The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) is launching a call for expression of interest to recruit up to six European Innovation Council (EIC) Programme Managers (PMs).
More about the European Innovation Council
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has been established under the EU Horizon Europe programme. It supports game changing innovations throughout the lifecycle from early stage research, to proof of concept, technology transfer, and the financing and scale up of start-ups and SMEs. It has a budget of €10.1 billion (2021-2027).The strategy and implementation of the EIC is steered by the EIC Board, composed of independent advisers appointed from the world of innovation (researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and others from the European deep-tech innovation ecosystem).
The EIC and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) was established on 12 February 2021. It groups programmes with a clear focus on innovation and the single market. In particular, EISMEA supports the EIC Board and its President, and implements, on behalf of the European Commission, the EIC activities that are set out in the annual EIC Work Programme.
The EIC is more than a funding programme. It takes a proactive approach to project and programme management in order to turn frontier technological visions into real business opportunities. The EIC Programme Managers provide the high–profile leadership to identify, develop, implement and promote such visions, and to nurture potential market–creating innovation out of EIC–funded projects and activities.
Job description
The EIC Programme Managers are recognised experts in emerging science–and–technology areas, with a visionary drive to turn new technological breakthroughs into relevant and responsible innovations for Europe and for the world.
They have a leading role in developing and executing the EIC strategy to support new technologies and innovations in their area, creating value for the EIC awardees, European businesses and citizens. Their task is to identify, develop, implement and promote visionary objectives in the areas of their expertise, and to nurture potential market–creating innovation out of portfolios of EIC–funded projects and activities. EIC Programme Managers are appointed for a period of up to four years.
For the full job description, please read the call for expression of interest.
Areas of expertise and challenges
The call is looking for candidates with science, technology and innovation expertise in cutting–edge areas that are complementary to those covered by current Programme Managers. Below are some examples – by no means exhaustive or prescriptive – of such areas:
- Unconventional ICT and cybersecurity;
- New frontiers in Artificial or Robotic/Synthetic Intelligence;
- Quantum technologies;
- Human–centric technologies addressing relevant individual, social or societal issues;
- Fem–Tech (research, methods, technologies that are designed to target women’s
specificities, health and well–being); - Bio–inspired or hybrid technologies for new products and applications;
- Food chain technologies, novel foods and sustainable nutrition for an economics of
well–being; - Planet–first technologies for environmental, biodiversity or socio–ecological issues;
- New technologies for the Blue Economy;
- Novel propulsion and transportation technologies;
- Space data, technologies and applications;
The EIC is particularly interested in deep–tech (science driven) challenges for which the underlying science is starting to mature to a point where new technological possibilities can be envisaged. Such challenges will require novel interdisciplinary collaborations (including with social sciences and humanities, where relevant), ambitious targets, high–risk approaches and proactive steering of projects and project portfolios in order to unlock, in due time, radical innovation, create new markets or redefine sectorial or societal landscapes.
Eligibility criteria
- Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at
least four years attested by a diploma in a field related to breakthrough technology
and/or deep–tech innovation; - Have thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union and of a
satisfactory knowledge of another EU language to the extent necessary for the
performance of the duties; - Be a national of a Member State of the European Union;
- Be entitled to his/her full rights as a citizen;
- Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service;
- Meet the character requirements for the duties involved;
- Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post
Find out more about the selection criteria, selection and application procedures in the call for expression of interest.
Applicants from the ECS community are invited to apply.