Scientific coordinator MPIPZ

The role of the Scientific coordinator is to support the Managing Director in organizing the institute to provide the optimal environment for research, and to provide general knowledge continuity between Managing Directors as each Managing Director serves a term of 3 years. Key roles and responsibilities include

• preparation of the materials and agenda as well as taking minutes for the monthly meeting of the Board of Directors
• following through on action items and the status of decisions made by the Board of Directors
• overseeing correspondence and requests between the MPIPZ and Max Planck Headquarters
• organizing MPIPZ site-wide seminars
• preparation of the report and visit of the institute's Scientific Advisory Board every 3 years; annual Board of Trustees meeting
• organization of MPIPZ events (annual science day, open days)
• Maintenance of the MPIPZ internet presence and science-related intranet sections
• Press work, public relations, outreach activities, scientific reports
• preparation of applications for prizes and awards
• preparation of requested policies and plans (gender equality, guidelines for good scientific practice etc.)
• collaboration with MPIPZ PhD and postdoctoral coordinators on outreach activities

Candidate: You have a background in biology and research preferably with a PhD in plant biology or related life sciences discipline. A BSc in a life science with a higher business degree (e.g. MBA) is also a desirable profile. You will have a minimum of 1-3 years' experience in supporting management and / or operations of a research institute or equivalent entity. Highly relevant experience in an equivalent research institute can substitute for the scientific background. Fluency in both written and spoken English is essential as English is the official language of the Institute and fluency in German will be a strong asset. Position and application: The full-time position is available immediately. The initial contract is for 2 years with the expectation of prolongation depending on adequate performance and agreement of both candidate and institute. Conditions of employment are negotiable will depend on prior experience and skills and social benefits will be in accordance with the regulations of the German TVÖD Bund (salary agreement for public service employees). The Max-Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individual. 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.

Applicants are requested to send a full CV including a list of publications and a description of their professional/ research experience as well as at least 2 names of referees as a single PDF file by November 27th 2020 to our application portal