Head of School EECS - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) is one of five schools at KTH. Our operation consists of research, education and collaboration with society in the fields of electrical engineering, computer science, intelligent systems, and human-centered technology. The school hosts a number of KTH's research centres, in areas such as digitalisation, cyber security, semiconductor, high performance computing, and wireless communication. The school's research contributes to KTH being among the highest-ranked universities in the world in some of the school's subject areas. The school has approximately 1,100 employees and is responsible for educational programs with over 5,000 students.

Assignment description

As Head of School, you lead the business and actively contribute to the development of both the school's and KTH's research, education and collaboration with the surrounding community. The assignment is both operational and strategic with full responsibility for the school's educational program, development planning, operational planning and recruitment of new employees.

The EECS school conducts both basic research and applied research that meets societal problems and challenges. The technical educations of the future are designed here, educations that create the engineers and scientists of the future, with a strong connection to academic research and effective communication of the school's ongoing research. You will lead development and change work to ensure a balanced education and research offering, as well as engage in strategic work for the school's competence supply and student recruitment. Furthermore, you work long-term for a sustainable future, both in Sweden and internationally, by coordinating academic discussions to collaboratively shape the agenda for the most significant and emerging research topics and their role in society. You are also expected to actively participate in KTH's long-term work with strategic research funding and collaboration, which includes external funds, fundraising, infrastructure and strategic partnerships. In both research and education, collaborations take place with important strategic partners in business, regions and authorities, and contacts are maintained with national and international universities.

The Head of School is a central part of KTH's management team, works closely with the President of KTH, who is the immediate manager, and builds bridges between different institutions. The Head of School serves as the head of the school’s departments and as a constructive dialogue partner to the President of KTH, with the ability to raise and communicate issues effectively both upward and downward within the organization, while also safeguarding and upholding the student organizations’ right to influence the school’s operations.

KTH is not only an international organization but also a creative melting pot, with a diversity of ideas represented by employees from more than 100 nationalities. KTH's work environment and study environment must be attractive, inclusive and equal. The school is committed to promoting diversity and actively striving for equitable conditions for people of any background or minority, including achieving a balanced gender representation. In the role of Head of School, you are expected to contribute to the culture remaining open and welcoming. KTH strives for employees to be able to have a balance between work and free time and to be offered a flexible way of working.

The school's work is characterized by strategic long-termism, uniform processes, professionalism, openness and an inclusive work environment. As Head of School, you put the available financial and personnel resources to work effectively. You have budget responsibility for the school's financial resources, about SEK 1.6 billion annually. The EECS school is characterized by a committed faculty, a valuable resource for the school's future development. One of the first and most important tasks of the Head of School is to ensure that the recent reorganization functions effectively and supports the school’s smooth operations, and to stabilize the administrative support that underpins them. At the same time, the Head of School will play a key role in preparing the school to meet upcoming thematic challenges in its fields by setting appropriate resource priorities and ensuring that both research and education are well aligned with future demands.  Administrative support is attached to the task as head of school in the form of management support for the Head of School, the school's management team and for the faculty board. Furthermore, you get career support and access to a network of mentors and colleagues for support and guidance in your role as Head of School.

The President of KTH appoints the Head of School. The appointment as Head of School has a duration of four years with a possible extension of another four years. There is the possibility for conducting your own research or teaching up to 20-30% of working time.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the appointment as Head of School you need to meet the eligibility requirements for employment as a professor or associate professor according to Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance and in (Chapter 12.4.1) of KTH's Rules of Procedure (arbetsordning). In addition, the assessment criteria stated in the KTH appointments procedure apply. KTH is a Swedish authority and is subject to the Swedish Language Act.

Grounds of assessment

• Has good knowledge of KTH’s operations and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and conducts research and education activities within the school's core subject areas.
• Has achieved a respectable academic standing both internationally and nationally, as well as at KTH, and, most importantly, among colleagues at the KTH School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, with a sound sense of academic quality.
• Has a clear and realistic vision on how to develop and support the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in conducting world-class research and high-quality teaching with an understanding of its disciplines and societal importance beyond one’s own field, the ability to anticipate and respond to future developments, ensuring the school’s long-term relevance and competitiveness.
• Has a shown track record of gaining and sustaining the trust and support of colleagues, students, administrative staff, and university leadership, creating strong, collaborative relationships across the school and wider university community, with a clear commitment to student influence and active dialogue with student representatives.
• Has experience as a leader to have successfully led academic core operations and successfully shown the ability to gain trust through transparent and collegial leadership; experience with budget and personnel responsibility is an advantage.
• Has the potential to lead and strategically develop the KTH School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, including its large budget and personnel budget responsibility, set strategic priorities, and guide the school through change and growth, with a strong commitment to support colleagues’ growth, encouraging their ideas, delegating responsibility with accountability and support, exercising leadership as a service to the school, and building a leadership team with complementary strengths.
• Has the courage and resilience to also make difficult decisions with integrity, as well as the capacity to listen to different perspectives and mediate constructively between diverse interests.
• Has strong communication skills, with the ability to explain clearly and concisely necessary changes, to spread enthusiasm and motivate colleagues towards shared goals and visions, and to represent the school in diverse settings, prioritizing the school’s mission over personal ambition.
• Has organizational awareness and the ability to handle complex governance structures, including working with a large number of department heads and ensuring effective collaboration with administrative support. Has the capacity to represent the school’s needs to the university leadership, striving for efficient, supportive, and non-bureaucratic administrative processes.
• Has the ability and experience to cooperate with the surrounding society, universities, and business sector, and to engage effectively with stakeholders at KTH level to ensure understanding, alignment, and support for the school’s activities and goals.
• Has a commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion, with the ability to create a collegial and respectful culture and collaborate effectively with colleagues, students, and student representatives.
• Has a good understanding of laws, rules, collective agreements and the Swedish academic landscape.
• Since a significant number of the school's employees are English-speaking, good knowledge of English is necessary. As KTH is a public authority, many documents and internal communications with the university administration are in Swedish; therefore, good knowledge of Swedish is essential.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal qualities and personal suitability.

How to nominate 

If you are an employee at EECS, work for EECS, or are a student representative, then you are welcome to nominate one or more candidates whom you consider suitable for the position of Head of School at EECS. Self-nominations are also allowed. When considering your nomination and motivation, please refer to the desired profile above for Head of School.

Nominate by filling in this form. If you want to nominate several candidates, fill in the form again — one form per candidate.  Deadline for nominations is the 31th October 2025.

Your complete nominations must be received by KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Other information

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process.

It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law with the applicant's consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence