Project Management Officer - PMO

1 - Working at the VUB

For almost 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and connectedness. These values are strongly present on our campuses, in our students as well as our staff. At the VUB, you’ll find a diverse collection of personalities: pure innovators and especially people who are 100% their authentic selves. With about 3.500 employees, we are the largest Flemish-speaking employer in Brussels, an international city with which we are all too happy to be connected, and around which our four campuses are located.

2 - Position Description

Are you passionate about research and development in the field of Genetics, Reproduction and Development (GRAD)? Do you want to work in a dynamic team researching issues of fundamental societal significance?

Then you are exactly the person we are looking for! The GRAD Large Research Group is hiring a Project Management Officer who provides management, administrative and financial support for the group and forms a link between the team’s professors, the administration services of Universitair Ziekenhuis (UZ) Brussels, and the central services of the VUB.

YOUR TASKS

• Close collaboration with the management of GRAD. Taking initiative and being a networker are important skills.
• Administrative-financial management of GRAD, including project and personnel management, budget and HR follow-up and optimization.
• Follow-up of contractual and financial aspects of scientific services and day-to-day operations, meeting and project progress reports.
• Supporting and advising on personnel matters, finance, research projects and the securing of external funding.
• General administration (approvals, orders, reporting and following up technical defects) and administration regarding ethical applications and clinical trials.
• Research project-related tasks such as organizing project events and workshops, outreach activities, coordinating desk allocation and management of the website.
• SPOC for questions from the team researchers. You look for solutions based on your own expertise and in coordination with the administration of the UZ Brussels and the central services of the VUB.
• Facilitating communication and optimizing administrative processes between research groups, UZ Brussels and the central services of VUB, as well as liaising with our broader institutional network.

 The VUB Health Campus in Jette will serve as your home base.

3 - Profile

Essential requirements:

• Master’s degree or equivalent through experience.
• Highly proficient in both spoken and written English (at least CEFR level C1), a sound knowledge of Dutch is an asset. You can easily tailor your message to your target audience.
• Highly organized, with an aptitude in planning effectively to meet deadlines and to go beyond the project proposal ambition. A strong focus on detail and an affinity with numbers. Proficient in Excel.
• A born networker and you like to form a link between professors, UZ Brussels and the central services of the VUB. A proactive problem solver.
• You can make an important contribution to simplification and optimization of processes based on analyses, both advisory and executive, and thereby stimulate continuous improvement.

Additional strengths:

• Experience with project planning and (fin/admin) management of academic Research projects.
• You understand the VUB or another university’s context and have experience working in larger teams. You are looking forward to thriving in an international, diverse environment.
• You have knowledge of the Flemish, Belgian and European financing landscape (e.g., FWO, VLAIO, FOD).

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity. will serve as your home base.

4 - Offer

We offer employment as a full-time project management officer for 1 year, to be extended after a positive evaluation, in grade 7, 8 or 9. The position is immediately available and to be filled as soon as possible. The exact start date is negotiable.

You will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalization insurance, full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits at Work (in all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques, nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps

5 - Interested?

Apply at the latest on 5/5/2024 via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter in which you clearly indicate your preference for the project
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Our application process is as follows:

Step 1: CV screening

Step 2: A comparative test to assess your approach and understanding and to help us identify what you are doing well and what you need to learn. This test can be taken at home.

Step 3: An online job interview. A further on-site interview may follow.

Do you have questions about the job content or selection procedure? Contact Barbara Van Belle (Barbara.van.belle@vub.be or 0477 532 788)

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.

6 - For office use

Contract: [[c_contractType]]

Head unit/faculty: Faculteit Geneeskunde en Farmacie

FTE: 1

Function: Management Support

Pay grade group: 7-8-9

Recrutement type: hiring