Position Summary: GAIA is seeking a Project Director to lead the Smart Grids Academy, ensuring technical, training, and organizational success in developing advanced competencies in smart electric grids. Key Responsibilities: 1. Lead the strategic project on smart electric grids 2. Coordinate strategic and operational aspects of the program 3. Mobilize talent and foster corporate participation GAIA, as the entity leading the strategic project *Smart Grids Academy*, developed in collaboration with the Foral Council of Bizkaia and Iberdrola’s *Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub*, has launched a selection process to appoint a Project Director—a key role to ensure the technical, training, and organizational success of this initiative aimed at developing advanced competencies in the smart electric grid sector. The Project Director will be responsible for coordinating all strategic, operational, and relational aspects of the program, ensuring alignment with GAIA’s objectives, the talent attraction strategies promoted by the Foral Council of Bizkaia, and the electricity sector’s needs to support the economy’s electrification. The selected candidate must demonstrate a solid track record in managing complex projects and possess in-depth knowledge related to electric grid management (supervision, automation, communications, sensing, integration of renewable resources, data analytics applied to the grid, OT/IT cybersecurity, etc.). The Project Director will be responsible for designing, coordinating, and supervising the *Smart Grids Academy*’s educational content, training pathways, and technological demonstrators. This requires the ability to interpret technological trends, identify emerging needs in the electricity sector, engage in dialogue with experts from grid operators, technology centers, and ICT providers, and ensure the training program remains relevant, up-to-date, and applicable to professional practice. It is equally necessary to possess the knowledge and skills required to develop a business plan ensuring the project’s long-term viability, as well as to conduct appropriate budgetary monitoring. In addition, the Project Director must demonstrate extensive experience in managing complex projects—particularly those involving collaboration among multiple stakeholders. Key responsibilities include project planning and monitoring, coordination of teaching and technical teams, quality control, milestone reviews, budget management, and preparation of progress reports. Experience in publicly funded projects and multi-stakeholder initiatives at regional, national, or European levels will be highly valued. The *Smart Grids Academy* Project Director will also be tasked with mobilizing talent, identifying experts, fostering corporate participation, and ensuring knowledge transfer to involved professionals. This role is essential to guaranteeing that the project delivers direct impact on the business community and contributes to strengthening the competitiveness of the electricity sector amid increasing electrification. GAIA therefore seeks a highly qualified professional with strategic vision, accustomed to working within multidisciplinary teams and energizing knowledge communities, possessing advanced management skills and a strong technological foundation, capable of representing the project at sectoral forums, events, and meetings with companies and public bodies—to position them at the helm of a flagship, transformative initiative for competency development in smart electric grids. Immediate Incorporation **Profile:** * University degree or higher * Experience: minimum 15 years * Knowledge of electric grids and pedagogical frameworks—Basque Country, national, and international—is desirable. * Qualified experience in the described functions and within companies/entities related to the electric grid sector is desirable. * Experience and knowledge in upskilling and reskilling projects for professionals is desirable. * Experience in strategy development and team leadership. * Personal competencies: proactivity and results orientation, teamwork, service orientation, learning capacity, strategic vision, creative and innovative capability, empathy, communication, and flexibility. Strong interpersonal skills and proven experience in collaborative/networked projects. Consensus-building and leadership capabilities. * Ability to develop relationships and seek alliances across diverse domains and contexts (including geographical/geopolitical dimensions) * Availability for national and international travel * Advanced proficiency in Spanish, English, and Basque (desirable) **Additional criteria to be considered:** motivation and attitude to share knowledge and learn. Familiarity with the smart electric grid sector. Knowledge across diverse disciplines enabling engagement with any type of project. Ability to communicate, build relationships, and forge alliances across different domains and contexts. Capacity for environmental observation and analysis. Availability for travel.