Technical Director

ABOUT EUROPEANA FOUNDATION
Europeana Foundation operates Europe's platform for digital cultural heritage with a mission to 'transform the world with culture'. From books, photos and paintings to television broadcasts and 3D objects, Europeana provides online access to a vast store of cultural heritage material from across Europe for everyone to find, use and share: for research, for learning, for creating new things. Europeana is co-financed by the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility.

Our work is guided by creative collaboration, supportive teamwork and the idea that sharing and reusing cultural content can transform the world. We represent centuries of trusted guardianship by Europe's cultural institutions so must always ensure that whilst we're pushing the boundaries of what's possible with today's technology, our products and resources are robust and reliable. Our office is based in the National Library of the Netherlands, next to The Hague Central Station.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A TECHNICAL DIRECTOR WHO WILL:
• Direct the strategy and implementation of the Europeana core service platform.
• Be accountable for the technical architecture, product development, data management, software development and infrastructure of the core service platform.
Strategy is set for the development of the front end and public facing products and services, with a strong team working on delivery against user need. The focus for the coming years will be on the development of the platform itself and on the implementation of methods of data ingestion in accordance customer needs.

Ideally you have a strong customer service mentality and experience in the cultural heritage sector or adjacent fields, have an understanding of metadata and have dealt with issues related to multilinguality. You will work in an international environment and be part of a community with strong common values. You will be part of a small team of directors, and manage a third of the workforce.

TEAMS
You will manage a team of 20+ in the following areas:
• Product Development
• Software Development & Infrastructure
• Data Partner Services
• Research & Development

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• TECHNICAL VISION: Develop and execute the technical strategy for Europeana, in alignment with Europeana Strategy 2020 and the yearly Business plans. Setting the goals, discussing options, and analyzing risks.
• TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP: Provide technical leadership for complex projects related to our products & services, making sure the entire technical and system architecture is sound and robust.
• PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: Responsible for the development of a solid product strategy and roadmap. Manage software development processes and be responsible for delivery of programmes and projects in relation to the product roadmap ensuring they are delivered on time, of good quality, and within budget. Particular emphasis will be on production operations, maximizing efficiency and systems in the process of bringing data in, making it work for customers by increasing the ease of use and service levels.
• IT OPERATION: Responsible for operation of IT infrastructure ensuring high availability, security and scalability.
• DATA: Develop a deep understanding of the data formats and models deployed by partners and the issues in standardising these.
• BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Building the company's presence and voice, keeping up on competitive trends and new technological developments to help Europeana improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Leverage the Europeana Tech Network to deliver plans, both for advise and work. Develop and direct funded projects with external partners.
• SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT:Manage suppliers and control quality, holding all vendors accountable to performance against milestone delivery and budget.
•PROMOTION: Take up speaking opportunities, conferences, media activities, etc, to promote the vision and work of Europeana.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
• Management skill: Has 5+ year director-level experiences in IT and technology function.
Managed a team of 20+. Extensive experiences in programme/project management.
Experiences in driving and managing IT processes. Experiences in managing remote teams.
Experiences in managing suppliers. Familiar with project planning and control techniques.
• Strong understanding of web publishing combined with Agile and Scrum methodologies
• Product Development and Service Delivery background
• Extensive experience of design, setup and operation of IT infrastructure, especially operation of live web-based systems (inc. establishing and maintaining processes, monitoring, incident management, disaster recovery and security)
• Extensive experience in managing full life-cycle of software development (inc.
• change management, UAT and release management)
• Broad knowledge of worlds of libraries, museums and archives or scientific, academic publishing is a pre
• Able to represent the service and its projects at all levels of meetings
• Excellent presentation skills
• Large Network management experience
• Degree level education
• Ability to travel regularly

KEY RELATIONSHIPS / CUSTOMERS
• Partners in Projects
• Europeana Tech Network
• Continental Digital Library Technical and Data Directors
• Europeana Stakeholders and Users

SALARY AND BENEFITS
• Your monthly gross salary will be between EUR 5,702 and 6,348 (based on full-time employment)
• Additionally, you will receive a (pro-rated) holiday allowance of 8% and an annual (year end, pro-rated) bonus of 8.33%
• 1 year fixed term contract with possibility of extension depending on funding availability
• We offer 42.25 days holiday per year (based on full-time employment)

HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested in this position, please send your Curriculum Vitae plus motivation letter, both in English, via the 'APPLY' button before the 21 May 2018.

Agency calls not appreciated.