Head of External Scientific Training, EMBL International Centre for Advanced Training (EICAT)

About the team/job

EMBL is Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences – 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. 

Advanced scientific training is a core mission of the EMBL and EICAT is responsible for achieving this mission. EICAT activities are organised into three major areas: Internal Training of scientists and trainees within EMBL, External Training for the global scientific community, and Science Education and Public Engagement of school teachers and the wider public. 

Your role

The Head of External Scientific Training is responsible for developing and delivering EMBL’s Course and Conference Programme and the EMBL Scientific Visitor Programme. The Head develops, oversees and coordinates EMBL’s conferences, symposia, workshops and courses, attracting more than 7000 participants per year on-site and many more online. The Head oversees, supervises and participates in the management of the EMBL Course and Conference Office. The Head also leads and supervises the activities of EMBL’s Scientific Visitor Programme. The postholder has chief responsibility for the maintenance and growth of the impact of EMBL External Training in Life Science research. She/he reports to the Director of EICAT.

Responsibilities include:

Course and Conference Programme

• Lead the overall development of the EMBL Course and Conference Programme
• Oversee, supervise and participate in the management of the EMBL Course and Conference Office
• Integrate and coordinate external training across EMBL in close collaboration with the training team at EMBL-EBI and EMBL’s sites in Hamburg, Barcelona, Grenoble and Rome
• Chair the EMBL Course and Conference Committee in the development of the Course and Conference Programme
• Manage the development of the EMBO|EMBL Symposia in collaboration with EMBO and the EMBO|EMBL Symposia Committee
• Lead EMBL External Training working groups to integrate training activities across EMBL and communicate the programme and committee decisions
• Lead initiatives to maximize the scientific, training and operational potential of the EMBL Advanced Training Centre
• Guide and integrate researcher-initiated and EICAT-initiated programming
• Coordinate input from EMBL’s scientific community, corporate partners, and other external stakeholders
• Help identify and recruit and instruct scientific organisers and trainers for external training activities
• Review on a regular basis the Course and Conference Programme and its implementation
• Liaise between researchers and the operational EICAT staff
• Interact and develop strategy with the Manager of EMBL’s Corporate Partnership Programme

Scientific Visitor Programme

• Lead initiatives to maximize the impact of the visitor programme for EMBL and its member states and the global scientific community
• Communicate the opportunities and benefits to both faculty and external scientists
• Oversee and report on the community of visiting scientists at EMBL

EICAT management

• Report to the Director of EICAT
• Co-direct operations and strategic development of EICAT with the Director of EICAT, the Head of Internal Scientific Training, the Head of Training at EMBL-EBI and the Head of Science Education and Public Engagement
• Represent EICAT External Training on EMBL internal committees and report to the EMBL Directorate

Personnel management

• Lead the EICAT External Training team consisting of 25 team members
• Lead and guide the 6 sub-team leaders in External Training
• Guide and closely collaborate with the Head of the Course and Conference Office on all aspects of operational implementation and delivery of the scientific programme
• Supervise the Scientific Visitor Programme Manager

Financial management

• Lead development, regular review, and management of the annual budget for EICAT External Training
• Cooperate with EMBL Resource Development to maintain and further develop external financial support, including grants, corporate sponsors, and other external revenue
• Critically assess all applications for funding 

You have

• PhD in the Life Sciences
• Post-graduate and professional experience in a scientific environment
• Broad overview of and insight in molecular biology
• Demonstrated proficiency in scientific management
• Experience in developing scientific content and supervising its development and delivery
• Leadership and team management skills
• Excellent organisational skills
• Outstanding communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
• Fluency in written and spoken English  

You might also have

• Experience in evaluating research projects and programmes of scientific conferences and courses in the Life Sciences
• Expertise in developing and implementing strategies
• Experience overseeing multiple projects simultaneously
• Experience working collaboratively on projects across multiple departments and different types of work functions
• Experience in organising conferences and scientific courses in-person and virtually, and in scientific training in general
• Experience in analyzing the success and impact of training activities
• Experience writing successful grant applications
• Good working knowledge of German and/or French 

Why join us

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. 

What else you need to know

We are Europe’s flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international, innovative and interdisciplinary laboratory with more than 1800 employees from more than 80 countries, operating across six sites, in Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Hinxton near Cambridge, Hamburg, Grenoble and Rome.

The working language of the institute is English.

In your online application, you will be asked to include a cover letter, your CV, and 3 letters of recommendation to be emailed to references@embl.de. Should you plan to submit your application close to the deadline, please inform your referees in advance so they can be ready to send their LOR preferably by the deadline of the call.

Interviews are planned for 19 - 23 September 2022. Same interview conditions will be applied to all candidates, despite of the potential travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 situation.

An initial contract of 5 years will be offered to the successful candidate. This is foreseen to be extended to a maximum of 9 years, subject to an external review.

EMBL is a signatory of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). We support fair and responsible research assessment, which includes its recruitment and performance assessment processes. We recognize a range of research outputs, discourage inappropriate use of proxies such as journal impact factors, and value research outputs based on their intrinsic merit.