Report from the 4S Managing Director Selection Panel
4S Council decided in May 2021 to establish a position of Managing Director (MD) for 4S and to publish a call for expression of interest. The proposal for the position was finalized by Council in September and is enclosed in Appendix 1.
A selection panel was then appointed, consisting of Wiebe Bijker, Alan Irwin, Emma Kowal, Knut H. Sørensen and Hebe Vessuri. The panel met by zoom October 12 to constitute itself and discuss the call for the MD position. Knut H. Sørensen was elected as chair. The call was revised through email exchanges during the following days and it was published on October 15 on the 4S website (https://www.4sonline.org/legacy_9603.php) and at several email lists and platforms, including Linkedin, AsiaSTSgrad, H-Sci-Tech-Med, EASST-Eurograd and STSgrad. Two persons who had sent an expression of interest in June were informed about the call through individual emails. The deadline for applications was set at November 29, 2021. Applications were to be sent by email to the panel chair Knut H. Sørensen
We received a total of 15 applications, and these were made available to the panel as they arrived. The applications were discussed at a zoom meeting on November 30. The panel was at that point supplemented by the newly appointed Secretary of 4S, Vivian Choi, and the newly appointed Treasurer, Aneesh Aneesh. The panel was in general impressed by the number and the quality of applicants and short-listed the four most promising candidates, based on their competencies and experience.
The four candidates were interviewed by the panel on December 6 during a zoom meeting. They were asked about their motivation to apply for the MD position, relevant experiences, and issues regarding time management and organization. After the interviews, each lasting 25 minutes, the panel summarized their impression of the performances. All candidates showed that they were well qualified for the position. During the discussion, the panel chose to emphasize relevant experiences related to financial and technical tasks. Finally, the panel decided to recommend Amanda Windle for the position. In our opinion, based upon her formal application and the interview, she was the candidate who most fully met the stated job requirements.
