Director

The Centre for European Reform is looking for a new director. 

The successful candidate should have the following qualities and experience: 

• The ability to provide intellectual leadership to the CER. The CER covers European politics, economics and security as well as the EU-UK relationship; the director should be an expert in at least one of these areas and familiar with the key issues in the others. They should help the team of eight or nine researchers identify themes to include in the work programme, and spot important gaps, including those that might need to be filled by commissioning work from associate fellows or others.  

• Alignment with the CER’s ethos and values. The CER is an independent and politically non-aligned think-tank that seeks to achieve an open, outward-looking, influential and prosperous EU. It has two core missions: coming up with ideas and policies for making the EU more effective and successful; and improving the quality of the EU-UK relationship with a view to the two having the closest economic and political relationship that the political realities will allow. The CER is pro-European but not uncritical, recognising that although European integration is largely beneficial, the EU often under-performs. The CER’s headquarters is in London, but it has a pan-European and transatlantic outlook, and its researchers come from several EU member-states as well as the UK and the US. Their diverse experiences and viewpoints are an added strength. The CER has a democratic culture and is non-hierarchical. It does not impose ‘lines to take’ on its researchers. Staff are encouraged to arrive at their own conclusions through their research, though on rare occasions the director or deputy director may decide that something is not of the right quality to be published by the CER.  

• Experience of fund-raising, to cover the CER’s annual running costs of approximately £1.4 million. The CER currently receives a little over three-quarters of its income from donations from UK and international corporations and individuals, and the remainder from projects funded by the EU and a variety of private and public foundations. The director needs to maintain relationships with existing funders and cultivate contacts with potential sponsors. 

• The people skills to provide light-touch guidance to the CER’s researchers, all experts in their own fields, who are based in London, Brussels and Berlin; and also to the administrative staff who run the CER’s in-person and online events, are responsible for its publications, website and social media output, and look after its financial and HR management. The CER prides itself on a strong team spirit, and the director needs to ensure that geographically dispersed staff feel included and supported but not micro-managed.  

• Excellent connections with senior levels in governments, EU institutions and other international bodies. The CER stands out for being well-connected in the UK, Europe and the US, and the director’s networking skills will be crucial to maintaining the CER’s competitive edge. Frequent travel to Brussels and other European capitals will be essential, as well as periodic trips to Washington, and occasional trips to China and elsewhere.  

• A track record of original thinking, and of writing persuasive policy papers and contributing to policy debates on matters of European policy and EU-UK relations. Experience of giving evidence to parliamentary committees would be a plus. The director will be responsible for maintaining and enhancing the CER’s influence and its reputation for sober, rigorous and realistic analysis, combined with constructive policy recommendations. Fluent written and oral communication skills in English will be essential; being able to work in other major European languages would be a distinct advantage. The director’s work, like that of other researchers, will be subject to the rigorous internal editing process; the director will also take on a share of editing the work of others.  

• Experience of live media appearances and of participation in high-profile international conferences. The director is likely to be invited onto flagship radio and TV programmes in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and should be comfortable with high-pressure interviews and public debates. 

The search is being led by the new chair of the CER, Sir Julian King. The CER will offer a competitive salary. The CER operates an open and transparent recruitment process. It is strongly committed to non-discrimination on grounds of gender, race, sexuality or age.      

Those interested should send a CV, cover letter and links to relevant publications and public appearances or interviews (or articles in pdf format) to Sophie Valiant (sophie@cer.eu) by 12.00 (London time) on Friday 22 May 2026. We plan to interview short-listed candidates in late June, when the CER’s staff will also have an opportunity to meet informally those invited for interview. The successful candidate would ideally take up their role in January 2027.