• Client: Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
• Department: Education & Student Affairs (ESA)
• Team: Teacher Support & Quality Assurance
• Programme: DRIVE – Educational Innovation
• Location: Eindhoven
• Hours: Average of 32 hours per week
• Intended start date: September 2026
• Initial contract duration: 3 months
• Extension: In periods of 3 months, up to an initial maximum total duration of 2 years
• Maximum hourly rate: €110 excluding VAT, all-inclusive
• Contract type: Secondment, payroll or freelance (with DBA proof agreement) 
• Salary scale: Scale 11, Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities
• Tender submission deadline: 24 August 2026 before 13:00
• Interviews: 3 and 7 September 2026
• Award decision: approximately 4 working days after the interviews
• Intended start: September 2026

The assignment falls within the Educational Support cluster of TU/e's DPS.

Context of the Assignment

The Project Manager will work within TU/e's DRIVE programme, which focuses on innovation in education through the use of educational technology.

DRIVE focuses on five strategic themes:

• AI in Education: education for, with, and despite AI;
• E-assessment: innovative technology-enabled assessment methods;
• Learning Analytics: using data to understand and optimise learning and teaching;
• Flexibilisation: making educational resources and learning pathways more flexible and accessible;
• Virtualisation: including XR, VR, innovative laboratory education and gamification.

The programme runs several pilot projects through multidisciplinary teams consisting of educational advisers, IT specialists, developers, researchers and educators.

TU/e has identified a need for additional project management expertise because the educational advisers are strong subject-matter experts but do not always have the project management experience required to execute complex innovation projects successfully.

Core of the Assignment

TU/e is looking for an experienced, hands-on Project Manager with a strong coaching mindset.

The assignment is broadly divided into:

• 0.6 FTE: operational project management of the Socratic AI Tutor pilot;
• 0.2 FTE: process guidance and coaching for four additional pilot projects.

In addition, the Project Manager is expected to contribute to improving the overall way of working within the DRIVE programme.

1. Project Management – Socratic AI Tutor

The Project Manager will take an active operational role in managing the Socratic AI Tutor project.

Main Responsibilities

• Lead and guide the project team.
• Divide tasks and responsibilities.
• Structure project activities.
• Define milestones and timelines.
• Manage:
  • scope;
  • planning;
  • risks;
  • dependencies;
  • resources;
  • budget.
• Coordinate between:
  • educators;
  • developers;
  • researchers;
  • support staff.
• Monitor project progress and deliverables.
• Report regularly to DRIVE programme leadership.
• Develop evaluation guidelines.
• Analyse pilot results.
• Contribute to plans for wider implementation and scaling.
• Develop and execute a strategy to attract and retain teacher participation in the pilot.

2. Process Guidance and Coaching – Four Additional Pilots

The Project Manager will also support the project leads of the following pilots:

• GraphSearch
• IGuideMe
• Course Insights
• Automated Feedback & Assessment

The objective is not to take over these projects, but to help the project leads develop sufficient project management skills to manage their projects independently.

Main Responsibilities

• Help project leads define clear objectives.
• Clarify scope and deliverables.
• Support the design of project governance.
• Facilitate workshops and working sessions.
• Support:
  • project planning;
  • risk management;
  • decision-making.
• Encourage consistency across the different pilots.
• Stimulate cross-project knowledge sharing.
• Coach educational advisers in practical project management skills.
• Help project leads take ownership of their projects.

3. Programme-Level Contribution

The Project Manager will work with the DRIVE team to reflect on and improve the programme's overall organisation and way of working.

The objective is to improve consistency and professionalisation across the various innovation projects, rather than focusing only on the individual pilots.

Required Profile

Experience

• At least 5 years of proven project management experience.
• Experience leading complex projects.
• Preferably experience in:
  • education;
  • innovation;
  • technology.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to manage several interconnected projects simultaneously.

No specific project management methodology or certification is required.

Coaching and Facilitation

The candidate must be able to:

• coach project leads with limited project management experience;
• provide guidance without taking over ownership;
• facilitate workshops and working sessions;
• develop practical project management skills in others;
• empower project leads to become increasingly independent.

Stakeholder Management

Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, as the Project Manager will work with a broad range of stakeholders, including:

• educational advisers;
• teachers;
• researchers;
• IT specialists;
• developers;
• programme management.

Languages

• English: required
• Dutch: an advantage

Organisational Awareness

The candidate should understand governance and decision-making processes in complex organisations.

Experience within a:

• university;
• educational institution;
• public-sector organisation

is therefore particularly relevant.

Affinity

The candidate should have a clear interest in:

• educational innovation;
• EdTech;
• digital learning;
• AI in education;
• integrating new technologies into higher education.

Key Competencies

TU/e is looking for someone who is:

• hands-on;
• solution-oriented;
• structured;
• pragmatic and realistic regarding feasibility;
• collaborative;
• strong in stakeholder alignment;
• proactive;
• adaptable;
• comfortable operating in a complex university environment;
• impact-driven;
• able to combine project leadership with coaching.

Award Criteria

Quality is assessed on the basis of:

• CV;
• references;
• personal motivation;
• vision regarding the assignment;
• alignment with the requested profile and competencies.

The candidate must specifically explain why they are particularly suitable for this assignment.

Assessment is based on a score from 0 to 10:

• 0: extremely poor
• 6: satisfactory
• 10: excellent

Phase 2 – Interview

A maximum of the three highest-scoring candidates from Phase 1 will be invited for an interview.

During the interview:

• technical expertise will be discussed;
• soft skills will be assessed;
• the candidate who will actually perform the assignment must attend.

The interview is scored from 0 to 10.

A particularly important point is that the candidate with the highest interview score is eligible for contract award, regardless of the score achieved in Phase 1.

A score below 6 is considered insufficient. If none of the candidates scores at least 6, TU/e may invite the next-ranked candidates from Phase 1.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a senior project manager who combines strong hands-on delivery with coaching capability.

The strongest profile would include experience with:

complex innovation projects + education/IT + multidisciplinary teams + stakeholder management + coaching + organisational awareness.

This is not primarily an assignment for a technical AI specialist. The core requirement is the ability to turn educational innovation into structured and executable projects.

The candidate must be able to manage the Socratic AI Tutor directly while simultaneously helping other project leads become better and more independent project managers. This combination of hands-on project leadership and coaching appears to be the most distinctive aspect of the assignment.