Executive director

The Executive Director is the legal representative of the Joint Undertaking. S/he represents the Joint Undertaking towards the ECSEL/KDT community. S/he shall perform her/his tasks with independence and shall be accountable to the Governing Board.

The Executive Director will lead and manage the Joint Undertaking and take overall responsibility for its operations including budget implementation, as well as ensure the achievement of its objectives. As such, s/he will play an important role in the implementation of the Joint Undertaking.

Based on Article 9 of the Statutes of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking annexed to the Council Regulation, the Executive Director’s responsibilities and tasks will include:

• Act as the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking in accordance with the decisions of the Governing Board.
• Act as the legal representative of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking. The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Governing Board.
• Implement the budget of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking.
• Carry out, in particular, the following tasks in an independent manner:
• consolidate and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the draft multiannual strategic plan composed of the multiannual strategic research and innovation agenda as proposed by the Private Members Board and the multiannual financial perspectives from the public authorities;
• prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the draft annual budget, including the corresponding staff establishment plan indicating the number of temporary posts in each grade and function group and the number of contract staff and seconded national experts expressed in full-time equivalents;
• prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the draft work plan including the scope of the calls for proposals needed to implement the research and innovation activities plan as proposed by the Private Members Board and the corresponding expenditure estimates as proposed by the public authorities;
• submit for opinion to the Governing Board the annual accounts;
• prepare and submit for approval to the Governing Board the annual activity report, including the information on corresponding expenditure;
• sign individual grant agreements and decisions;
• sign procurement contracts;
• implement the ECSEL Joint Undertaking’s communication policy;
• organise, direct and supervise the operations and the staff of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking within the limits of the delegation by the Governing Board as provided for in Article 6(2) of the ECSEL Council Regulation;
• establish and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system and reporting any significant change to it to the Governing Board;
• ensure that risk assessment and risk management are performed;
• take any other measures needed to assess the progress of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking towards its objectives as set out in Article 2 of the ECSEL Council Regulation;
• perform any other tasks entrusted or delegated to the Executive Director by the Governing Board.
• Set up a Programme Office for the execution, under her or his responsibility, of all support tasks arising from the ECSEL Council Regulation. The Programme Office shall be composed of the staff of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking and shall in particular carry out the following tasks:
• provide support in establishing and managing an appropriate accounting system in accordance with the financial rules of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking;
• manage the calls for proposals as provided for in the work plan and administer the grant agreements and decisions;
• provide the members and the other bodies of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking with all relevant information and support necessary for them to perform their duties as well as responding to their specific requests;
• act as the secretariat of the bodies of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking and provide support to advisory groups set up by the Governing Board.

At the point of entry into force of the proposed Single Basic Act (including the KDT Joint Undertaking), the tasks of the Executive Director will be in accordance with what is set out in this Council Regulation, in particular, in Article 18.

Based on Article 18 of the proposed Single Basic Act, the Executive Director’s responsibilities and tasks will include:

• Act as the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the Joint Undertaking in accordance with the decisions of the Governing Board. S/he shall provide the Governing Board with all information necessary for the performance of its functions. Without prejudice to the respective competencies of the Union institutions and the Governing Board, the Executive Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body.
• Act as the legal representative of the Joint Undertaking. S/he shall be accountable to the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking.
• Implement the budget of the Joint Undertaking.
• Carry out the following tasks for the Joint Undertaking:
• ensure sustainable and efficient management of the Joint Undertaking;
• prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the draft annual budget and the staff establishment plan;
• prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the work programme and the corresponding expenditure estimates for the Joint Undertaking, to implement the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda;
• submit for opinion to the Governing Board the annual accounts for the Joint Undertaking;
• prepare and submit for assessment and approval to the Governing Board the consolidated annual activity report;
• monitoring the contributions referred to in point (a) of Article 11(1) of the proposed Single Basic Act, report to the Governing Board regularly on the progress in achieving the targets and propose remedial or corrective measures, where necessary;
• establish a formal and regular collaboration with the European partnerships identified in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and in accordance with the strategic orientation provided by the Governing Board;
• represent the Joint Undertaking in meetings within the scope of the Horizon Europe governance;
• submit for approval to the Public Authorities Board the list of actions to be selected for funding by the Joint Undertaking;
• assess applications for associated members to the Joint Undertaking following an open call for expression of interest and submitting proposals for associated members to the Governing Board;
• inform regularly the other bodies of the Joint Undertaking on all matters relevant to their role;
• sign individual grant agreements and decisions in her or his remit on behalf of the Joint Undertaking;
• sign procurement contracts on behalf of the Joint Undertaking;
• implement the communications policy of the Joint Undertaking;
• organise, direct and supervise the operations and the staff of the Joint Undertaking within the limits of the delegations by the Governing Board;
• establish and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system and report any significant change to it to the Governing Board;
• protect the financial interests of the Union by applying preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities by means of effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by recovering amounts that were wrongly paid and, where appropriate, imposing effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties;
• ensure the carrying out of risk assessments and risk management for the Joint Undertaking;
• take any other measures necessary for assessing the progress of the Joint Undertaking towards achieving its objectives;
• prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board a plan for the phasing out of the Joint Undertaking from Horizon Europe funding;
• perform any other tasks entrusted or delegated to her or him by the Governing Board or as may be required by the proposed Single Basic Act;
• have the power to delegate her or his powers to other staff members subject to rules to be adopted in accordance with the last paragraph of Article 16(4) of the proposed Single Basic Act.
• Set up a programme office for the execution under her or his responsibility, of all support tasks of the Joint Undertaking deriving from the proposed Single Basic Act. The programme office shall be composed of the staff of the Joint Undertaking and shall in particular carry out the following tasks:
• provide support in establishing and managing an appropriate accounting system in accordance with the financial rules for the joint undertaking;
• manage the implementation of the work programme of the Joint Undertaking throughout the implementation cycle;
• provide to the members and the bodies of the Joint Undertaking all relevant information and support necessary for them to perform their duties;
• act as the secretariat of the bodies of the Joint Undertaking and providing support to advisory groups set up by the Governing Board.

The Executive Director may also be subject to any specific rules set out in the specific part of the proposed Single Basic Act concerning the KDT

Joint Undertaking (Articles 124-141).

For application : https://www.ecsel.eu/vacancies