The role of the Research & Innovation Manager sits within the currently developing Research & Innovation Team, reporting directly to the Director in charge of the Research & Innovation team and working closely with Knowledge Management and Sustainability Specialists. You will lead the R&I team and sub-teams as well as contribute to internal strategic initiatives to ensure the building and fostering of an effective innovation culture.

One of your key responsibilities will be to update and manage the UNStudio Research Agenda, having both industry forecasts and internal strategic initiatives in mind, and to create opportunities for its implementation leading towards growth of our expertise in sustainability, technology and economics. To achieve that, you will work closely with the R&I Team to design tools, processes and procedures along state of the art industry standards and best practices. You will promote an experimentation oriented, fail-fast innovation culture through effective scope estimation and tracking. You will proactively seek R&I partnerships bringing together companies, universities, and research institutes and opening up funding prospects for applied research aligned with UNStudio’s strategic goals. You will work together with the Directors and project teams to ensure that the right people are in the team or the correct expertise outside the team is leveraged. Ultimately, this should lead to a mature Research & Innovation portfolio managed in a way that ensures that the lessons learned flow back into projects.

To make it a success, you share UNStudio’s vision for a healthier built environment and have a strategic mindset, insight into future trends and technologies, business acumen, as well as leadership skills and analytical thinking needed to fulfill it. This is a new position within UNStudio and therefore subject to further development.

Role Requirements:

• 8+ years of experience of which 3 in a similar role (research management, innovation management, R&D, R&I)
• Master's degree in architecture or a related field, expertise in sustainability and/or technology as applied to the AEC field is a plus
• Excels at translating research into insights, recommendations and solutions that are transparent to design teams and clients
• Able to create a compelling vision and strategy for applied research and innovation and successfully lead others in that direction
• Experience with foresight methodologies focused on future-proofing by taking advantage of innovative and technological developments within architecture and adjacent fields
• Experience with initiating and leading complex innovation and research projects within the AEC industry/ Built Environment field with a demonstrated ability to identify opportunities and pro-actively set up projects, engage teams and track progress
• A curious and analytical mindset with strong problem-solving skills and ability to think both strategically and operationally in terms of culture, behavior and work processes
• Excellent consultative, facilitation, and engagement skills able to influence, motivate and align multiple teams and individuals
• Excellent leadership skills focused on collaboration, building links and networks across diverse teams and collaborators

When you work at UNStudio

• You have the opportunity to work on high profile, challenging global projects

• You are part of a creative, fresh, professional and academic working environment

• The city centre of Amsterdam is on your doorstep: one of the world's most beautiful cities
  
• Research is an integrated and valued part of your daily work
  
• You have the opportunity to initiate and develop research projects with external companies and institutions
  
• Your experience is highly valued, but your innovative and entrepreneurial attitude is ranked highest
  
• You work in a young international team that is highly ambitious, collegial and social, made up of recently graduated architects, experienced senior architects and everything in-between
• You design through discovery, and learn on the job
  
• You get as much creative freedom as you are willing to take
  
• You find yourself in a responsible position as soon as you are ready
  
• Friday Afternoon Drinks are always waiting for you
  
• Our annual Summer and Winter Events have become legendary

• You have 30 annual holidays, with a holiday allowance in addition to your annual salary