage ring and the adaptation and upgrade of beamlines.

THE FUNCTION:
The Director General is the chief executive of the ESRF and its legal representative. He/she decides on the planning, co-ordination and execution of the ESRF Company’s objectives as defined in its Statutes, and prepares and implements decisions of the ESRF Council.

The Director General is assisted by four directors:

  • one Machine Director, responsible for the synchrotron radiation source and in charge of the Accelerator and Source Division;
  • two Directors of Research, responsible for the experimental infrastructure and in charge of the Experiments Division, and
  • one Director of Administration, responsible for the organisation of all administrative work at the ESRF and in charge of the Administration Division.

The Director General is further assisted by the Heads of the Technical Infrastructure and the Instrumentation Services and Development divisions, who each liaise with the Directors in their respective fields of responsibility.
In particular, the Director General:

  • represents the facility in all aspects towards its stakeholders and in the European and international scientific environment;
  • sets up the general directives for the development of the ESRF programme by the formulation of a resource-loaded medium-term scientific programme;
  • is responsible for the implementation of ESRF programme, including the operation of the facility, the development of its scientific and technical programmes and the implementation of the annual budget;
  • closely involves the Directors in all areas of his/her work and chairs the Directors’ meetings (Management Board). He/she liaises closely with the Chairman of the Council in all matters concerning the operation and management of the Company;
  • chairs the Social and Economic Committee (CSE – Comité Social et Économique, former Works Committee, Comité d’Entreprise)

The candidates shall be distinguished scientists with extensive experience in the use of synchrotron radiation for cutting-edge research, and in the development of synchrotron radiation instrumentation and/or applications. He/she is required to have proven leadership, preferably in an international environment, and to have well-developed management, communication and administrative skills. The candidate should possess excellent oral and written communication skills in English, while knowledge of French is a valuable asset.

In accordance with the ESRF Statutes , the appointment on the position is for a period of 5 years.

In order to apply to the position of Director General at the ESRF, interested candidates are invited to address by e-mail their CV and motivation letter to the Chair of the Search Committee, Prof. Miguel Ángel García Aranda.

Deadline for applications: 23/04/2019

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