Head of Open Science

Uppsala University

Application deadline

February 10, 2023



Head of Open Science

Uppsala University, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 54,000 students, more than 7,500 employees and a turnover of around SEK 8 billion.

The Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology at Uppsala University has a broad research profile with strong research groups focused on cancer, autoimmune and genetic diseases. A fundamental idea at the department is to stimulate translational research and thereby closer interactions between medical research and health care. Research is presently conducted in the following areas: cancer precision medicine, cancer immunotherapy, genomics and neurobiology, molecular tools and functional genomics, neuro-oncology and neurodegeneration and vascular biology. Department activities are also integrated with the units for Oncology, Clinical Genetics, Clinical Immunology, Clinical Pathology, and Hospital Physics at Akademiska sjukhuset, Uppsala. The department has teaching assignments in several education programmes, including Master Programmes, at the Faculty of Medicine, and at the Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology. The department has a yearly turnover of around SEK 500 million, out of which more than half is made up of external funding. The staff amounts to approximately 345 employees, out of which 100 are PhD-students, and there are in total more than 700 affiliated people. Feel free to read more about the department’s activities here: www.igp.uu.se

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University

SciLifeLab (www.scilifelab.se) is a hub for life science research in Sweden and a collaboration between Swedish universities. Everyone at SciLifeLab is employed at one of the partner universities. Since 2013, SciLifeLab is assigned by the Swedish government to operate national infrastructure, to provide cutting-edge life science technologies and -expertise to Swedish researchers, and to be a top international centre for research in health- and environment sciences. SciLifeLab also operates a program for pandemic laboratory preparedness on a government assignment, and large research programme for Data-Driven Life Sciences with eleven partner organisations.

The successful candidate will be working with the SciLifeLab Data Centre (DC), a central unit within SciLifeLab with responsibility for IT- and data management issues. We serve the SciLifeLab and the Data Driven Life Science (DDLS) research program with a range of data services, with the principles of FAIR and Open Science are fundamental. Our assignment is national and all our services are broadly available for the community. For example, we operate the Swedish national Covid-19 research data portal, research data repositories, services for sharing and deploying compute applications and AI models and much more, in close collaboration with major national and international e-infrastructures. Working at the Data Centre, you will be at the core of Sweden’s top infrastructure for life sciences and have the opportunity to actively shape how state-of-the-art IT and data science are integrated in Swedish life science research, and help to maximize the scientific impact of the large amount of research data generated at SciLifeLab. You will work in a team with researchers, data engineers, data stewards and system developers in a rapidly growing, dynamic and progressive team with a leading role in Swedish data driven life science. 

Job description
SciLifeLab Data Centre is looking for a leader in the global Open Science community, with exceptional drive, vision and capability, to organize and develop our work for community engagement, outreach and training, and integrate such efforts at the heart of our operation in our data services and in our long-term strategy. This position as Head of Open Science at SciLifeLab Data Centre includes formal staff responsibility for initially 3-4 staff members, with strong potential for growth and ability to shape how SciLifeLab engages in FAIR and Open Science with the scientific community, and in our infrastructures and research programs including the DDLS program. You will be part of the SciLifeLab DC management group and work closely with SciLifeLab central management on issues regarding FAIR data and Open Science in a leading role at our infrastructure.

Your tasks will also include
– To develop and implement national strategies for communication, outreach, and community building (e.g, community clusters)
– To develop strategies for DC training efforts and to coordinate with SciLifeLab training hub
– Lead communication efforts at DC, internally and externally, to build a strong interaction between SciLifeLab and its stakeholders, funders and partners centered around FAIR data and Open Science  
– To facilitate for SciLifeLab research communities to participate in international initiatives for research data management and data-driven life science
– Promote external relations at DC with national and international organizations and communities
– Initiate and drive DC activities relating to FAIR and Open Science towards the SciLifeLab community and external partners
– To collaborate closely with DC project leaders to align input and efforts with those of other national research organizations
– Monitor and direct the activities of community coordinators
– To coordinate Open Science related activities at DC between team members in different geographical locations 
– To ensure the sustainability of the community by developing and maintaining communication channels, such as Slack, announcements, websites and web services, mailing lists, and social media.
– Contribute to organization-wide activities at central SciLifeLab level, developing strategies and funding approaches

Qualifications
This job requires a university degree in a relevant area. In addition is required
– Documented experience from a leading role for Open Science and FAIR Data practices at a major research organization
– Documented experience with community management, communication and engagement
– Documented experience in training efforts
– Documented experience in data stewardship development
– Documented experience from leading roles with international research data communities, e.g. GO-FAIR, RDA
– Highly organized with a strong ability to delegate and multitask
– Fluent English

Meriting
– Experience in teaching 
– Experience in data management
– Knowledge in data-driven science 
– Strong scientific communication skills
– Ability to work both individually and in cooperation with personnel in widely different fields.
– Drive and initiative to support and develop data driven life science in Sweden.

Personal suitability will strongly affect the recruitment for this position.

About the employment
The employment is a permanent position, probationary period may be applied.
Scope of employment 100%.
Starting date as agreed.
Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: 
Johan Rung, johan.rung@scilifelab.uu.se

Please submit your application by 13 febuary 2023, UFV-PA 2023/346.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? Find out more about what it´s like to work and live in Sweden. 

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Submit your application through Uppsala University’s recruitment system.

Last updated: 2023-02-16

Content Responsible: Hampus Persson(hampus.persson@scilifelab.uu.se)