Secretary General

ABOUT EFSA

The European Fabless Semiconductor Association (EFSA, working title) will address a European critical technological sovereignty gap: the virtual absence of a competitive fabless semiconductor ecosystem, which represents 30% of the global €600 billion semiconductor market yet accounts for less than 2% of European semiconductor activity. This newly created association will be dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of European fabless semiconductor SMEs. Operating across 20+ EU countries, EFSA will serve as the central ecosystem builder, policy advocate, and information hub for a sector that is essential to Europe’s strategic autonomy in advanced technologies.

EFSA’s mission rests on five pillars: ecosystem building and collaboration; centralised access to strategic information and EU funding intelligence; investment facilitation and market positioning; high-level policy advocacy; and structured multi-level engagement between national fabless communities and EU institutions.

EFSA’s head office will be located in Brussels and the Secretary-General will directly report to the association’s board.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Secretary-General, also designated Executive Director, leads a lean secretariat that is built up over time. At the outset the Secretary-General is the only established position. A first priority of the role is to design the organisation and to develop a staffing plan, which the Secretary-General proposes to the Board with the corresponding budget, creating positions in the order and at the pace that the work and the available resources allow. As the association grows, the Secretary-General may establish roles such as the following. These are indicative and not committed in advance:

• A Membership and Stakeholder Officer, covering member recruitment and retention, communication, stakeholder relations and events.

• A Policy Officer, Monitoring and analysis of existing and emerging EU policy; identification of the files relevant to members; drafting of position papers, consultation responses and policy proposals.

• A Platform Officer, recruited around the launch of the digital platform, covering its development, operation and the members area.

The Secretary-General sets the operational direction, leads external representation at senior level, and builds and supports the team as it grows, drawing on each officer for depth in their domain once those roles are in place.

THE ROLE

As Secretary-General, you will be EFSA’s founding leader and its principal representative to members, the EU institutions, investors and the wider European semiconductor community. You will establish the organisation, put its governance and operations in place, develop a sustainable business and funding model, build the founding team and the member base, and turn EFSA’s five strategic pillars into a coherent and funded programme of work. The role suits a senior leader who wants to run the association over the long term and make it financially self-sustaining, who is politically savvy in the European institutional environment, and who is an effective and people-centred manager.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Governance

Define and drive EFSA’s strategic roadmap in close collaboration with the Board of Directors. Design the association’s governance framework, legal structure (Belgian AISBL), and operational model. Develop and manage the budget, ensure financial sustainability through membership engagement and development, grants, and partnerships, and report regularly to the Board.

Institution Building & Team Leadership

Develop the association’s staffing plan and build the team over time, beginning with the first officer roles and adding capacity as the work and the resources allow, while running the day-to-day of the association. Foster a collaborative and supportive working culture, develop and mentor staff, and ensure effective coordination across the team. Lead recruitment on transparent and inclusive principles, with attention to gender balance and diversity. Act as the point of support and coordination for the team.

External Representation & High-Level Advocacy

Represent EFSA at the highest levels: the European Commission, the Parliament, semiconductor governance bodies, investor forums and international industry events. Build and maintain strategic relationships with EU officials, national government representatives and senior industry leaders. Lead policy engagement personally where seniority or political weight is required and support the Policy Officer in this work once that role is in place.

Ecosystem & Membership Strategy

Lead the recruitment of EFSA’s founding members and develop the long-term membership strategy: value proposition, fee structure and tiering, for proposal to the Board and decision by the General Assembly. Engage personally with the most strategic member organisations and prospective partners, including research centres, competence centres and investor networks. Once the Membership and Stakeholder Officer is in place, oversee the community-building and events programme so that it reflects EFSA’s pan-European reach.

Investment Facilitation & Market Visibility

Promote and strengthen the global positioning of European fabless SMEs as credible, investable players in the semiconductor value chain. Build relationships with deep-tech investors, corporate partners, and strategic stakeholders. Ensure EFSA’s narrative and visibility strategy amplify the strengths of its members at European and international level.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Seniority

Senior Director or C-suite

Experience

Around 12 years across relevant sectors

Languages

English and French fluent; German, Spanish or Italian an asset

Location

Brussels or willing to relocate

Required

• A strong record in senior leadership within an industry association, EU-facing organisation or comparable institution, with proven ability to manage, develop and support a professional team, and to report to a board.

• Strong understanding of the European fabless semiconductor landscape: the design chain, key SME challenges, and the EU policy and funding environment (Chips Act, Horizon Europe, Chips JU, IPCEI).

• Demonstrated ability to build broad coalitions across multinational and multi-stakeholder environments, with strong political awareness of the European institutional environment and credibility at executive, ministerial and EU institutional level.

• Entrepreneurial profile: comfortable operating in an early-stage organisation, building structures and processes from scratch, and leading without the support of a large back-office.

• A clear commitment to leading the association over the long term and to building its financial sustainability, for example via membership revenue, grants and partnerships.

• Excellent communication and representation skills, the ability to speak credibly on behalf of an industry, build the confidence of members, and engage effectively with media and public forums.

Valued Assets

• Direct experience within a fabless semiconductor company, EDA/IP vendor, or semiconductor research institution.

• Existing network within ESIA, SEMI Europe, or equivalent semiconductor industry bodies.

• Familiarity with SME support mechanisms and deep tech investment dynamics in Europe.

• Experience with EU-funded programmes, joint undertakings, or Brussels-based association management (Belgian AISBL preferred).

WHAT WE OFFER

The opportunity to build, from the start, the institution that will support Europe’s fabless semiconductor SME ecosystem. Competitive executive compensation, benchmarked against senior roles in Brussels-based associations and EU industry bodies. A role at the meeting point of deep technology, industrial policy and European sovereignty, with the backing of the founding members.

EFSA is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to diversity and gender balance at every level, in line with its Statutes and Internal Rules.

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every point in this profile. We support flexible and family-friendly working, and we apply maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave, time credit and reasonable accommodation in accordance with Belgian law, without prejudice to a person’s role, evaluation or progression.