Director R&D

The organisation

Vaxxinova develops, produces and markets a wide range of innovative vaccines to protect livestock and fish against disease. They create high quality solutions to improve animal health and to support the business of their customers. They believe that innovation and excellence in research are essential to produce premium products that match the current and future requirements in animal health.

The Vaxxinova Group, headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, was officially named and founded in 2010 but can rely on expertise and presence originating from the 1960s. Their current network comprises production, research & development, sales and diagnostic facilities in 10 countries: Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand and the USA. Vaxxinova is active in more than 60 countries.

Vaxxinova belongs to the EW Group, a German based family-owned company, specialized in animal genetics, animal nutrition and animal health. The EW Group is highly committed to R&D and active in more than 100 countries.

The position

The Director R&D Nijmegen will report to the Chief Scientific Officer, Vaxxinova International, and is the head of the Research and Development group located on the Novio Tech Campus in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Tasks & responsibilities

• Supervising direct reports (currently 9 project managers) and responsible for an R&D group of 22 colleagues.
• Responsible for the laboratories, R&D budget and portfolio of Vaxxinova Nederland.
• Managing project teams and their objectives at Vaxxinova Nederland after project approval by the Management Team of Vaxxinova International.
• Preparing and managing related operational and investment budgets.
• In collaboration with the regulatory affairs group responsible for bringing efficiently new products to the market in compliance with the European requirements and regulations.
• Maintaining good contacts with external and internal stakeholders relevant to the Nijmegen site, such as academia, institutes, governments and EW group-members in a professional and transparent manner.
• Networking inside and outside the company, identifying new product opportunities as well as liaising with external experts for potential collaborations.
• Identifying opportunities for new technologies and initiating and preparing proposals to translate these into research projects for the development of novel, innovative vaccines or the improvement of production technologies.
• Responsible for implementation of and adherence to company policies and the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice at the Nijmegen site.
• Responsible for the smooth transfer of potential products or technologies to other Vaxxinova sites.

Vaxxinova invests in research to achieve their ambitious goals and they are expanding their research and development department. They are looking for talented colleagues who enjoy working in an ambitious, dynamic and flexible research environment with opportunities for further professional

Candidate profile

• PhD in life sciences and/or DVM.
• At least 10 years of experience in vaccine product development for livestock.
• At least five years relevant experience in successfully leading teams of professionals.
• Experience with research project management in commercial vaccine research setting is required.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and coach a team of scientists in line with company and personal goals.
• Demonstrated capability to achieve challenging targets.
• Good scientific track record as demonstrated by scientific publications and/or patents.
• Excellent English proficiency (written and spoken) is necessary.
• Excellent communication skills and a team player.
• Demonstrated ability and experience to work according to the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice is essential.
• Willingness to travel.

Interested?

You can apply to this position by using the form below. For more information please contact Marije Hoogendoorn, Recruitment Specialist, +31 (0) 623 13 51 18.