Apply for Vacancies on the Council and School Governing Boards of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is seeking applications for appointment to the Chair of the Council of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), the Chair of the governing board of one of the Institute’s three Constituent Schools and Ordinary members of the governing board of the Institute’s three Constituent Schools.

Expressions of interest are now sought from suitably qualified national and international candidates for consideration for:

• the Chair of the Council of DIAS
• the Chair of the governing board of the School of Celtic Studies, the School of Theoretical Physics or the School of Cosmic Physics
• Ordinary member positions on the governing board of the School of Celtic Studies, School of Theoretical Physics and the School of Cosmic Physics.

Requirements for all positions

Candidates for all of the positions should have significant experience and a track record of achievement in academic and research fields covered by the institute and its constituent schools.

Requirements for Chair of the Council

Applicants for the Chair of the Council must have extensive experience at a senior executive, senior managerial or senior professional level, which would encompass experience in strategy, governance and administrative matters, in a relevant research and innovation environment.

Candidates must demonstrate in their application significant experience of the below at an appropriately senior level:

• strong leadership capabilities and the experience necessary to discharge the role of Chairperson
• prior experience of Board membership or of Chairing a Board
• senior level experience of the oversight of finance and audit, governance and compliance, and risk management, in a public or private organisation
• a proven record of achievement at senior level in overseeing the development and implementation of medium to long-term strategy in a large public or private sector research performing organisation
• excellent interpersonal and communication skills including consensus building and influencing skills and the ability to develop constructive relationships with all relevant stakeholders across the public, private and civil sectors
• significant experience and a track record of achievement in the research and advanced studies environment or academic arena, with knowledge and understanding of research policy, the research environment and the context within which research sits nationally and internationally.

Requirements for Chair and Ordinary members of DIAS Constituent Schools

In relation to the Chair of the Governing Board for the requisite Schools, it is essential they indicate their interest in this role and demonstrate:

• Specific experience in overseeing and/or management of an academic research unit
• Experience in the competencies set out below for Ordinary Board membership candidates.

In relation to Ordinary Members of the Governing School Board the following is required:

• Extensive experience at a senior executive, senior managerial or senior professional level which would encompass experience in governance and administrative matters, in a relevant research and innovation environment.
• Knowledge and understanding of the national and international research and research infrastructures/environments.

For the School of Celtic Studies, candidates should also have expertise in the main areas of the field of Celtic Studies covered by the School, those areas include Early and Modern Irish linguistics, textual studies and palaeography, medieval Irish society and institutions, Welsh and Indo-European philology.

In Theoretical Physics, familiarity and experience with current research at the forefront of both Mathematical and Theoretical Physics is required.

For Cosmic Physics, within geophysics experience in seismology and/or potential field theory, and underpinning Earth System Change is sought, whilst in astronomy/astrophysics experience in at least one of the following areas, star formation, jets, solar physics, space weather or radio astronomy is sought.

No member of the institute's Council or the school governing boards receive any payment other than travel and subsistence.

Members are required to devote as much time to the duties of the Council or school governing board as is necessary for the proper and efficient discharge of their duties. The Council and governing boards of the three constituent schools hold their meetings in the boardroom of DIAS headquarters 10 Burlington Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Two meetings a year are held by the governing boards of the School of Celtic Studies and the School of Theoretical Physics. The meetings are typically held in May and November. The Council and the governing board of the School of Cosmic Physics convenes for three board meetings a year, typically in early March, late June and second half of November.

Each meeting is two to four hours in duration. The amount of time per annum required, including preparation time in advance of meetings, is up to three days for an Ordinary Member and up to six days for the Chair.

From time to time, the Chair would represent the relevant Board at both internal and external engagements.

The Chair of the Council and members of the school governing board should be aware of the relevant provisions of the Item was unpublished or removed' The code of practice includes a description of the role and responsibilities of board members.

The term of office for the Chair of the Council will run from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2030.

The term of office for the Chair and Ordinary members of the school governing boards will run from 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2030.

Candidates interested in being considered for nomination as Chair of the Council or as Chair/ Ordinary member of the Governing Boards of the Constituent Schools should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae and a completed application form outlining which role they are expressing interest in, no later than 3.00pm on 20 January 2025, via the following link boardvacancies@dfheris.gov.ie.

Please note to ensure fairness and equity of treatment, the department cannot accept applications beyond the specified deadline.

You will receive an acknowledgement on receipt of your application. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 3 days of submitting your application, you should contact boardvacancies@dfheris.gov.ie.

Important points about your application

The information you provide

Please take care when submitting your expression of interest, as the assessment panel will make its recommendations to the Minister based on consideration of the documentation which you submit. It is therefore most important that you make sure your cover letter and CV clearly specify how your background and experience meet the requirements of the positions specified in this campaign. This will help ensure that the assessment panel is as informed as possible about your suitability and the basis of your application. Please only include information that is directly relevant to the particular role for which you are applying.

Conflicts of interest and legal impediments

You must confirm that you do not have any conflicts of interest or legal impediment which would be likely to interfere with your ability to play a full part on the boards. You must also confirm that you can make yourself available to attend meetings and to carry out the duties of the position.

Shortlisting

The selection process may include a short-listing process, depending on number of applications received.

Outside nominees

In making nominations, and in line with best practice as set out in the 'Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards,' it is open to the Minister to consider suitable nominees other than those identified through this process, provided their preferred nominee meets the specified criteria.

Gender balance

The Minister will consider the desirability for gender balance on the board, as the Minister considers appropriate, and determines from time to time when making appointments.

Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts, 2014, applications will be treated in strict confidence. All enquiries, applications and all aspects of the proceedings are treated as strictly confidential and are not disclosed to anyone, outside those directly involved in that aspect of the process.

Certain items of information, not specific to any individual, may be extracted from computer records for general statistical purposes.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is committed to protecting your personal data (including your name, address, contact details and details of your education and work history contained in your curriculum vitae and cover letter) and takes the security of your information very seriously, adhering to the principles of transparency, accountability and security of the General Data Protection Regulation.

If your application is assessed and you are considered to be suitable for consideration for appointment your c.v. and cover letter (and any supplementary information requested as part of the application process), will be retained for up to one year following the appointment/s. Unless you request the withdrawal of your application such data may be used in considering your suitability for other similar vacancies/roles that arise for a period of up to one year for these Boards.

Additional information on the General Data Protection Regulation is available at the following link.

DIAS is an independent organisation for research in basic disciplines which is, in part, funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The institute is a statutory corporation, which was established under the Institute for Advanced Studies Act 1940.

The institute, through the constituent schools, pursues fundamental research in specialised branches of knowledge. The institute is an academic publisher of monographs, books, and journals in celtic studies and on advanced scientific subjects.

The institute has three constituent schools:

• the School of Celtic Studies is concerned with the furtherance of the study of the Celtic languages and literature through a programme of investigation, editing and publication
• the School of Theoretical Physics investigates the mathematical principles of the laws of nature
• the School of Cosmic Physics undertakes theoretical, computational and observational studies in astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics to advance the understanding of the cosmos.

All schools train and mentor scholars and fellows to contribute to the pool of expertise, human capital and specialist skills in Ireland. Each school has an independent governing board with responsibility for the research direction and academic affairs of the school.

The Council is responsible for the general governance of the administrative affairs of the institute (including financial, risk management, fulfilment of statutory requirements and overseeing best practice). The membership of the Council is set out in the 1940 Act and comprises a non-executive chair appointed by the president of Ireland on the advice of government, three ex-officio members (the provost of Trinity College Dublin, the president of University College Dublin and the president of the Royal Irish Academy) and six members appointed by the governing boards of the three schools. The current term of the council runs up to 30 June 2025.

All council and board positions are non-executive roles.

Further information about DIAS is available on the institute's websiteinstitute’s website . The institute’s latest strategic plan is also available here .