Head of Operations & Administration at the EMBL Heidelberg
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg is seeking a dynamic Head of Operations & Administration who will oversee the delivery and development of effective operations, facilities and staff services on EMBL’s ever-developing Heidelberg site.
EMBL Heidelberg is the organisation’s main Laboratory and serves as its headquarters. Over 1000 people from around the world work on the site, including researchers, scientific services and support professionals, technology experts as well as administrative professionals.
This new role is being created for an open-minded leader who will focus on understanding the goals and requirements of the diverse teams on the site, and who will deliver operations, facilities and services of the high standard needed to support EMBL Heidelberg’s science and provide a great place to work for all our people.
EMBL is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and the Head of Operations & Administration will be expected to work in this spirit.
Your role
Reporting jointly to the Director of EMBL Heidelberg and the Chief Operating Officer (COO), and as a member of the COO Strategy team, you will contribute to providing vision, direction and leadership on operational and administrative matters.
You will lead operational change and drive improvement initiatives on the Heidelberg site, working closely with the Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, Health & Safety and Legal Services teams, to integrate diverse activities into effective processes to meet stakeholder requirements.
A major element of this role is the delivery of Heidelberg site facilities and services including facilities management and new building construction, catering services, kindergarten, EMBL guesthouses, apartments and hotel, consisting of appr. 120 staff in total. Each of these activities is managed by a specialist team lead who reports to you. You will work closely with them to set and meet stakeholder expectations, develop performance metrics, identify opportunities to improve cost-effectiveness and support and champion EMBL’s sustainability goals.
Contract duration: 5 years
Expected profile
- Higher degree in business/management or equivalent, and experience of leading operational and business support functions, with demonstrable success
- Significant experience of managing and delivering operations, facilities and site services in a scientific research or similarly complex organisation
- Broad understanding of the scientific world and an awareness of the academic system
- Wide experience of operational management and business planning, including budgeting, staffing, contract tendering and the development of legal agreements
- Financial competence and commercial acumen
- Fluent written and spoken German and English
A MBA, BSc or higher qualification in life sciences (or equivalent experience), professional work esperience in Germany and experience working for an intergovernmental organisation/in an international environment are a plus but not required.
Interviews are planned to take place on-site on 24 & 25 May 2022.