Job Description
IT Director & Digital Transformation
Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)
Context
The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is an internationally recognised research centre with more than 450 professionals, mainly scientists, specialised in biomedicine, bioengineering, robotics, cell biology and artificial intelligence applied to health.
IBEC holds excellence accreditations such as Severo Ochoa and is part of the Catalan public–private research ecosystem (Government of Catalonia, University of Barcelona and Polytechnic University of Catalonia).
Mission of the role
To lead the digital, technological and data transformation of IBEC, turning the IT area into a strategic enabler of scientific research and institutional management.
This is not a maintenance role. It is a role of reconstruction, structuring and evolution, ensuring:
- Technological security and resilience
- Clear governance of systems, data and applications
- Excellent support to researchers and management units
- Medium- and long-term scalability and sustainability
Scope of responsibility
The Director assumes global responsibility for IT, Data and Digital Transformation, integrating currently fragmented areas under a single governance model:
- Strategy & Leadership
- Define and execute the IT and digitalisation strategy aligned with IBEC’s scientific and organisational objectives
- Act as a strategic partner to the executive management team
- Translate scientific and management needs into viable technological solutions
- Infrastructure, systems and security
- Governance of infrastructure (on-prem, cloud, HPC, networks, virtualisation, storage)
- Cybersecurity, business continuity, backups and disaster recovery
- Relationship with technology providers and consortia (CSUC, BSC, SAP, etc.)
- Applications and platforms
- Governance and evolution of critical applications (SAP ERP, core scientific systems, workflows, licensing and access management)
- Continuous evaluation and rationalisation of the application ecosystem
- Ensure interoperability and system integration
- Data, AI and Open Science
- Define data governance, storage and exploitation policies
- Promote data platforms and integration with HPC environments
- Introduce AI tools for research and management
- Coordinate with Open Science initiatives
- Transformation and project governance
- Lead key digitalisation projects (cloud, identity, automation, AI, application integration)
- Establish governance, prioritisation and monitoring frameworks
- Ensure pragmatic, impact-oriented execution
- Financial and team management
- Define and manage the IT budget
- Perform cost–benefit analysis of technology investments
- Lead and structure infrastructure, systems and data teams (currently approx. 6–8 people)
- Foster a culture of service, collaboration and continuous improvement
Key challenges
- Recovery and stabilisation of critical data
- Redesign of security, backup and resilience strategy
- Clarification of truly critical systems
- Definition of a realistic IT, Data and AI roadmap
- Integrating modern IT without disrupting the collaborative scientific culture
Required profile
Background and experience
- Degree in Engineering (Computer Science, Telecommunications or similar)
- More than 7 years’ experience in senior IT, digital transformation or technology management roles
- Solid experience in infrastructure, systems, security and digital projects
- Experience in complex and regulated environments
- ERP experience (implementation or governance)
- Experience in research or university environments is a plus
Languages
- English: high / fluent
- Catalan: desirable
Competencies and personal style
- Mature, collaborative leadership, capable of building consensus
- Critical and analytical thinking
- Ability to communicate with scientists and non-technical profiles
- Results-driven, pragmatic and service-oriented
- Humble, approachable and professionally rigorous
Conditions
- Open-ended contract
- Indicative fixed salary: around €75,000 + variable depending on experience
- Hybrid model: 2 remote working days
- Working time: 37.5 hours per week
- Fridays: intensive schedule (8:00–15:00)
- Reduced working hours in summer (July–August)
- Holidays: 23 days + 9 personal days
- Continuous training and flexible remuneration
- International, high-excellence scientific environment