Managing Director of Eit Manufacturing

**About EIT Manufacturing**:
**Managing Director of EIT Manufacturing - IC South**
- Full-time position at EIT Manufacturing South (Milan)._

**About the position**:
The Managing Director is responsible for leading and overseeing the Southern regional legal entity of EIT Manufacturing, serving as the primary representative of the local ecosystem and managing day-to-day operations. The Southern region includes Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Malta, Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Switzerland, and Türkiye. The Managing Director reports to the CEO of EIT Manufacturing and is a member of EIT Manufacturing Management Team (MT).

**Key Accountabilities**:

- Full accountability for the regional legal entity (EIT Manufacturing South SRL) acting as the high-level representative of the South region within EIT Manufacturing ASBL.
- Managing team, totalling of 30+ professionals, ensuring sound financial management, and overseeing administrative, legal, and reporting obligations.
- Developing a strategic vision for the South region, aligned with EIT Manufacturing’s Strategic Agenda, to address the needs of the regional manufacturing industry and ecosystems.
- Strengthening and expanding the regional ecosystem by nurturing and growing the partnership in the region and establishing strategic collaborations with key stakeholders.
- Facilitating cooperation among regional partners, supporting the implementation of innovation, education, and training initiatives in line with EIT Manufacturing’s multi-annual Business Plan.
- Identifying and engaging relevant startups and scaleups within the region, integrating them into EIT Manufacturing’s innovation pipeline to attract public and private investment.
- Developing business strategies to expend the partnerships and deliver services to support their innovation journey and needs.
- Support start-ups or SMEs part of the EIT Manufacturing funded activities to succeed through their technology commercialisation and beyond.
- Roll-out EIT-Manufacturing Academy and other education programs in the region through strategic local delivery partnership identification to monetise upskilling and reskilling activities.
- Securing additional funding beyond EIT grants at the European, national, and regional levels to maximise EIT Manufacturing’s impact.
- Leading communication and dissemination efforts in the region, enhancing EIT Manufacturing’s brand visibility.
- Coordinating and collaborating closely with EIT Manufacturing ASBL (Paris) and other regional offices across Europe to develop joint initiatives and optimise the organisation’s overall pan-European impact.

**Qualifications and experience**:

- A master’s degree or higher in a relevant field such as business, engineering, or science, or equivalent professional experience.
- Extensive experience in the manufacturing industry, with a strong background in business management and innovation, including at least five years in leadership roles managing business units or large teams.
- At least five years of relevant experience in retaining and expending a customer base in selling and delivering commercial services, with strong business development and customer at heart mindset.
- Experience working with startups, scaleups, and/or innovative SMEs.
- Knowledge of European funding programmes and the EIT/KICs landscape is advantageous but not essential.

**Skills and expertise**:

- Proven experience in developing and implementing innovation and business strategies in the manufacturing sector, working with universities, research institutes, and industry.
- Expertise in innovation and advanced manufacturing technologies.
- Experience working across multiple industrial sectors is a plus.
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to manage and develop professional teams.
- A track record of business growth and development.
- Proven experience in customer service management
- Experience in budget planning and financial management.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with a diverse range of multinational stakeholders.
- A well-established network within the local manufacturing sector.
- Strong leadership and communication abilities, with the capacity to engage at a strategic level with national and European partners.
- **Excellent** verbal and written communication skills.
- Fluency in **Italian** and **English** is required; proficiency in Greek is highly advantageous, knowledge of additional European languages is beneficial.

**Desirable Experience**:

- Experience managing finance, HR, and legal matters
- Strong background in strategic planning and execution
- Experience in international collaboration and working in network-based international teams

**We offer**:

- A full-time, unlimited duration employment contract under Italian labour law.
- Flexible hybrid working environment
- Diverse team with colleagues from all over the world
- Strong network across manufacturing