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1. The executive director shall be the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management of the joint undertaking in accordance with the decisions of the governing board. He or she shall provide the governing board with all information necessary for the performance of its functions. Without prejudice to the respective competencies of the Union institutions and the governing board, the executive director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body.

2. The executive director shall be the legal representative of the joint undertaking. He or she shall be accountable to the governing board of the joint undertaking.

3. The executive director shall implement the budget of the joint undertaking and shall ensure coordination between the different bodies and services of the joint undertaking.

4. The executive director shall carry out the following tasks for the joint undertaking:

(a) ensure sustainable and efficient management of the joint undertaking and efficient implementation of the work programme;

(b) prepare and submit for adoption to the governing board the draft annual budget and the staff establishment plan;

(c) prepare and, after having taken into account the opinion of the states’ representatives group or the Public Authorities Board as appropriate, submit for adoption to the governing board the work programme and the corresponding expenditure estimates for the joint undertaking, to implement the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda;

(d) submit for opinion to the governing board the annual accounts for the joint undertaking;

(e) prepare and submit for assessment and approval to the governing board the consolidated annual activity report, including information on the corresponding expenditure and contributions from members other than the Union referred to in Article 11(1);

(f) monitor the contributions referred to in Article 11(1), report to the governing board regularly on the progress in achieving the targets and propose remedial or corrective measures, where necessary;

(g) monitor the implementation of measures for attracting newcomers, in particularly SMEs, higher education institutions and research organisations;

(h) establish a formal and regular collaboration with the European partnerships identified in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and in accordance with the strategic orientation provided by the governing board;

(i) following an invitation from the Chair, inform regularly the relevant configuration of the Horizon Europe Programme Committee, further to the Commission responsibility to inform the Programme Committee under Article 14(7) and Annex III to the Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe, and in particular, before adoption of the work programme of the joint undertaking, in relation to the application of Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation;

(j) submit for approval to the governing board or to the Public Authorities Board as appropriate the list of actions to be selected for funding by the joint undertaking;

(k) assess applications for associated members to the joint undertaking following an open call for expression of interest and submit proposals for associated members to the governing board;

(l) inform regularly the other bodies of the joint undertaking on all matters relevant to their role;

(m) sign individual grant agreements and decisions in his or her remit on behalf of the joint undertaking;

(n) sign procurement contracts on behalf of the joint undertaking;

(o) ensure the programme’s monitoring and assessment of the progress compared to relevant impact indicators and the joint undertaking’s specific objectives as defined in Part Two, under the supervision of the governing board and in coordination with advisory bodies where relevant, and in accordance with Article 171;

(p) implement the communications policy of the joint undertaking;

(q) organise, direct and supervise the operations and the staff of the joint undertaking within the limits of the delegations by the governing board;

(r) establish and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system and report any significant change to it to the governing board;

(s) protect the financial interests of the Union and of other members by applying preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities by means of effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by recovering amounts that were wrongly paid and, where appropriate, imposing effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties;

(t) ensure the carrying out of risk assessments and risk management for the joint undertaking;

(u) take any other measures necessary for assessing the progress of the joint undertaking towards achieving its objectives;

(v) prepare and submit for adoption to the governing board a plan for the phasing out of the joint undertaking from Horizon Europe funding;

(w) perform any other tasks entrusted or delegated to him or her by the governing board or as may be required by this Regulation;

(x) have the power to delegate his or her powers to other staff members subject to rules to be adopted in accordance with Article 17(4).

5. The executive director may also be subject to any specific rules set out in Part Two.

6. The executive director shall set up a programme office for the execution, under his or her responsibility, of all support tasks of the joint undertaking deriving from this Regulation. The programme office shall be composed of the staff of the joint undertaking and shall in particular carry out the following tasks:

(a) provide support in establishing and managing an appropriate accounting system in accordance with the financial rules for the joint undertaking;

(b) manage the implementation of the work programme of the joint undertaking throughout the implementation cycle;

(c) provide to the members of the joint undertaking and its bodies all relevant and timely information and support necessary for them to perform their duties;

(d) act as the secretariat of the bodies of the joint undertaking and provide support to advisory groups set up by the governing board, if any.