Join the Europeana Foundation’s Advisory Board

Are you passionate about digital cultural heritage for the public good? Do you have a visionary outlook? If so, we invite you to become a member of our Advisory Board. In this moment of tremendous change in culture and digitality, this role offers the opportunity to influence the direction of the Europeana Foundation, but also to learn. You will take part in a dynamic, diverse and remarkable board. You will help the organisation towards its mission of democratising access to cultural heritage, enabling innovation, and scaling up the common European data space for cultural heritage.

On our Advisory Board, we are looking for three new members, as outlined below.

These positions are voluntary and unpaid.

The Europeana Foundation is committed to principles of diversity, inclusivity, nondiscriminatory practice and equal opportunity for all applicants. We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds and experiences, should your profile fit the three positions we are seeking for our Advisory Board.

A note on our ideal candidates

We welcome candidates who bring strengths across several of these areas, even if not all, and are excited to contribute alongside others in shaping the future of Europe’s digital cultural heritage. The profiles we have outlined are ambitious, often combining niche expertise, deep knowledge, and broad networks. We recognise that few candidates will match every criterion exactly. If your experience aligns strongly with the core of a position, we would love to hear from you, even if you do not meet every requirement.

Board member position 1: AI technology, ethics and policy - Reference no. EFAB20261

This position provides a unique opportunity to help guide Europeana’s AI strategy.

Areas of expertise and experience:

AI technology and infrastructure - You have a good understanding of Large and Small Language Models (LLMs and SLMs). You understand the nuances of data curation for AI; structured data environments, knowledge graphs, ontologies, and Linked Open Data to ensure AI systems remain interoperable and context-aware. You understand integrated ecosystems and the interface between AI Factories, Data Labs, and their synergy with Common European Data Spaces. Additional technical depth in any of these areas and in AI development is considered an advantage. Technical expertise in this position will ensure that Europeana does not just adapt to AI, but can actively help guarantee the European cultural and heritage data is utilised for AI in ways that are technically robust and architecturally compatible.
Ethical AI and advocacy - You are a proponent of human-centered AI that upholds fundamental European values. You are a vocal advocate for, and proactively promote the principle that culture and heritage data is a public good. You are committed to ensuring that cultural heritage assets remain protected, accessible and reused in the age of AI.
Regulatory and policy - You have knowledge of the EU AI and data policy landscape, and are familiar with the EU AI Act, the AI Continent Plan, and the Apply AI Strategy. You are also familiar with the European Data Union Strategy, the Data Governance Act and the Data Act. You have a good understanding of the practicalities of implementing these frameworks.

Board member position 2: Network building, advocacy and change - Reference no. EFAB20262

This role is for a strategic weaver and movement builder, a natural network leader who believes that the power of the cultural heritage sector lies in its connectivity. In this role, you advise on how to nurture a pan-European ecosystem, leveraging its collective strength to lead digital transformation and advocate for the public good. You advise on navigating the complexities of the AI era. You advise about specific topics for the cultural heritage community including scaling 3D digitisation, access and reuse; data curation; colonial histories or multicultural and multilingual perspectives. This is an opportunity to help ensure that our ecosystem remains resilient, our advocacy remains sharp, and our sector plays a central role in Europe’s digital future.

Areas of expertise and experience:

Network and movement building and nurturing - You will advise in such areas as nurturing the distributed network of Europeana, weaving its diverse network into a unified, high-impact movement, and driving collective capacity building.
Transformation leadership, change agency, and advocacy - You will help use the power of the network to lead systemic change. You advise on how to guide the sector through significant pivots such as the AI transformation, managing the friction and anxiety that often accompany such shifts. You have experience in the mindset and cultural shifts necessary for networks to lead change. Ideally you can advise on high-level advocacy around Culture for AI and AI for Culture - a reciprocal relationship where the cultural heritage sector acts as both a beneficiary of AI and a guardian of the data that makes AI trustable, human-centred and ethical.
Strategic partnerships and collaboration - You will advise on sectoral or cross-sectoral collaboration, building strategic partnerships that pool resources and expertise, and aligning our efforts with key partners and initiatives in the broader landscape. You will help us identify joint policy priorities and opportunities to join forces with relevant initiatives, domains and sectors such as education, research, tourism and creative industries for shared visions and mutual value gains.

Profile 3: EU funding and strategic diversification expert - Reference no. EFAB20263

Areas of expertise and experience:

This role is for an expert who knows how funding moves in the EU and Europe, how private capital views public good, and how to lobby for culture. As the ideal candidate you bridge some of these expertise or experience:

EU institutional intelligence and influence - Ideally, you are an ex-EU expert or connected to EU institutions. You have experience in lobbying and high-level advocacy. You know about EU tendering and various funding programmes (eg. Horizon Europe, Creative Europe, Digital Europe) and the Multiannual Financial Framework. Knowledge of the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) for multi-country investments is an added value.
Strategic funding and financial resilience - You have experience in and can advise on moving away from a single funding source dependency. You can advise on new funding frontiers in the intersection of culture, digital transformation, and AI, which align with the long-term values of cultural heritage and data stewardship.
Multi-sectoral knowledge - Knowledge of philanthropy, impact investment and civic engagement, cross-sectoral initiatives with funding opportunities, and familiarity with the funding mechanisms for digital public good are all added advantages.

Advisory Board member role

Europeana Foundation Advisory Board members,

Are passionately committed to the advancement of digital cultural heritage for the public good
Bring diverse expertise, backgrounds and perspectives on digital cultural heritage to the table
Are strongly connected to the mission and vision of Europeana Foundation and Europeana Initiative
Offer visionary and strategic insights and advise on the development of the Foundation's mission, vision and strategic direction
Have the ability to envision long-term opportunities and challenges
Have networks relevant to the work of the Foundation
Are ambassadors and advocates of the Foundation’s work and act in the best interests of its stakeholders
Commit time and are actively engaged in the work and goals of the board showing ethical integrity and diligence in their interactions and contributions
Challenge conventional thinking, and explore creative solutions to complex problems
Collaborate with each other as a cohesive team leveraging their collective intelligence, knowledge and expertise
Have strong communication skills
Have general domain knowledge: culture, heritage, digitality and digital transformation
Experience of executive boards or advisory roles, ideally within relevant sectors is an advantage

These are volunteer uncompensated positions. Remuneration of the members of the Advisory Board is limited to a travel expense allowance or a minimum attendance fee when attending meetings and events.

The Advisory Board members attend 1 online and 1 in-person meetings per year, and participate in additional online meetings, when necessary.

The initial term will be for four years with the possibility for renewal for a second term of four years.

Learn more about Europeana Foundation’s mission and vision, boards, and statutes, governance rules and policies.

How to apply

If you are interested in taking part in our Advisory Board, please submit your curriculum vitae and a brief motivation letter to <board-applications@europeana.eu>, quoting the indicated reference and title for the specific position of Advisory Board Member.

We only consider applications that include both a CV and a motivation letter. Applications submitted via LinkedIn’s 'Easy Apply' or automatic features will NOT be considered or reviewed.

This vacancy advertisement will remain open until the three positions are filled. We encourage qualified applicants to submit their applications promptly as we will be reviewing applications and interviewing applicants on a rolling basis.

If you have any questions, please email <board-applications@europeana.eu>.

Europeana Foundation’s Boards Recruitment Committee will review applications and invite the selected candidates for an interview.

About us

The Europeana Foundation is an independent, non-profit value- and mission-driven organisation. The Foundation, together with the Europeana Aggregators’ Forum and the Europeana Network Association, form the Europeana Initiative. As part of the Europeana Initiative, the Foundation is tasked by the European Commission to steward the common European data space for cultural heritage leading a consortium of many partners. The Foundation also contributes to other digital initiatives. While the world is undergoing rapid and system-wide transformations: climate crisis, socio and geopolitical challenges and digital revolution, we believe that digital cultural heritage and therefore the Europeana Foundation have a significant role to play. Our work contributes to an open, knowledgeable and creative society and puts Europe’s rich cultural heritage to good use. Our community aspires to develop a shared vision for, and play a meaningful role in the development of ethical, trustworthy and participatory AI.

About our governance

The Europeana Foundation is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and has 60 dedicated staff members representing 20+ different nationalities. The organisation is steered by a Board of Directors, overseen by a Supervisory Board of 7 experts from cultural and scientific heritage organisations across Europe. The organisation is led by the General Director. The Supervisory Board and the General Director are complemented and supported by an Advisory Board.

About our Advisory Board

The Europeana Foundation’s Advisory Board provides the Supervisory Board and the General Director with advice on vision, strategy and innovation. The Advisory Board provides non-binding advice and has no formal governance obligations or legal responsibility.

The working methods and ethos of our Advisory Board

The Advisory Board carries out consequential work and provides diverse voices and perspectives. The Board specialises in sense making and the development of strategic insight and analysis on hard problems. A valuable role for the Advisory Board is to give the Foundation clarity on a range of topics and help to crystalise important ideas and concepts. It strives to give unique advice that is not available to the Foundation through other means.