Welcome to the new jobup.ch

Find out more

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste

Zürich

13 hours ago

Vice Rector for Research and Innovation (80–100%) – Member of the University Management

  • 05 March 2026
  • 80 – 100%
  • Permanent position
  • Zürich

Job summary

The ZHdK is a leading art university in Europe with 2100 students. Join a vibrant community fostering creativity and collaboration.

Tasks

  • Shape the strategic direction of research and innovation at ZHdK.
  • Enhance the visibility of ZHdK’s research and support researchers.
  • Foster partnerships and promote entrepreneurial thinking in the arts.

Skills

  • PhD with deep insight into national and international art research landscapes.
  • Strong leadership and management experience in higher education.
  • Excellent communication and networking skills to inspire collaboration.

Is this helpful?

About the job

ZHdK is one of the largest and most diverse art universities in Europe, with around 2100 bachelor’s and master’s students. The study and research areas include Art Education, Design, Film, Fine Arts, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Transdisciplinarity. Located in the heart of Zurich, ZHdK is a dynamic place where passionate people from over 75 countries work, study, teach, research, and continue their education. The university includes numerous exhibition and performance venues where students’ project works are publicly presented.

ZHdK strengthens its strategic impact through the introduction of vice rectorates. The Vice Rectorate for Research and Innovation at ZHdK creates spaces for insight and impact. It strengthens artistic, artistically-scientific, and scientific research and promotes excellence and societal relevance. To reinforce our university management, we are looking for an inspiring personality as:

Vice Rector for Research and Innovation (80–100%) – Member of the University Management

In this leadership role, you will significantly shape the strategic direction of research as well as innovation and transfer to strengthen ZHdK’s societal impact. You are responsible for the research infrastructure, promote third-party funding competencies, actively support researchers, and develop the international visibility of ZHdK’s research and innovation profile.


Your Tasks
In this demanding leadership role, you support the strategic development of research and innovation at ZHdK. Based on the university’s overall strategy and in collaboration with the departments, you continuously develop the university’s research and innovation strategy, thereby creating a coherent and forward-looking research profile that includes the diversity of artistic, artistically-scientific, and scientific approaches. By monitoring national and international higher education, research, and innovation policy developments, you derive early strategic impulses which you purposefully integrate into institutional governance. Additionally, you contribute to the university’s development and financial planning, are responsible for relevant performance indicators, and position ZHdK as an internationally visible, research-active university of the arts.

In collaboration with your team, you coordinate all internal support services for researchers, from third-party funding advice through Open Science and research information to innovation promotion and competitiveness. Together with your team, you actively support researchers in acquiring third-party funding – especially applications to the SNSF, Innosuisse, the EU, or foundations – thereby strengthening the development of a diverse and future-oriented third-party funding portfolio. At the same time, you further develop ZHdK’s research infrastructure, strengthen Open Science standards, ethics processes, and scientific information systems, and consistently advance research-related indicators, evaluations, reporting processes, and research and innovation communication.

Another focus of your work lies in innovation, transfer, and collaborations. You promote the university’s innovative strength and actively shape the connection between art, science, business, and society. You expand cooperation structures and strategic partnerships, enable entrepreneurial thinking and action, establish fair, transparent cooperation models, and thereby strengthen both the local anchoring and the international visibility of ZHdK.

Great importance is also attached to the promotion of young talent and research-based teaching. You are responsible for the university-wide coordination of the PhD area, professionalize support structures and quality standards for doctoral candidates, and strengthen a research-friendly, inspiring junior culture. Furthermore, you promote the integration of research and teaching – especially in the area of Artistic Research and research-oriented curriculum development – thus helping to empower future generations of researchers and artists.

In internal collaboration, you act as a bridge builder between departments, institutes, services, university development, and the Vice Rectorate for Education. You moderate strategically relevant research and innovation committees, lead the research commission, and actively participate as a voting member of the university management in the leadership of the university. Through this close networking, you ensure institutional coherence, efficient processes, and a shared understanding of quality and development goals in the area of research and innovation.

As a leader, you bear the overall content, personnel, and financial responsibility for the Vice Rectorate for Research and Innovation. You lead a team responsible for the specialist areas of the PhD Office, Grants Office, Open Science, as well as Innovation and Transfer, and create conditions that enable your employees to deliver excellent performance and actively shape the university’s further development.


Your Profile

You hold a doctorate and bring a deep, well-founded understanding of the national and international research landscape in the arts as well as the relevant transfer contexts. You are equally familiar with the dynamics, challenges, and potentials of artistic, artistically-scientific, and scientific research and innovation. Thanks to your many years of leadership experience in university, science, or research management, you are excellently networked, move confidently in complex institutional contexts, and manage change processes in a structured and impact-oriented manner.

Based on your own research experience, you know what enables excellent research and what researchers need to have an impact. With high strategic competence and a broad national and international network, you understand how to connect research and innovation topics, initiate collaborations, and open new perspectives.

You think innovatively, act reflectively, and communicate clearly, appropriately for the audience, and convincingly. You can integrate the broad spectrum of ZHdK disciplines, research concepts, and researchers into your work and in collaboration with stakeholders. In doing so, you succeed in inspiring people internally and externally for research and innovation and creating spaces where new forms of knowledge, artistic thinking, and collaboration can emerge.



What You Can Expect from Us
We offer you an interesting and challenging role in a lively and collegial environment at the Zurich Toni-Areal. We live an inclusive culture and value diversity. The employment conditions are based on the personnel law of the Canton of Zurich.


Start date October 1, 2026, or by arrangement.


Your Contacts for Further Information
Karin Mairitsch ( rektorin.zhdk@zhdk.ch ), Rector
Gerhard Bayard ( gerhard.bayard@zhdk.ch ), Head of Human Resources Management

The interviews will take place on May 8, 2026 (1st interview round) and May 27, 2026 (2nd interview round).

Additional information about the Zurich University of the Arts can be found at www.zhdk.ch .

We gladly accept your complete application documents by March 30, 2026, via the "Apply online now" link at the end of this advertisement. Please note that we only consider online applications via the link (no email applications) for this position.

Salary estimator

Try our salary estimator to better understand what you can aim for as a

Check your salary