Research Coordinator / Institute Manager (div/f/m)

The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (MPA) is a vibrant, highly international, world-class institute for fundamental research. We are located just north of Munich, Germany on the Garching research campus. We host 18 senior scientists (including group leaders, permanent staff, and scientific directors), and about 80 junior scientists (postdoctoral fellows and PhD students) who investigate a variety of scientific questions about stars, galaxies, and cosmology.

 

We are looking for someone to assist the scientific directors (in particular the managing director) with organizational and management tasks in support of the scientific activities in the institute. We, therefore, advertise a position for a

 

Research Coordinator / Institute Manager (div/f/m)

Job code 02/2022

 

Your responsibilities:

• You will play a central role in supporting the scientific activities at the institute together with a team of support staff (e.g. organization of our PhD and postdoctoral fellowship program, internships, visitor program, occasional local events such as scientific conferences, assist in grant applications and reporting)
• You will act as contact person/representative in external communication (with e.g. headquarters, grant agencies, on-campus partners, external partners) and play a central role in improving our internal communication (between scientific and support staff, junior scientists, administration and the directorate)
• You will lead the organization of and prepare the documents for formal institute evaluations, scientific advisory board meetings and year reports.
• You will help to further improve our institute’s working culture (e.g. support efforts towards increasing diversity, assisting the gender equality officer, organization of training events)

 

Your profile (desired):

• You have completed a university degree at MSc level or equivalent in the natural sciences. (A degree in astronomy or physics is preferred. Having completed a PhD is not required, but can be considered advantageous.).
• You have affinity and experience with academic research.
• You have some experience in and talent for organizational and management roles, preferentially in an (international) academic context.
• You have excellent interpersonal skills and you can appreciate the diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds of the members of our institute.
• You are integer and are able to handle sensitive or confidential information.
• You are reliable and have good time management skills.
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills. (Being fluent in English is a must. The working language in our institute is English. Being fluent in German is highly desired, but can be substituted with a commitment to achieve professional proficiency in 1-2 years.)

 

If you are excited, we welcome your application. If you think you do not fulfil all items on our desired profile, we still encourage you to apply. Please write to us and explain in your cover letter why you are motivated for this position and why you think you can help us.

 

The anticipated starting date is June 1, 2022, but this is negotiable. The position is initially for two years. Afterwards, you can be considered for employment on a permanent contract. The position will be paid according to the German civil service salary scale and comes with full health and social security coverage. Renumeration depends on experience and qualification following the rates established in the German collective wage agreement for the civil service (“Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst - TVöD”).

 

Further benefits include support to reconcile work and family life (e.g. childcare on campus). Flexible working hours can be negotiated. We can be easily reached by public transport (Metro line U6) and we offer partial compensation for the costs of public transport (“MVV job ticket”.) We also offer free parking on the premises.

 

For more information, please write to Mrs. Cornelia Rickl ([email protected] ). You can also find more information on our website https://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/.

 

 

Your application:

To apply, please submit a CV and a cover letter that explains your motivation for this position. We also encourage you to briefly describe your relevant experience in your cover letter (if not already obvious from your CV). Please submit all documents (in English, and in PDF form) online (https://recruitingapp-5257.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/478/Application/CheckLogin/2?lang=eng ).

 

Applications will be reviewed until the vacancy is filled. Applications submitted by April 18, 2022, will be given full consideration.

 

The members of our institute come from various countries and cultural backgrounds. We highly value diversity and strive to further increase the representation of underrepresented groups. We therefore especially encourage applications from individuals that can help us further improve on creating a welcoming and inclusive work culture.

 

The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.