Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)

is recruiting a Chief Financial and Administrative Officer (f/m)

• Ref: 26-33
• Permanent employment contract
• Location: Belval Campus (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg)

LISER, a publicly funded research institute located in Luxembourg, develops and promotes fundamental and applied research in the social sciences to respond to societal challenges, as well as to social, economic and spatial needs. With the aim of contributing to sustainable socio-economic development, based on knowledge and improving the quality of life of the population, LISER contributes to informing society and public debate, and to supporting evidence-informed decision-making by public authorities and socio-economic actors at national and international levels.

LISER is currently looking for an experienced and inspiring leader to take on the position of Chief Financial and Administrative Officer.

For Summary job advert

Job description

Your Role

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer will provide strong leadership to LISER’s central administration and play a strategic role in supporting the Institute’s scientific and societal mission. As LISER’s activities, project portfolio and management infrastructure continue to evolve, the role will combine sound public-sector management, financial sustainability, compliance and auditability with a close understanding of research activities and their operational needs as well as the capacity to lead teams, drive change and foster a culture of collaboration and accountability.

The Chief Financial and Administrative Officer will take overall responsibility for quality and reliability of LISER’s administrative and financial management, while acting as a trusted strategic partner to the Chief Executive Officer and working closely with the Executive Committee to transform financial and operational information into a dynamic instrument for steering, anticipation and decision-making. The role requires operational excellence, sound judgement and a pragmatic partnership approach: protecting the institution without creating unnecessary barriers, planning without rigidity, and supporting the responsible mobilisation of resources for scientific priorities.

The successful candidate will combine strong leadership with operational excellence, the confidence to provide constructive challenge, and the ability to engage and bring people together around shared priorities.

The Chief Financial and Administrative Officer’s main responsibilities will be the following:

• Lead, inspire and develop LISER’s central administration teams, fostering accountability, collaboration and high performance while ensuring efficient and reliable administrative and financial processes;
• Oversee budget planning, execution and monitoring, ensuring financial sustainability, sound governance and responsible management of public and contractual funds;
• Act as a trusted partner and constructive challenger to the Executive Committee, scientific departments and support services, translating institutional and operational needs into practical, financially and legally sound solutions;
• Provide regular financial reporting, forecasts, variance analyses and recommendations to support executive decision-making and proposals to the Board of Directors;
• Monitor project funding, commitments, available margins and emerging needs, anticipating financial risks and enabling timely adjustments and informed resource allocation;
• Ensure financial compliance, transparency, auditability and appropriate internal controls, meeting the requirements of funding bodies, auditors and supervisory authorities;
• Promote a forward-looking, collaborative and data-driven budget culture, leveraging ERP systems, forecasting and scenario analysis to support strategic and operational decisions;
• Identify opportunities for prudent investment and resource optimisation in support of LISER’s scientific and institutional priorities
• Drive continuous improvement of administrative and financial processes, strengthening team capabilities and fostering a service-oriented, collaborative and solution-driven culture.

Your Profile

• Higher education degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics, public administration or a related field;
• Significant and proven experience in senior administrative and financial management, including a strong track record in leading teams, managing organisational complexity and delivering results, ideally in a complex public, para-public, academic, research, international or strongly project-funded environment, or equivalent;
• Strong command of budgetary prudence, financial sustainability, compliance, auditability and sound management of public funds;
• Demonstrated ability to move beyond static budgeting and use financial information as a tool for forecasting, steering and decision-making;
• Strong analytical skills and experience in financial monitoring, forecasting, variance analysis, scenario building and risk assessment;
• Ability to understand the dynamics of research projects and to work constructively with scientific departments, programme managers and support services;
• Proven leadership capabilities, with the ability to set direction, inspire and develop people, build effective teams and foster a culture of trust, collaboration and accountability;
• Strategic perspective and sound judgement, with the ability to engage credibly with senior leadership, influence decisions, challenge constructively and translate strategic priorities into operational action;
• Strong leadership and coordination skills, with the ability to build trust and foster a genuine management dialogue across the organisation;
• Solution-oriented and pragmatic approach, combining agility with rigor, traceability and institutional security, and the confidence to take ownership of complex issues and drive change;
• Ability to leverage ERP and information systems to produce reliable, timely and decision-oriented management information;
• Proven leadership capabilities, with the ability to set direction, inspire and develop people, build effective teams and foster a culture of trust, collaboration and accountability;
• Strategic perspective and sound judgement, with the ability to engage credibly with senior leadership, influence decisions, challenge constructively and translate strategic priorities into operational action;
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to present complex financial and administrative matters clearly to executive and governance bodies , engaging and influencing stakeholders with credibility and diplomacy;
• Fluency in English and French; knowledge of Luxembourgish or German would be considered an asset.

What we offer

• Permanent employment contract with a competitive remuneration package in line with your competences and achievements;
• A strategic leadership role at the heart of a public research institute with a strong scientific and societal mission offering the opportunity to shape the Institute's organisational development and contribute directly to the achievement of its strategic ambitions;
• A dynamic and international research environment with attractive working conditions and a stimulating work environment;
• Investment in career and development;
• 32.5 days of annual leave.

About LISER

The institute is located on the new Belval campus in the south of Luxembourg (Cité des Sciences, Luxembourg), which hosts the University of Luxembourg and a substantial part of the country is publicly funded research facilities, i.e. LISER, the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) cross-national data center, the Luxembourg institutes of Health (LIH) and of Science and Technology (LIST). The University has high performance computing facilities available for use by associated researchers in the Luxembourg Institutes.

About Luxembourg

Luxembourg provides a stimulating mixture of modern culture and tradition at the center of Europe. The contemporary urbanity of its capital city lies in close vicinity to a rich nature. In addition to excellent health, education (including public and private international schools) and recreational services, the community offers a rich variety of cultural activities typical of a major university environment, including museums, music, arts and theatre. The official languages are French, German and Luxemburgish. Information on research in Luxembourg is accessible via the national EURAXESS platform.

Application process

Please submit your complete application in English via jobs.liser.lu by including the following documents:

• Detailed curriculum vitae;
• Motivation letter;
• Copy of your diplomas;
• Recommendation letters and contact details of 3 referees.

Deadline to submit applications: December 31st, 2026

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality and equality.

For questions about the recruitment process, please contact Ms. Jennifer LA SCHIAZZA at jennifer.laschiazza@liser.lu.