Based in Barcelona, you will work full-time as a junior consultant in higher education, research and innovation (HERI). You will work in a wide variety of consulting missions and projects including:

• Helping academic institutions define their strategic priorities and development plans, emphasising the transition from strategy to implementation.
• Helping public administrations design their strategies of support to education, research and innovation.
• Helping research communities organise, argue their relevance and design their research agendas.
• Co-designing and animating participatory processes (working groups, strategic seminars and workshops) with a wide variety of actors.
• Producing high-quality analyses on strategic topics (benchmarkings, scenario analyses, literature reviews, data analysis…) that must serve as key inputs for subsequent strategic discussions.
• Supporting interactions and negotiations between different stakeholders.
• Providing targeted advice to senior leadership.

You will have the opportunity to work in a creative, dynamic, dedicated, and multilingual team of professionals that brings together consultants, domain experts, public policy experts, and data scientists.

You will be expected to contribute to projects as part of teams of 2 to 4 collaborators, to be defined for each project, and in due time take a project manager role in some projects.

You will occasionally travel to meet our clients, animate workshops, participate in seminars, etc. in Spain, Europe or beyond. Additionally, you will regularly move around the Barcelona metropolitan area to meet with our local clients. Flexibility is therefore required.

You will start by mainly working in two types of projects:

• Projects within the Catalan and Spanish HERI ecosystem, therefore with Catalan and Spanish institutions (universities, public administrations, research institutes).
• Projects in the context of the European Universities Initiative, therefore with universities from all across Europe, in an English-speaking context.

Thus, some level of knowledge of the Catalan, Spanish and/or European HERI ecosystem is a plus.

• You are a Catalan speaker, and also have an excellent working knowledge of English and Spanish. 
• With a Master's degree or above, you are a firm believer in the positive impact of public services and policies to society and are seeking to contribute to it. 
• You have had an international experience as part of your studies or work.
• You have strong capabilities of argumentation and critical analysis, excellent writing and reasoning skills, and show attention to details. With high standards when it comes to writing a report, defending an argument, or looking for data, you like interactions and challenging discussions. 
• You have the capability to use data to support your arguments when required. 
• You like taking initiative and proposing new ideas. You are proactive and willing to raise standards.
• You are open to working in project mode, which implies a margin of flexibility and adaptation. You are autonomous in your own time management, organisation and prioritisation of tasks. You know how to support your teammates in their own time management and prioritisation.
• At the same time, you are a communicative person by nature. You communicate progress when needed; you ask questions when required; you present results effectively and clearly; you are at ease when communicating and engaging with clients professionally.
• You are open to dialogue, feedback and constructive criticism. You see potential difficulties as challenges and opportunities. You enjoy looking for and testing solutions.
• You are curious and eager to learn and explore new fields of expertise.
• You are at ease using Google Suite software (Google docs, Google sheets, Google slides): you are fully comfortable with their technical features, and also manage to be creative when using their functionalities. You are flexible in terms of tools, and could quickly adapt to the systems used by clients.

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Nice to have

While you don't need to be an expert in all the skills listed below, it would be an advantage if you have an understanding and fluency in at least some of them:

• A global knowledge and understanding of international models of higher education, research and/or innovation structuration in a European country or in Europe overall.
• Professional experience in academia in one or several other countries.
• Experience with internationalisation mechanisms at universities.
• Awareness of recent geopolitical developments and their impact in public policy (specifically higher education and research policy), in Europe or beyond.

• Full time position (37,5 hours/week) located in the Barcelona office.
• Salary range is dependent on experience and in line with industry standards. Read our take on the issue: www.sirisacademic.com/wages-fees-ethics.
• After a successful 6-month trial period, the contract will become permanent. 
• SIRIS operates primarily with a hybrid work model, meaning that partial remote work is an established practice within the company.

Benefits

• 33 days of vacation and an extra holiday on your birthday
• Flexible working hours and support for work-life balance.
• Complimentary Health insurance included after three months.
• Specific bonus tickets are provided to cover either public transportation, childcare, restaurants, or gym memberships after three months.
• You will have a workstation in a shared office and a laptop with the operating system of your choice.
• Our lively office is located in downtown Barcelona, close to the old cathedral.
• We cover all work and travel-related expenses.
• We are committed to maintaining an ethical and sustainable working environment.

Send CV and cover letter to jobs@sirisacademic.com. Sending recommendation letters is optional. Please mention “2025 Junior Catalan/English speaking consultant” in the subject of the e-mail.

Deadline to send applications is the 2nd of June

The selection process will unfold in accordance with the following steps and calendar:

1. After an initial CV screening, a first online interview will be carried out in early June 2025.
2. A written test will be sent to pre-selected candidates around mid-June 2025.
3. A final round of face to face interviews with the team for selected candidates will happen during the month of July 2025.
4. If selected, you will join SIRIS by the end of August

Any questions regarding this offer should be sent to jobs@sirisacademic.com.

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SIRIS Academic - Who we are

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We are a consulting firm, fully owned by a not-for-profit Foundation. We work with decision makers in the public or non-profit sector, and provide them with insights, processes and tools, which challenge them to think and enable them to accomplish their mission better.

Our services can take many forms: a strategic or analytical report, a business intelligence tool, a participatory workshop, a coaching session, the moderation of a discussion, a political recommendation, etc.

But if the form varies, the core is always the same: what matters to us is to help leaders make better, more informed and more accountable decisions for the benefit of citizens.

How? We approach problems as researchers: questioning systematically, proposing models, looking for evidence. We never defend a position which we have not tested as deeply as we can. We provide decision-makers with the tools and arguments to make decisions, but we also understand that their job involves political compromises and that the ideal decision is not always either possible or optimal.

Who? Born from research, our team of 50 people is a colourful mix, with specialities ranging from archaeology to physics, and philosophy to biology. Our team is held together by a strong ethical vision, based on the respect of the contribution of everyone, the belief in collective wisdom, and a deep curiosity.

Where? Based in Barcelona, we work with leaders and senior management in over 25 countries, helping analyse potential, build capacity and shape strategy for institutions such as philanthropic foundations, the European Commission, agencies and governments and over 200 Universities and Research Centres across the continent. 

With whom? Our clients are leaders and managers in universities, regional governments, ministries, research organisations, not-for-profit foundations, etc.

In which sectors? Currently, most of our activity focuses on the sectors of higher education and research, science & innovation policy.

And… why? Deep down, we want to make the world a better place by improving public policies. We are strong believers in the power of science-based evidence, participative approaches and accountability processes to improve the way public policies are designed and decisions taken, day after day.

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Focus on the SIRIS Foundation

Since March 2023, SIRIS Academic has been 100% owned by the SIRIS Foundation, recognized by the Protectorate of Foundations of Catalonia. 

The main objectives of the Foundation are:

• to support research, education and innovation as fundamental actions for the common good;
• to promote open science and open government policies in order to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge in a broad, inclusive and transversal manner; 
• to support data-driven approaches to decision making and public investment to produce better outcomes for society as a whole.

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