Centre Manager

ACE is a collaboration between Dairymaster, McHale Engineering, Abbey Machinery, Kerry County Council and IT Tralee to develop an AgriTech Centre of Excellence (ACE) that will be based in IT Tralee and will support an exponential change in the industry. The centre will identify, research, share and implement best practice in innovation, processes and systems, people skills, company capability and internationalisation to deliver sustainable market growth.

The project is a game changer in the AgriTech sector and offers a new and exciting approach to sectoral learning and development, through e-learning and virtual reality. ACE is the first of its kind in Ireland & indeed Europe and is therefore, in its very nature, innovative. ACE will enhance the capabilities of Ireland’s AgriTech businesses/companies and expand their reach and global ambition, thereby positioning Ireland at the forefront of the international AgriTech industry.

Position

ACE is now recruiting for a Centre Manager to coordinate and manage the set-up and development of the centre. The Centre Manager under the guidance of the ACE Steering Committee will have the primary responsibility for the day to day management of the centre, driving the centre forward following the ACE strategic plan, informing and enabling rapid decision making and harnessing of resources required. ACE is co-funded by Enterprise Ireland under the regional development fund 2017 and is a not for profit PPP led by the collaborating organisations. The successful candidate will be employed by ACE.

Minimum qualifications

Each candidate must have as a minimum a degree (level 8 in the National Framework of qualifications) or equivalent level in relevant discipline(s) commensurate with this role

• Business Administration
• Engineering
• Science

or equivalent professional qualification.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Project Management qualification (PMP, Prince).
• Proven experience in successful management and delivery of Public Private Partnership projects.
• Experience in the development of industrial training programs, e-learning etc.
• Experience of securing collaborative research funding.
• Experience or knowledge of R&D, design thinking in industrial applications.
• Experience of dealer network development or sales channel development.
• Experience with business development (growth) and knowledge transfer (education, training).
• Experience in developing public tender framework, document preparation and management processes.
• Experience in developing and managing a research centre / industry cluster.

The successful candidate must also be able to demonstrate

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in management of large scale projects.
• Experience in managing diverse project teams.
• Demonstrated experience and capability of working in close co-operation with multi- stakeholder groups, enabling effective co-operation and consensus. Strong interpersonal and communications skills.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Communicate and implement the ACE strategic plan, in collaboration with the Steering Committee.
• Foster and support an open and effective collaborative working relationship within and across the ACE steering committee and stakeholders.
• Management and Development of ACE.
• Tracking, monitoring, and reporting on progress of the strategic plan.
• Establish procedures for reporting to steering committee and working groups.
• Establish and implement processes and systems required to support and enable Steering Committee decision-making.
• Manage communications ensuring stakeholders are fully informed activities and progress.
• Coordinate steering committee meetings, scheduling, agendas, minutes and actions.
• Support the execution of competitive, transparent tender processes.
• Budget and Expenditure Management.
• Secure collaborative research funding to progress initiatives within ACE.
• Establish record keeping processes to support audit trail for documents, analysis and decision making.
• Development and implementation of a risk management and mitigation plan and other duties as assigned by the steering committee.

Duration of Contract

3 Years.

Salary

An attractive salary package is available based on relevant experience.

Location

Co. Kerry.

Informal Enquires: Joseph.Walsh@staff.ittralee.ie

Application Procedure:

Cover letter and curriculum vitae to Joseph.Walsh@staff.ittralee.ie by 12.00 noon on Wednesday 18^th April 2018