NIAS is looking for a collegiate Curriculum Officer

Are you an academic seeking a career in making state-of-the-art research happen, seen and understood? Then we should very much like to welcome you to our team.

The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Annually, it facilitates some 50 researchers (‘fellows’) from all over the world, enabling them to focus on a subject they are passionately curious about – a curiosity firmly rooted in their knowledge and experience. Our research community has existed for more than 50 years. Producing new knowledge and contributing to a spirit of inquisitiveness, it epitomises that academic freedoms are one pillar of liberal democracy.

Approximately 20 dedicated staff work at NIAS to recruit and select fellows, to facilitate their arrival, stay, research and the research community, and to communicate its calls, activities and results via diverse media and events. NIAS is one of the international leaders in our field.

The NIAS Curriculum Officer is a newly created post. The officer will be part of the Curriculum team, who plan, prepare and chair the weekly fellows’ seminars. They also take stock of the fellows’ academic needs and monitor their wellbeing, as well as facilitate their research and advance their professional networks. They assess fellows’ proposals for expert workshops, acquire and develop volumes in the NIAS Book Series, produce offline and online events and productions – such as the podcast series Room to Explore and the annual NIAS Opening of the Academic Year – and benchmark and improve the NIAS experience amongst all target audiences. Last, but by no means least, they help develop and manage the institute’s library services and its archive of fellows’ publications.

The NIAS team are seeking a colleague:

• holding a PhD – given the composition of our team, preferably in a social-scientific field – with at least three years of post-doctoral academic work experience; more is most welcome;
• who is a highly competent chair of academic sessions and discussions, at ease in interdisciplinary settings;
• who is committed to and experienced in research valorisation and communication;
• who has expertise in, or is dedicated to gaining expertise in, contemporary libraries’ and archives’ strategies and infrastructures.

We also hope that you are:

• a collegiate professional, who both offers and welcomes constructive feedback and collegial support;
• accustomed to working within a small organisation, in which everyone takes on the miscellaneous tasks typical of such a setting;
• content to work independently whilst also operating within organigrams, plans, policies and budgets;
• keen to remain current with international standards and practices of advanced study;
• experienced in an international and intercultural workplace, with a strong command of both English and Dutch (C1 or C2);
• comfortable with occasional commitments outside regular working hours.

NIAS offers:

• a motivated team that values and actively seeks diversity of personal and professional backgrounds;
• a pleasant workplace in a quiet corner of the bustling heart of both academic and touristic Amsterdam;
• solid secondary employment conditions. Please refer to www.knaw.nl/
• A salary at scale 10 of the KNAW collective labour agreement, amounting to between €2,133 and €3,366 gross per month for 24 hours per week, and between €2,845 and €4,488 gross per month for 32 hours per week. The precise salary is dependent upon the number of years of relevant experience.

Does it also fit your profile and ambitions? Then we should be delighted to receive your application. Please note that only applications submitted via the KNAW portal can be accepted into the selection process. For further information regarding the post, you are welcome to write to Merlijn.Olnon@NIAS.KNAW.nl, the NIAS Head of Curriculum, who looks forward to hearing from you.

The closing date for applications is 3 May 2026. By 7 May you will be informed as to whether you have been invited to a first interview, scheduled for 12 or 13 May. A second interview will take place on 19 or 22 May. We aim to appoint our new Curriculum Officer before 1 June, with a view to commencing the role on 1 July, 1 August, or 1 September. A language proficiency assessment in Dutch and/or English may form part of the selection process. You may also be asked to prepare a case study for your second interview.