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Knowledge Management and Research Coordinator

Knowledge Management and Research Coordinator
European philanthropy knowledge and learning centre
32 hours per week


The Erasmus Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (ECSP) was founded to contribute to the performance and effectiveness of the philanthropic sector, with a focus on European (non-grantseeking) foundations. We aspire to be a preeminent knowledge and learning centre that supports, stimulates and challenges foundations in realizing their full potential for societal benefit.
ECSP offers capacity building services to established and beginning foundations and their main stakeholders, in the areas of Research, Training & Education and Advisory Services. We initiate boundary-crossing research projects, develop competence-oriented learning programs, and provide complementary consulting services upon request. We value the development of a vital philanthropy learning ecosystem for practitioners and academics in Europe and contribute to that as a platform for knowledge sharing.
ECSP was established by two faculties of the Erasmus University, the Erasmus School of Economics and Rotterdam School of Management, and Adessium Foundation. We are an independent centre, located on the Erasmus University campus in Rotterdam to facilitate access to academic thought leaders in the fields of economics, management, social sciences, law, history and philosophy. This provides a setting where we can initiate and facilitate a mutually enriching learning dialogue between philanthropy practitioners and academics.
We are building a small dedicated ECSP team that will draw on a flexible and growing network of international partners, both academic and otherwise, to help us execute our ambitious program. The Knowledge Management and Research Coordinator embodies our bridging role between practitioners and academics and acts as our academic compass and linking pin.

Profile
You work directly with the Executive Director in shaping the research agenda, identifying funding opportunities, organizing research projects and developing academic and research partnerships. You have experience in academia and know the challenges, needs and opportunities of that environment. Your role requires the ability to converse with practitioners and academics equally effective, balancing a focus on the needs of practitioners with an appreciation for academic curiosity and rigor. Considering our current “start-up” situation, we are looking for a motivated individual that is willing to participate hands-on in all our capacity building services.

Job description
• Maintaining an on-going dialogue with practitioners to identify knowledge and learning needs, and translating these into interesting research opportunities.
• Developing research partnerships with academics from Erasmus University and other academic institutions, associations (philanthropic and otherwise) and strategic partners.
• Acting as an antenna regarding research opportunities and activities of other (academic) institutions, and providing input into the development of a distinguishing research agenda.
• Organizing opportunities for philanthropy practitioners and academics from different fields to interact and identify overlapping interests.
• Identifying public and private funding opportunities (including contract research), writing funding proposals in close cooperation with academics, and negotiating contract terms.
• Writing calls for proposals to draw interest from researchers, organizing projects and research consortia, monitoring progress, evaluating results and reporting to donors and clients.
• Converting relevant research results into useful practitioner materials for knowledge dissemination through training and education, advisory services and general publication.
• Representing the organization externally.
And:
• Participating in research projects, training and education activities, consulting assignments and platform events when necessary.
Qualifications & Requirements
• Relevant doctoral degree (PhD).
• Track record in professional development and/or consulting, ideally with in-depth knowledge of a subject relevant to ECSP’s target group (e.g. impact; partnerships; governance).
• Experience in the philanthropy/NGO sector, ideally in an area such as knowledge management.
• Able to judge the applicability of a broad set of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
• Fluent in Dutch and English, both spoken and written; ability to communicate in German, French or Italian is highly advantageous.
• Proven skills in communication (both writing and oral), people management and project management.
• Computer literate: MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and MS Outlook.
• Affinity with the goals and target group of ECSP.
• Able to switch between the worlds of practitioners and academics and connect these two worlds.
• Mindset: service-oriented, result-driven, professional, flexible, pro-active and hands-on.
• Curious and creative; enjoying working in teams
ECSP offer
ECSP offers a challenging and interesting job opportunity in a dynamic international environment. The solid compensation package is in line with the sector and is based on age and experience. ECSP has a fulltime workweek of 40 hours and offers 25 vacation days a year, based on a fulltime employment agreement.

Application procedure
Suitable candidates can send their full resume and a comprehensive cover letter in English to:
Ms. Lonneke van der Waa; info@ecsp.nl
Closing date for applications is May 4, 2014.
Please refer to: Knowledge Management and Research Coordinator ECSP.
For more information: www.ecsp.nl