Call for Applications

The International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) is opening and international call to fill the position of Director General of the organization.

The new Director General must meet the challenge of increasing the scientific level and the international prestige of CIMNE and boosting the translational research carried out at the organization.

Brief description of CIMNE

The International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE, www.cimne.com) started in 1987 as a non-profit research institution based in Barcelona as a joint initiative of the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya) and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC BarcelonaTech) in cooperation with UNESCO. It has the legal form of a Consortium between the  Generalitat of Catalonia and UPC.

CIMNE is member of CERCA (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya). The network of Research Centers at Catalonia.

The mission of CIMNE is the development of numerical methods and computational techniques for advancing scientific knowledge and technology in engineering, the education and training of researchers and engineers and the transfer of the research outputs to society.

CIMNE researchers carry out first class research activities in the framework of competitive international and national research programs and research contracts with industry, publish in the best scientific journals in the field, train excellent researchers and promote international research and academic activities.

CIMNE has a professional scientific and technical management team, a critical mass of researchers and on-going research projects, real possibilities of growing and establishing durable links with industrial and business sectors, and the capacity of leading technological projects, both national and international.

CIMNE aims at fostering innovation potential by making novel scientific knowledge accessible to society and supporting its implementation in cooperation with industry, mainly via the existing network of CIMNE spin-off companies. Combining engineering development and scientific research empowers CIMNE to connect academia, applied research and industry.

In this way, CIMNE significantly contributes to the economic growth of the industrial sector, by becoming a partner of solid reputation in research and technological development activities, as well as a provider of knowledge and human resources for industrial research.

Over the years CIMNE has consolidated its prestige as an international Center of Excellence in the field of numerical methods in engineering. The excellence of CIMNE is acknowledged by the Spanish Government in 2020 by selecting CIMNE as one of the Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence, the highest recognition to research organizations in Spain.

Details of the activities of CIMNE can be found at www.cimne.com.

The report of CIMNE activities in 2020 can be downloaded from

http://annualreport2020.cimne.com/

Candidate profile and contact information

Candidates should have:

• Distinguished track record of scientific excellence in the field of computational engineering
• Research management experience and demonstrated innovative thinking to lead a dynamic research organization
• Knowledge of strategic planning and resource allocation

The Director General of CIMNE will have the support of a managing board. The current management structure of CIMNE can be visited at https://www.cimne.com/2417/2696/about/organization

It will be considered favourable:

1. A University Professorship (teaching position)
2. Good knowledge of the International, Spanish and Catalan research environment

Salary will be agreed in terms of experience.

The appointment will be for a period of 5 years, which could be extended in agreement with the Governing Council of CIMNE.

Job description

The Director General has the following duties:

• Draw up the specific objectives of CIMNE
• Manage, organise, execute and monitor CIMNE activities
• Prepare periodic reports to Generalitat de Catalunya, the governing bodies of CIMNE and the Severo Ochoa program, among others
• Manage actions oriented towards securing resources
• Hire/appoint personnel
• Promote the training of the scientific and technical staff
• Support the actions requested by CERCA
• Other functions that might be requested by the Governing Council

Selection process

Suitable candidates to the position of Director General of CIMNE will be identified and ranked by a Ranking Committee (RC) formed by a group of members of the Scientific Advisory Board of CIMNE, selected by the Governing Council of CIMNE. The RC can be advised by any other expert as required. A short list of the ranked candidates will be presented to the Ad-hoc Selection Committee (ASC) created by the Governing Council of CIMNE.

The ASC will be responsible for selecting at most two candidates from the short list. During this selection phase the candidates in the short list might be invited to visit CIMNE and/or meet the ASC for an interview.

The selected candidate(s) will be presented by the ASC to the Governing Council. The Governing Council will appoint the new Director General.

Application documents:

Applicants should send a CV (free format) and a cover letter (maximum of two pages) expressing their motivation to apply for this position and their general intentions as Director General of CIMNE by e-mail to applications@cerca.cat

Calendar:

• July 23^rd 2021: Open call for applications
• October 8^th 2021: Deadline for submitting applications (call closes).
• First week of November 2021: Short list of candidates chosen by the RC
• Second half of November 2021: Selected candidate(s) chosen by the ASC

The Governing Council will appoint the new Director General of CIMNE in its winter meeting to be held not later than end of December 2021.

The above dates are tentative. Any changes will be publicized.

The decision on the appointment will be announced at the end of the process.

Barcelona, June 29^th 2021

Related news: Javier Bonet, the new director of CIMNE