Operational Director - Research Centre M/F

EDHEC Business School

Operating from campuses in Lille, Nice, Paris, London and Singapore, EDHEC is one of the top 15 European business schools. Fully international and directly connected to the business world, EDHEC is a school for business, rather than a business school, where excellence in teaching and research focuses on innovation to stimulate entrepreneurship and creativity. EDHEC functions as a genuine laboratory of ideas and produces innovative solutions valued by businesses. EDHEC’s strategic mission is :
“Through its research, training and the actions of its alumni, EDHEC engages the power of business to serve future generations”.

The EDHEC Center for Net Positive Business 

The Center was founded in 2024 with the mission :
“Exploring and defining pathways through which industry can provide scalable solutions to advance environmental and social sustainability so its holistic impact on people and planet is net positive.”

Global challenges such as climate change, safekeeping of earth’s biodiversity and reducing geopolitical tensions, requires various stakeholders to act. EDHEC as a business school has embraced the mission to leverage the power of business for future generations. The Center for Net Positive Business acts through research and practice of measuring impact of business, work on the decarbonization of the built environment and on accessible healthy nutrition. It also promotes future preparedness of organization through benchmarking and the development of a best practice library.

The position

As the Center Operational Director, you provide together with the academic center director leadership to a dynamic and international team with high development ambitions.

Your responsibilities will include :

• Thematic industry programs: Working with the program managers and the center director you ensure sufficient funding for the centre to reach its objectives. The primary funding sources are industry foundation, donors, EU and national fundings programs and service contracts. You oversee the impact across (partner engagement, media attention, research output, executive education).

• Facilitate interface from industry programs and educational programs. Ensuring that research results on trends, start-ups, tipping points, etc. can fertilize courses across a growing number of programs.

• Team development. You ensure that through hiring, training and development as well as on-the job training, the centre has the right mix of profiles in its team to achieve its objectives.

• Operational management including, budgeting, controlling, planning and interfacing with EDHEC services such as finance, legal.

• Communication including social media visibility, and media attention.

• Collaboration with Professors. Together with the center director you organize the collaboration with professors associated with the centre. That include monitoring progress, providing support, and managing access to centre resources. 

Your profile

• 5+ years of which at least 2 years in a management position
• 5+ years practical experience in management consulting, business development, client engagement and project management
• Full work proficiency in English
• High level of French language in spoken and written form
• Experience in academic environments is a plus.
• Experience in accounting is a plus.
• Experience in managing international teams is a plus
• Strong communication skills
• Attention to details
• Ability to provide feedback
• Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams
• Research experience