Job opening: Scientific Partner Manager

Job opening: Computational chemist/physicist with people and networking skills 

This position has already been filled. If you are interested in working on the business with SCM, consider applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange under the Horizon 2020 program.

SCM is a growing and profitable scientific software company in Amsterdam, producing and marketing software in computational (quantum) chemistry and materials science. To accelerate its further expansion, we now create two job openings, each initially for one or two years but with realistic prospect of permanent employment. One of these positions is for a scientific partner manager, preferably with relevant (user) experience in computational chemistry or physics.

The successful candidate will report directly to the CEO and also interact frequently with the business developer (who focuses on marketing and sales) and office managers (focusing on back office tasks). The tasks will be focused on various business processes within SCM, which will be broad in scope and might change over time. The main task will be to make sure that we maintain efficient working relations with our worldwide network of academic partner groups (method developers), hardware vendors, partners in EU projects, and other external stakeholders. The candidate will also keep an eye on the development projects at SCM and initiate discussions on priorities and monitor progress. The candidate will ensure timely reporting for EU projects according to the EU rules. The purpose is to alleviate the CEO from some of his tasks requiring knowledge of our scientific field. The selected candidate is expected to have between 5 and 20 years of work experience.    

Job requirements

Requirements:

• Excellent people skills – being able to interact smoothly with various business people, with specialized software developers, with bureaucrats, funding agencies, and with end users
• Understanding of how scientific researchers and software developers operate, how funding agencies operate, and how our users use our software 
• MSc or PhD degree in relevant field (e.g. software related, computational physics, materials science, quantum chemistry, high performance computing), with several years of business experience (e.g. project management)
• Good written and verbal communication skills in the English language
• Willingness to regularly travel abroad and to assist in marketing activities
• Proactive self-motivated person who can spot and stimulate new developments

Desirable additional knowledge and experience:

• Open-minded, flexible
• Willing to play a role in other aspects of SCM work such as organizing events (e.g. developer or user group meeting), providing user support, writing white papers, assisting in contract research, looking into legal matters (e.g. use of open-source software) 
• Team player, with good two-way communication skills, independent worker    

What we offer

The employment contract will initially be for a temporary position for one or two years and may be extended or converted into a permanent position upon mutual satisfaction. The position is available immediately but there is flexibility concerning the starting date. Salary and secondary benefits (including pension fund) will be competitive (commensurate with qualifications and experience). Tax benefits (30% of salary tax-free) may be applicable in the Netherlands (depending on circumstances) for a successful candidate from abroad and a variable bonus may be awarded. This is a full-time (preferred) or part-time (at least 0.6 FTE) position in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

About SCM and ADF
Scientific Computing & Modelling NV, SCM, is a (now independent) spin-off company of the VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. SCM develops, maintains, and markets the Amsterdam Density Functional (ADF) package, consisting of the molecular ADF program, the periodic structure program BAND, the reactive molecular dynamics program ReaxFF, approximate DFT (DFTB) software, the COSMO-RS module for thermodynamics of mixed liquids, and their respective graphical interfaces. The working atmosphere at SCM is that of an informal small team (approximately 15 people) of PhD-level researchers and scientific software developers doing intellectually challenging work. SCM shares office space and closely interacts with the well-known Theoretical Chemistry (TC) group led by professors Bickelhaupt and Visscher and emeritus professor Baerends and with the group of prof. Tom Ziegler at Calgary, Canada. The TC group consists of about 20 people, including a very international mix of PhD students, postdocs, and guests. SCM cooperates with a large and growing number of academic method developers around the world and is increasing its scope to atomistic simulations in a broader sense. SCM is a science-focused company which has been around for 18 years. It is financially solid, free of debt, growing, and profitable. We are located in Amsterdam, the very lively, internationally oriented, and enjoyable capital of The Netherlands. Thanks to its high quality of living, Amsterdam was recently elected as overall winner for “most attractive city to live in Europe”, beating Paris and Berlin.

Eligibility
SCM is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants can have (almost) any current residence and nationality – unless export restrictions apply for our software. 

Further information, applying
Detailed information on SCM and its software can be found at http://www.scm.com. Those interested in this position are encouraged to contact Dr. Stan van Gisbergen, SCM’s Chief Executive Officer (vangisbergen at scm dot com, tel: +31-20-5987626)  for further information. Job applications can be sent by E-mail to the same address until November 20, 2013. Applications should contain a CV, a letter explaining the motivation for applying and, if applicable, a list of publications. References may be requested at a later stage. The accompanying E-mail should briefly stress a few key reasons why you might be the most suitable person for this position.