Academic research assistant in Saarbrücken bei Universität des Saarlandes

Saarland University is a campus university that is internationally recognized for its strong research programmes.

Fostering young academic talent and creating ideal conditions for teaching and research are a core part of the

university’s mission. As part of the University of the Greater Region, Saarland University enables students and staff to

share and exchange knowledge and ideas between disciplines, between universities and across borders. With over

17,000 national and international students, studying more than a hundred different academic disciplines, Saarland

University is a diverse and dynamic learning environment. Saarland University is officially recognized as one of

Germany’s family-friendly higher-education institutions and with a combined workforce of more than 4,000 it is one

of the largest employers in the region.

The Käte Hamburger Research Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE) is inviting applications for the

following three positions: research programme directors (m/f/x), to begin 1 April 2024.

Academic research assistant (m/f/x)
Reference number W2362, salary in accordance with the German TV-L salary scale1, pay grade: E13 TV- L, duration

of employment: initially limited to 4 years with the possibility of a permanent contract thereafter, volume of

employment: 100 % of standard working time.

Workplace/Department:

In April 2024, the newly founded Käte Hamburger Research Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE) will

begin its work at Saarland University. The centre is a thematically focused institute for advanced study funded by the

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The central pillar of the Käte Hamburger Research Centre

is its visiting scholars programme, which will bring up to 12 international scholars to Saarland University each year as

fellows. Working together with the centre’s academic directors and academic staff, the fellows will study how

1 TV-L = collective agreement on remuneration of public sector employees in the German Länder
The pay grade assigned to an employee depends on their professional qualifications and the number of years of service. Each pay grade is
further subdivided into levels. Entry-level employees with no previous experience will initially be assigned a level 1 rating. After one year at
level 1 of the E10 pay grade, an employee will move up to level 2. After a further two years, the employee will move to level 3, etc.

reparations are culturally negotiated and how cultural processes of reparation change perceptions of the world,

designs of the self, and ways of living. The goal of the centre is to develop a transmedial theory of practices and

processes of cultural reparation from a historical and transcultural perspective, thus helping to formulate a

sociopolitical understanding of cultural reparations as a field of action. Our focus will be on memory cultures and

historical-political discourses; individual experiences of harm, humiliation, and loss; and cultural-ecological questions.

We are seeking to hire three research programme directors—one for each of the centre’s three thematic fields of

‘history’, ‘experience’, and ‘nature’.

Job requirements and responsibilities:

• Independently design and lead a thematic research programme

• Conceptualize and realize the centre’s research in close cooperation with the academic

directors and other thematic research fields

• Independently plan and execute academic events in an international context (working groups,

workshops, conferences)

• Actively contribute to participatory transfer measures as part of the centre’s third mission

activities

• Conduct an independent research project in one of the three relevant thematic fields

Your academic qualifications:

• Completed university studies in state examination (Staatsexamen), diploma (Diplom), Magister, or master’s degree

or an internationally comparable degree in a discipline relevant to the centre’s research

• very good completed doctorate

• Language skills (according to GER): very good English and/or French

The successful candidate will also be expected to:

• Work independently, with a meticulous and well-organized approach

• Show enthusiasm and capability for interdisciplinary cooperation

• Have a track record in conceptualizing and executing international academic events

• Demonstrate expertise in gender and diversity matters