General Director – Fryske Akademy-KNAW – Leeuwarden

The Fryske Akademy is looking for a General Director who will strengthen the scientific role of the institute in the field of Frisian language, history and culture, minority studies and multilingualism.

About the Fryske Academy

The Fryske Akademy in Leeuwarden conducts academic research into the Frisian language, the multilingual society and the history of Friesland, making a critically constructive contribution to the development of society and to the international academic debate.

As an institute affiliated to the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Fryske Akademy remains firmly anchored in the Frisian region and shares its knowledge with numerous academic institutions and civil-society parties in the Netherlands and abroad, such as the Dutch Language Institute (INT), Campus Fryslân/University of Groningen and the Centre for Language and Speech Technology (CLST). 

Important developments within our organisation

In the years ahead, the Fryske Akademy wants to further develop into a research institute with a strong network function that works closely with other Dutch and international academic and civil-society organisations, both within Friesland and beyond.

The emphasis is on strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between research areas within the linguistic and historical disciplines. The research programme is divided into several lines of research. These fall partly under the main theme ‘History of Friesland’ and partly under the main theme ‘Language in Friesland’.

The foundation is working towards a small permanent staff, which cooperates proactively with other academic institutions in the area. To this end, our tasks, mission and programmes have been critically reviewed and redefined in recent months. By conducting excellent and innovative research in specific fields and supplying products with a major social impact, the Fryske Akademy wants to make itself attractive as a research institute and as an employer, in particular for young talent.

Tasks

The General Director holds a position with managerial and academic tasks. You can continue to carry out part of your work in your own academic discipline.

Together with the Supervisory Board, the staff and other parties involved, you shape the strategic policy and are responsible for its preparation and implementation. In doing so, you ensure the academic quality, public support and financial continuity of the organisation.

In addition, you take care of the external contacts and represent the organisation when working with cooperation partners, public authorities and other stakeholders. You actively build on and participate in various regional and national networks.

Your profile

For this job:

• you have a broad vision of the academic role and societal function of the research institute and you know how to translate this into the policy and further development of the foundation;
• you actively seek cooperation with related organisations and stand for the importance of the Frisian language and culture and the corresponding research;
• you have an eye for the balance between academic, social and financial returns, and you weigh up opportunities and risks in good time;
• you have a large national and international network, including in the academic sector, and are demonstrably able to use it for strategic alliances and the acquisition of research grants;
• you are a connecting leader with vision and focused on results; you coach, motivate and inspire, you place responsibilities on the lowest possible level in the organization and give employees space and trust;
• you are not afraid to make decisions and you are clear, consistent and decisive;
• you monitor the image of the foundation and you are able to deal successfully with the media.