The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks head of the Innovation Center in Boston, USA

Do you have solid leadership skills and a sharp commercial profile? Can you capitalize on the momentum in the relationship between the USA and Denmark and lead the work to connect innovative Danish companies and research/educational institutions with the innovation environments in Boston?

The Innovation Center in Boston supports Danish educational and research institutions as well as companies in gaining access to the latest knowledge, technology, relevant networks, collaboration partners and funding.

The Innovation Center has a particular focus on life sciences, where there is a uniquely strong environment in Boston, but the center also works with other knowledge-intensive focus areas within the green transition and quantum technology.

About the job

As head of the innovation center in Boston, your overarching goal is to strengthen Danish knowledge-intensive companies and research/educational institutions’ access to knowledge, technology, partners and funding in the innovation ecosystems in Boston. Your focus will especially be on building and establishing innovation ecosystems, where a range of different actors including authorities, knowledge institutions and companies are introduced to knowledge and partnerships in and around Boston’s Kendall Square.

As center chief you will be responsible for leading the center, business development and professional sparring. A management responsibility that you deliver in close cooperation with the research and innovation attaché. You have the administrative responsibility for the innovation center’s staff and for the center’s results.

There are concrete performance requirements tied to the position and the innovation center.

It will also be important tasks for you to communicate the innovation center’s work in the USA and Denmark, as well as to prepare and assist visits from, among others, Danish ministers and Parliament committees.

In addition to the center chief, the team in Boston consists of a seconded research and innovation attaché, three innovation advisors, one trade officer, an administrative staff member and two interns.

The Innovation Center in Boston is part of a network of eight Danish innovation centers globally, operated in collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (and Digitalization).

The center is fully integrated in the overall effort for economic diplomacy in North America, and there is close collaboration with the Danish embassy in Washington D.C., the Innovation Center in Silicon Valley and the other Danish representations in North America as part of the coordinated handling of Danish interests. You will, as center chief, become a member of the Economic Diplomacy North Americas management team.

In addition to local managerial responsibilities, the center chief will also take on the role of academic lead for the Foreign Ministry’s health team in North America (USA and Canada). This role involves setting the strategic direction for Denmark’s priorities within the health field, implementing the Danish life science strategy in close cooperation with relevant ministries, cluster organizations and companies across the Danish representations in the USA and Canada. This work is coordinated in close collaboration with the regional coordinator in Washington DC.

About you

We are looking for a motivated team player with deep knowledge of the Life Science innovation ecosystem and a relevant professional background. At the same time you have several years of international experience, including from private industry and public organizations.

We place emphasis on you having/being

• Leadership experience, preferably from international or cross-cultural contexts, and are good at motivating, setting a direction for and sparring with an ambitious team of employees.
• Strong network and solid experience within the Life Science environment, combined with a relevant professional background.
• Strong experience in leading administration and budgets, where you create overview, promote collaboration and ensure sustainable resource use.
• Extensive experience in advising companies, preferably both startups/SMEs and large companies.
• Great interest in and experience with working at the interface between innovation, business and technology.
• Sales experience and ability to create close and systematic customer relationships.
• Several years of international experience, preferably from the USA, and understanding and ability to decode culture and business differences between Denmark and the USA.
• Results-oriented and thrives with concrete and measurable performance targets.
• Good at collaborating internally and externally.
• Good at developing and maintaining networks.
• Experience from both private industry and public organizations.
• Diplomatic by nature and possess a solid political understanding
• Proficient in English at a high level.

Language skills

• C1 in English
• C2 in Danish

Refers to the official EU overview: Assessment grid - Danish

Organizational placement

The position is placed at Innovation Centre Denmark, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Salary and terms of employment

This is a fixed-term appointment for a 3-year period with possible extension for up to 2 years.

Salary and terms of employment will be as a chief consultant with personnel management in accordance with the applicable collective agreement between the state and the relevant professional organization.

It is a condition of deployment that you are tax-resident in Denmark and that your salary is taxable in Denmark.

During the deployment you will receive a tax-free foreign service allowance set according to the cost of living at the post. The allowance is calculated based on your personal circumstances, including family composition. A official residence will be provided in accordance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ rules. In addition, other expenses related to relocation, travel, health insurance, school, etc. will be covered in accordance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ rules.

It is a condition of appointment that you can obtain a security clearance and maintain your security clearance during the appointment.

Start date

Start on June 1, 2027 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen (subject to security clearance) followed by posting to Boston from August 1, 2027.

Application deadline and contact

The application deadline is Monday, November 23, 2026 . We expect to conduct interviews in week 49. After the interview there will be an oral English language test. The test will be conducted online. You apply under “Job” at www.um.dk . You must submit a targeted and motivated application of at most 1 page and a CV including information about education, previous work and other qualifications, language proficiency levels, references, etc. Please attach your diploma. Attaching only a CV is not considered a complete application.

If you have questions about the position that are not answered in the advertisement or cannot be found at www.um.dk , you are very welcome to contact Hanna van den Driest, Innovation Lead, ICDK, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tel. +45 21992793, e-mail: [email protected] , and if you have questions about salary and terms you can contact HR consultant Mette Brink, [email protected] , +45 33920288.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs views diversity as a strength and wishes to employ staff with different backgrounds. We therefore encourage all qualified applicants, regardless of personal background, to apply for a position at the MFA.

About the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to work for Denmark’s interests and values in relation to the wider world in a way that promotes Danes’ freedom, safety and prosperity, as well as a more peaceful and just world with development and economic growth for all.

In the MFA’s vision, we should be widely respected as a competent, efficient, outgoing and service-oriented organization, and we should be an attractive and idea-generating workplace that ensures high employee satisfaction and targeted competence development. Our shared values are that we as individuals and as an organization work on the basis of musicality, openness, professionalism, decisiveness and job satisfaction. All open positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be found at www.um.dk .

About Innovation Centre Denmark

Denmark has eight innovation centers in leading global knowledge environments: Bangalore, Boston, Munich, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and Nairobi. The innovation centers have the task of helping Danish companies and research/educational institutions gain access to foreign knowledge, networks, technology and capital. The centers’ focus areas are green tech, life science, deep tech/emerging and critical technologies such as space, AI and quantum.

The innovation centers are a collaboration between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more about the innovation centers at http://icdk.dk/