Research Manager (Behavioral Economics and Engineering)

BEE (Behavioral Economics and Engineering) at FEB KU Leuven studies human decision making and behavioral change in an economic environment. The basic assumption underlying BEE’s research program is that decision makers often make suboptimal decisions in challenging economic environment. Specifically, BEE’s Behavioral Engineers concentrate on (1) understanding and predicting (optimal and suboptimal) decision making and behavior, and (2) supporting behavioral change in a durable way.

The Research manager supports the Principal investigator with managing the group, letting it grow and thrive, broaden its scope, and increase its impact, consistent with the four aims of BEE:

(1) to increase the impact and usefulness of behavioral insights in addressing complex societal challenges by contributing to/leading national and international interdisciplinary and intersectoral research projects with societal, policy, or managerial relevance,

(2) to enhance the broadness of perspectives and insights to draw from in its research projects, by fostering an intense disciplinary, cultural and methodological diversity in its core research group,

(3) to enhance scientific impact by abiding by the highest scientific standards in its work, such as integer methodology, modest and factual reporting, and training young researchers according to these standards, and

(4) to enhance local capacity by engaging in structural local collaborations, such as supporting the management of KU Leuven institutes (LIM) and actively joining them (KIEM, LUSI), joining forces with researchers at FEB in a Behavioral Economics and Sustainable (BES) alliance, and collaborations with other KU Leuven researchers.

In order to accomplish these aims, important roles as a research manager are:

(1) Contribute to the development of the research unit’s strategy by contributing to BEE’s internal governance; by setting up monitoring systems to assess an optimum working environment, by helping organizing inspiring internal events such as retreats, by fostering a positive group identity by means of for instance logo’s and processes.

(2) Identify internal and external opportunities as well as initiate and coordinate joint research projects/activities so as to further grow BEE and help realise the objectives of the strategic plan by managing BEE’s role in running funded HE and other projects, by supporting the coordination of HE and other projects that BEE is coordinating, by setting up systems to spot funding and collaboration opportunities, by actively writing competitive project proposals, including not only the scientific state of the art, but also impact, implementation, budget, and operational details, by reporting on the results and progress made in the research projects/activities

(3) Recruit, assist and motivate the BEE researchers so as to have the right competencies in place and to create an optimal working atmosphere by supporting the PI with creating an inspiring and respectful working environment where researchers can thrive, think creatively, and collaborate, by attracting, coaching and evaluating researchers; by mapping the needed expertise; by contributing the internal training programs such as journal groups.

(4) Plan, organise, monitor and report on the BEE activities and budgets so as to ensure the efficiency of the research centre by coordinating and flexibly adjusting research projects and activities; by helping ensuring a good research infrastructure such as the FEB research lab; by helping managing BEE’s financial resources; By engaging in a regular SWOT analysis of BEE

(5) Conceptually develop, realise and manage research projects/activities so as to remain connected to the research subject and this way guarantee a high-quality execution of the research by monitoring relevant internal and external developments in the behavioral sciences and related domains; by discussing research project progress with the researchers; by publishing the research results in international acclaimed scientific and/or books, by setting up international collaborations.

(6) Build awareness of the opportunities for valorisation and stimulate the valorisation process so as to contribute to the transfer of research results to society and the marketplace by growing networks of potentially interested players such as municipalities, NGO’s and companies, which can be users of BEE’s insights but also inspire BEE’s research, by designing tools that facilitate the transfer of insights to the field, by actively looking for valorization collaborations with municipalities, NGO’s, and companies, by involving thesis students in valorization research, by actively preparing modules for master students or BEE-related courses, by actively managing BEE’s online dissemination activities.

(7) Build an internal and external network that is relevant to the expertise of BEE and to represent BEE in this setting so as to detect opportunities in the research domain and to promote the image of BEE within KU Leuven as a research university by growing BEE’s cross-disciplinary networks within FEB (such as BES) by organizing workshops, by growing BEE’s extensive inter-disciplinary collaborations in the context of the KULeuven institutes (LIM, of which the PI is a founding member, and KIEM and LUSI), by exploring inter-disciplinary collaboration with colleagues from other disciplines who are less prominent in the institutes (history, philosophy).

(8) Disseminate research activities, results and experience so as to contribute to the visibility of BEE and to demonstrate leadership in the research domain by publishing the research results in (international) acclaimed scientific and/or trade journals/books; by giving (inter)national presentations; by participating in (inter)national working groups; by actively contributing to BEE’s online dissemination channels, by contributing to press releases of BEE’s achievements.

We offer an 80% permanent research position. You will be remunerated in accordance with the Research Management salary scales.

For more information please contact Prof. Siegfried Dewitte, tel.: +32 16 32 69 49, mail: siegfried.dewitte@kuleuven.be.

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.

You can apply for this job no later than July 26, 2024 via the KU Leuven Job Site.