Scientific Project Manager in Heidelberg bei European Molecular Biology Laboratory

EMBL is Europe’s life sciences laboratory – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology. It operates across six sites in Heidelberg (headquarters), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome. Our mission is to perform basic research in molecular biology; train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; offer vital services to scientists in the public and private sectors within the member states; develop new instruments and methods; and engage actively in technology transfer.

The research group of Wolfgang Huber at EMBL is seeking a Scientific Project Manager for strategic and day-to-day project management. Our projects are collaborative, typically span multiple teams, institutions and geographic locations, and are science-driven. They involve computational biology, machine learning, AI, collaborative networks for open source scientific software, and project-oriented and long-term collaborations with biological and biomedical research groups. The Scientific Project Manager will take responsibilities in project setup and proposal writing (in particular resourcing and budgeting), and in staffing, resourcing, operations, reporting, and completion.

• Oversee third-party funded research projects led or co-led by the principal investigator (PI), define and communicate operational adjustments in collaboration with the scientific leadership. Timely prepare administrative, financial and scientific project reports for funding bodies (incl. EU, BMBF, DFG, ERC), in collaboration with the scientists, with EMBL’s Grants Office and grant offices of partner institutes.
• Monitor project finances and report to funding bodies, in collaboration with EMBL’s Budget Office. Oversee budget flows, manage risks and opportunities together with the PI.
• Prepare, chair and protocol research project meetings, coordinate everyday operations, ensure delivery of action items and keeping of deadlines.
• Support the PI with recruitment and personnel management, incl. job advertisements, interviews, interfacing with HR, on-boarding of personnel, managing workspace and computing resources.
• Co-organize group development activities such as off-site events and scientific retreats.
• Co-organize scientific and teaching events such as small workshops, conferences and summer schools.

Contract duration: 3

Grading: 4-5

Reference number: HD02481

• A university degree in the natural or life sciences, or a similar qualification. A PhD and/or experience with biological data science and computing are an advantage.
• Organizational skills and a proactive, independent and responsibility-taking attitude.
• Good interpersonal skills and excellent written and spoken English. German language skills are not essential.
• Experience in scientific writing. Experience or interest in management of collaborative science.

EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation.

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

EMBL offers attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation with a very collegial and family-friendly working environment. Competitive salary and social security benefits, financial support for relocation, a relaxed culture, professional development, an on-site nursery, canteen and other staff facilities make EMBL a great place to work.

** Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.