Teamlead AI & Data

SURF is launching a new team focused on AI & Data in education and is looking for a team leader who can provide direction, connect people, and build sustainable innovation and service development around this theme. In a dynamic playing field with a major social impact, you will bring focus, cohesion, and leadership. Are you a people-oriented leader who enjoys working in a rapidly changing environment and wants to make an impact at the national level? Then this is the challenge for you.

Where you will work

SURF is the IT cooperative for Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to enhance the quality of education and research. We do this in close collaboration with the sector, with an eye for public values, openness, and sustainability.

Those who work at SURF work for a unique and open organization. You can see this in everything: the structure of the organization, the setup of the project teams, the culture in our offices, and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent terms of employment and is flexible when it comes to work/life balance. Employees enjoy working independently. In addition, everyone is given the space and freedom to use and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

The team you will join

The AI & Data in Education team is a new team to be established within the Accessible and Open Education & Research unit. It focuses on sustainable service development and innovation in the field of AI and data for education. The team operates in a dynamic playing field where opportunities and complex issues converge, interests may clash, and developments follow each other in rapid succession.

What unites the team is the ambition to use AI and data in a responsible, effective, and sector-wide manner. As team leader, you will play an important role in shaping the direction, identity, and composition of the team.

What you will do

As team leader AI & Data in education, you will manage a team of approximately 10 professionals, such as project leaders and (technical) product managers, and ensure that the team contributes effectively to the strategic goals of SURF and Npuls. In a dynamic playing field where opportunities, complex issues, and divergent interests converge, you will provide direction and connection. You are the linchpin for AI and data in education within SURF, safeguarding the AI strategy, strengthening cooperation with Npuls, and ensuring cohesion within the organization.

Your other responsibilities:

• You lead the team and are responsible for professional development.
• You further expand the team and carry out strategic personnel planning.
• You ensure the reliable and high-quality deployment of the team and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders.
• You draw up the annual plan, are responsible for the team's budget, and monitor planning, resources, and implementation, including reporting.
• You contribute substantively to projects, service development, and strategic explorations.
• You will maintain close cooperation with colleagues within SURF who are involved in AI and data, and with teams and programs such as Npuls.
• You will represent SURF in strategic consultations with external partners and in sector-wide meetings.
• You will contribute to the direction of the Accessible and Open Education & Research unit and of SURF as a whole.

Your skills and experience

You are a strategic and people-oriented leader who provides direction in a complex and rapidly changing field. You combine vision with decisiveness, connect people and perspectives, and know how to balance technology, organization, and social values.

In addition, you have:

• University level of working and thinking.
• Proficient command of the English and Dutch language.
• Experience in managing professionals and developing teams.
• Comfort in a dynamic and complex environment.
• The ability to switch between strategic thinking and practical implementation.
• Strong connecting qualities, both within and outside the organization.
• Convincing communication skills.
• Several years of relevant experience and sufficient substantive knowledge of AI and data in education to develop direction and vision.
• An eye for the social and ethical dimensions of AI and data and dealing with tensions between different values and interests.

SURF takes pleasure in doing its recruitment itself; acquisition is therefore not appreciated.