Director of Education, Policy and Research
This role offers you the opportunity to find the solutions that address environmental and societal issues through the adoption of circular economy practices.
Working with the Rediscovery Centre as the Director of Education, Policy and Research offers you the opportunity to lead two teams dedicated to finding the solutions that address environmental and societal issues through the adoption of circular economy principles and practice. We are looking for an experienced and inspirational leader with strong analytical, strategy and stakeholder engagement skills.
Reporting directly to the CEO and the Board of Directors, this role will lead the education, policy and research activities at the centre, growing the teams and operations to support the development of the circular economy within Ireland and internationally. This is a key senior role at the Rediscovery Centre.
The Education, Policy & Research teams uphold the key strategic objectives of the organisation, furthering public understanding and knowledge of the circular economy, from primary level education all the way to informing government policy.
Key responsibilities will include but will not be limited to:
* Managing and developing the current, and future, strategic plan for the Education, Policy & Research department in collaboration with the CEO and Board of Directors.
* Effectively managing all research and educational services.
* Leading, developing and growing the teams’ capacities.
* Team management including recruitment, performance, staff training and development, appraisal and succession planning.
* Developing collaborative relationships internally and externally.
* Ensuring compliance with HR, health & safety and operational policies and procedures.
* Assuming financial responsibility of the relevant departments, including funder reporting and compliance with relevant public spending restrictions.
* Creating and presenting internal reports to the CEO and the board of directors.
* Representing the organisation and developing and raising the profile of the Rediscovery Centre.
* Key responsibilities relating to Education: Advancing Lifelong Learning: Leading the team in delivering targeted circular economy education within the formal education sector through content delivery, curriculum development and continuous professional development for school leadership and staff. Creating new education opportunities through project proposals, funding applications, partnerships and award submissions within Ireland and the EU in support of circular economy objectives. Responsibility for all education projects, ensuring timely delivery, internal and external communications and reporting, stakeholder management, financial control and budget management, managing teams and resources. Delivering research and analysis to enable the team to remain at the forefront of Circular Economy education. Building on and developing strong relationships with academic institutions, local authorities, government agencies and other educational organisations to create opportunities to promote the circular economy.
* Key responsibilities relating to Policy & Research: Advancing leading-edge circular economy research and best practice. Developing and implementing with the Head of Research the centre’s research strategy, building on the centre’s expertise and responding to European and national research and policy developments. Creating new research and other funding opportunities through coordinating project proposals, funding applications, partnerships and award submissions within Ireland and the EU in support of circular economy objectives. Supporting social enterprise development and participating in the centre’s mentoring programmes such as the CE Academy. Responsibility for all research projects, ensuring timely delivery, internal and external communications and reporting, stakeholder management, financial control and budget management, managing teams and resources. Providing leadership as a strong and credible voice for the circular economy. Building on and developing strong relationships with industry partners, local authorities, government agencies and academic institutions to create opportunities to promote the circular economy. Representing the Centre on national platforms/representative bodies, at meetings, conferences and events. Disseminating policy and research on the circular economy, including through: National public awareness campaigns, platforms and tools. Dissemination of research results and conferences and training events within Ireland and the EU, as well as via digital and traditional channels. Informing policy development and implementation through evidence, insight and practice. Informing research needs and supporting the translation of the Centre’s research into policy recommendations. Developing and delivering on a policy advocacy plan. Leading policy consultation responses, position papers and communications.
* Undertaking other duties as may be reasonably required and which are consistent with the general level of responsibility of this job.
* Minimum third level qualification to masters degree level or equivalent.
* Minimum of 8 years’ relevant experience including team leadership.
* At least 5 years’ experience working in policy, research and/or educational development.
* Significant project management experience, analytical skills and proven ability to delegate effectively and oversee the effective use of resources.
* Previous experience of building and managing effective teams in a senior management role.
* Experience of writing and managing successful large scale collaborative projects funding proposals (€ > 400K).
* Previous experience of financial control; including funder reporting and compliance with public funding expenditure guidelines.
* Previous experience of working on policy reviews and interpretation.
* Experience in marketing and disseminating policy & research outcomes.
* Keen interest and knowledge of environmental issues and the circular economy.
Desirable Skills, Personal Attributes and Interests
* Self-motivated, highly organised individual with ability to coordinate multiple projects.
* Strong communication and interpersonal skills to work with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels of collaboration.
* Proficient in the use of IT and programmes including Microsoft Office (Work, Excel, PowerPoint), MS Project (desirable), Google (Docs, Sheets, Slides), etc.
* Previous experience of working on large scale EU projects (desirable).
* Previous experience with use of Salesforce (desirable).
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