Management and Leadership for Safety in Complex Projects
Postdoctoral Researcher
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Fixed-term position to be filled starting January 6th, 2025.
The gross salary for this position is 3300 € per month.
Organisations : SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d'Azur, GREDEG
SKEMA Business School has a vacancy for one full-time postdoctoral researcher in Management and Leadership for Safety in Complex Projects for 1 year, renewable once. This position is funded by the DMaLSE project supported by the European Union within the framework of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC). DMaLSE is a multidisciplinary project supporting the improvement of nuclear safety around the world. Its main objective is to ensure that nuclear dismantling activities are conducted in line with the highest standards of safety. The DMaLSE project will be carried out by three partners: Université Côte d'Azur (UCA), SKEMA Business School and Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie (KIT).
Context and research description:
As many installations are reaching the end of their service life, the decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is increasingly arousing the interest of governments, nuclear regulators, and NPP operators. Moreover, safety concerns, social pressure and the increasing economic viability of renewable energy sources are likely to encourage policymakers to shut down additional facilities in the coming years. According to a recent report of the international consultancy agency, Deloitte, 56 nuclear facilities worldwide are currently in the phase of decommissioning, while more than 400, including NPPs and research reactors, are expecting to phase out by 2040. Decommissioning projects are highly complex in their design, planning, and execution, requiring the coordination of numerous interdisciplinary actors over extended periods-typically 20 to 30 years. These projects present significant safety-related but also organisational challenges due to the intricate nature of tasks and the need for long-term strategic oversight. The complexities involved call for the further development of advanced management and leadership competencies, particularly in navigating project intricacies, handling uncertainties, managing stakeholder engagement, and ensuring effective knowledge management. These competencies are essential to complement the predominantly technical expertise of engineers and managers in the nuclear sector, enhancing overall project performance across multiple dimensions, including, but not
limited to, safety.
The main objective of the DMaLSE project is to further develop a science-based training package for future decommissioning project managers. This training material, designed to suit their specific needs, will be made available to all IAEA member states but is primarily addressing the needs of INSC countries. This training will provide the nuclear sector actors and regulating institutions a recognized Master-level university diploma in the field of management and leadership for safety applied to decommissioning projects.
In order to reach this goal, and because of the novelty and the complexity of the decommissioning projects, a multidisciplinary research program is developed to create the necessary knowledge for improving management and leadership for safety in nuclear decommissioning projects (NDP). In this context, the postdoctoral researcher will be part of the research phase of the project, which aims to analyse different cases of nuclear decommissioning projects in Europe, mainly through qualitative methodologies (interviews, observations, document analyses), and formalise this knowledge through academic article publications, professional publications, or pedagogical case studies. S/he will work in close coordination with the researchers of the DMaLSE project.
ABOUT US
GREDEG :
Researchers from both the Université Côte d'Azur and SKEMA Business School belong to GREDEG Research Centre. GREDEG aims at analysing coordination and interaction patterns between firms and markets in a framework, in which innovation processes and knowledge assets play critical roles. This research direction is explored through a multidisciplinary approach with topics dealing with economic, managerial and legal aspects. The GREDEG is made up of several teams. The post-doctoral fellow will be part of the Ecological Transition and Organizational Resilience team. For further information about GREDEG please visit: https://gredeg.univ-cotedazur.fr/.
UniCA :
Université Côte d'Azur has been an experimental university since 1 January 2020. This new
academic status helps develop a bold and independent strategy based on:
• breaking down the barriers between education, research and innovation,
• developing agility and responsiveness through the increased autonomy of the units,
• the ability to harness the amazing potential for diversity represented by its 17 members.
Université Côte d'Azur won the prestigious Initiative d'Excellence (Idex) label in 2016. This
distinction, awarded by an international jury, positions the university among the 10 best French research-intensive universities, provides it with additional resources to further accelerate its development, and marks the recognition of a university capable of standing tall in the face of global competition. For further information about UCA please visit: https://univ-cotedazur.eu/.
SKEMA :
SKEMA is a global research and higher education institution that trains talents who are committed to transforming the world through a sustainable approach. Business School's faculty comprises more than 170 professors located across 7 locations: 3 campuses in France (Lille, Paris, Sophia Antipolis), 1 in China (Suzhou), 1 in the United States (Raleigh), 1 in Brazil (Belo Horizonte), and 1 in South Africa (Cape Town). In 2019, the school created an Artificial Intelligence research lab in Canada (Montreal). SKEMA is accredited at EQUIS, AACSB, and EFMD–EMBA. Its programs are legally recognized in France, as well as in the United States, Brazil, and China. For further information about SKEMA please visit: SKEMA Business School, an international business school
ABOUT THE POSITION
This offer is for full-time employment for a duration of 1 year, renewable once. The tentative
starting date for this position is January 6th, 2025 but can be flexible depending on the availability of the candidate.
- The gross salary for this position is 3300 € per month;
- The candidate will mainly work with Professor Renata Kaminska and assistant Professor Yoann Guntzburger (SKEMA), and also the DMaLSE team.
- They will be based at the Sophia Antipolis campus (FRANCE).
- The candidate is expected to work on research activities within the scope of the DMaLSE project, including research and professional publications, pedagogical case study development, conference presentations, and workshop participation.
- The candidate will also have opportunities to interact with academics and researchers in Management and Leadership for Safety, Project Management, Knowledge Management, and Stakeholder Engagement.
Required qualifications:
- The candidate will be part of the SKEMA and UniCA team. He or she will be responsible for the following tasks:
- Carrying out a literature review on the different relevant topics.
- Conducting qualitative studies with operators or regulators involved in dismantling
projects.
- Identifying and analyzing the different challenges of dismantling projects.
- Developing comparative studies between different decommissioning cases.
- Contributing to disseminating DMaLSE project's research results through participation in
scientific conferences and publications in top-ranked academic journals.
- Participating in the development of pedagogical case studies.
- The candidate is expected to hold a Ph.D. in Management or Science and Technology Studies (STS). The candidate must show a good knowledge of organisation studies. Specialised knowledge of complex project organizing, management and leadership for safety, knowledge management, or stakeholder engagement is an additional asset. Significant research skills are required, particularly in qualitative methods. The candidate is also expected to have excellent organizational and communication skills and be fluent in both French and English.
How to apply :
Interested candidates are required to provide the following documents in PDF format
regrouped in a single zip file:
• Cover Letter
• CV with a list of publications
• The names and contact details of three references (including the Ph.D. thesis
supervisor)
• One or two publications.
Candidates must send their application to Catherine Thomas (catherine.thomas@univcotedazur. fr) and Yoann Guntzburger (yoann.guntzburger@skema.edu).
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Daniela Iubatti
Assistant Professor
SKEMA Business School, Université Côte D'Azur (GREDEG)
Valbonne
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