Introduction
As of January 2021 the CLARIN European Research Infrastructure Consortium (CLARIN ) will have an opening for the position of member of the Board of Directors (20% fte) who will work closely together with the other directors. The vacancy is a consequence of the fact that the last term of Darja Fišer will have run out by the end of 2020. The appointment of the new member will be for a term of two years, with the possibility of prolongation for another term of two years.
The mission of CLARIN ERIC (www.clarin.eu) is to develop and maintain Europe’s common language resources and technology infrastructure. At the same time CLARIN serves as an ecosystem for the exchange of knowledge and experience that is crucial for the uptake of CLARIN within the domains in which digital scholarship is rapidly developing, in particular in the social sciences and humanities.
Responsibilities and tasks
The tasks to be taken up by the new member of the Board of Directors follow from the responsibilities of the executive body of CLARIN:
- to prepare and implement strategic action lines needed for the smooth operation of CLARIN ERIC, the further articulation and implementation of the prevailing value proposition, and the consolidation of the technological maturity of CLARIN
- to optimize the conditions for a sustainable future of what CLARIN has developed
- to foster the effective collaboration between the various bodies that are responsible for the governance of the ERIC
- to ensure optimal alignment of the agenda of the BoD with the strategy and activities of the National Coordinators’ Forum ( ) and the Strategy and Management Board (SAMBA), and to support the coordination between the national consortia.
Instruments are in place to implement the CLARIN strategy and the envisaged activities to be undertaken, but the development of new action lines that would support the agreed strategic planning would be welcomed.
Envisaged profile
In view of the current stage of development of the CLARIN infrastructure, the profiles of the other members of the BoD and the challenges that CLARIN is facing, applications are solicited from candidates with a profile that ideally would include the following elements:
- a clear vision on how CLARIN can reach out to existing and new communities of use
- a good insight into instruments for teaching, training and outreach that could be deployed to increase the awareness among new generations of researchers of what CLARIN has on offer and
- involvement in the implementation of such instruments
- proven experience in setting up and/or deploying instruments for the exchange of knowledge and expertise in a cross-national and/or multidisciplinary context
- good understanding of what is needed to increase the potential of a research infrastructure such as CLARIN for generating impact along the dimension of societal challenges.
In addition we expect that the suitability of candidates is also evidenced by:
- familiarity with CLARIN, its mission and vision, and the concept of research infrastructure ( ) in general
- ample engagement in one or more of the relevant networks in which the European Open Science agenda is guiding the developments
- familiarity with the dynamics in the European landscape of RIs (e.g., , )
- familiarity with the major scholarly paradigms in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and the role of infrastructural support
- established connections with and good visibility in one or more of the research communities that CLARIN aims to serve and/or that contribute to the spectrum of services that CLARIN is making available
- a relevant academic track record (PhD-level, plus a convincing combination of publications and/or involvement in the development of use cases, demonstrators, tools or data sets)
- a relevant institutional affiliation that is guaranteed till at least the end of 2022
- excellent communication skills.
A balanced diversity in the composition of the BoD as a whole will be sought along all relevant dimensions, including gender and regional background.
Conditions of employment
The tasks can be carried out from the applicant’s home institute as basis. The applicant’s home institute will be reimbursed for the release time provided to CLARIN ERIC on the basis of the applicant’s regular salary (plus overhead). Occasional travel to CLARIN events and participation in (virtual) meetings of the CLARIN ERIC Board of Directors is required. Funds for administrative support and a travel budget will be provided.
How to apply
- Applications (including CV, publication list, statement of motivation) as well as requests for information should be sent to Franciska de Jong, Executive Director of CLARIN ERIC, by email: f.m.g.dejong [at] uu.nl (f[dot]m[dot]g[dot]dejong[at]uu[dot]nl); the phrase "member BoD" should be included in the subject header.
- The application deadline is 8 June 2020.
- The initial steps of the selection procedure will most likely have to be run in a period that may still be strongly affected by the corona virus dynamics. The intention is not to arrange face-to-face interviews in a period that would exclude candidates because of travel constraints. If need be, the period for the selection procedure will be prolonged into Q3 of 2020.
More information about CLARIN can be found on our website www.clarin.eu.