Job description

As the Institute expands, and the administrative and managerial demands of conducting research have increased, the Directorate at the Institute has identified the need to appoint a Research Coordinator to support the Managing Director. You will be directly responsible to the Managing Director and will carry out the roles described below.

Research management and quality control

• To advise and support Directors and Research Group Leaders on research management issues, including coordination and mediation of cross-institute scientific ethical and legal tasks (e.g., data management, funding regulations, compliance, particularly with regard to human participant testing and animal research) and liaison with the graduate school coordinator.
• To be responsible for onboarding new directors and research group leads, providing support for setting up a new department/group and liaising with the Operations team and Technical staff (e.g. over equipment purchase, appointments, facilities etc). 
• To support the Managing Director in Directorate Meetings, Advisory Board and Board of Trustee meetings including coordination of meetings, development of draft reports, following-up on action points.
• To oversee Data Protection at the Institute, which includes acting as contact person for Institute researchers on data-sensitive related issues, including issues of data knowledge and technology transfer.

Liaison with external bodies

• To represent the MPI in liaison with specific external bodies, in particular Radboud University, Nijmegen. (For example, attending relevant Radboud University Committees, implementing Radboud University-related action points and reporting back on external initiatives to Institute Directorate meetings.)
• To support the Institute’s researchers in the arrangement of national and international cooperation partners and research funding organisations. This will include drafting, checking and/or modifying co-operation agreements with scientific institutions at home and abroad in close cooperation with the Finance department (e.g., memoranda of understanding, data usage agreements, material transfer agreements).

Essential

• Completed university education (MA/MSc or doctorate), higher education or equivalent vocational training, preferably with expertise in management, law or a related field. Applicants with a degree in a different field (e.g., linguistics, neuroscience, psychology) but extensive relevant experience will also be considered.
• Professional experience in a position related to management, coordination and administrative tasks, preferably in research (e.g. in academia, university, or public service)
• Experience of relevant research projects (e.g., those with human participants, those in cognitive sciences), especially with respect to data protection (consent, data storage, anonymisation etc.)
• A high degree of initiative and responsibility as well as the ability to develop solutions independently
• Strong organisational skills
• Relevant IT skills
• Strong communication skills and intercultural competence, together with evidenced ability to work with international and national cooperation partners 
• Very good written and oral communication skills in English and German

Desirable

• Affinity with, and interest in, developing expertise at the intersection of European law and scientific practice
• Experience of applying for and/or supporting applications to national and international research funding bodies
• Very good written and oral communication skills in Dutch

Fixed-term contract: 1 year, with the possibility of extension after review.

What we offer you

• The position is intended to begin in spring/summer 2024. Start date is negotiable but the candidate should be in place by September 2024 at the latest
• Full-time position (39 hours per week) for 1 year, with the possibility of extension after review
• The salary is determined according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group E13, between EUR 4,628.76 and EUR 6,635.44 gross per month based on full-time employment, and depending on the experience of the applicant. This is excluding a yearly 8% holiday bonus.
• 30 days’ holidays per year, based on full-time employment. In addition, we honour both Dutch and German public holidays.
• Enrolment in a personal pension scheme to which both employer and employee pay a monthly contribution.

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

The employer

The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is a world-leading research institute devoted to interdisciplinary studies of the science of language and communication, including departments on genetics, psychology, development, neurobiology and multimodality of these fundamental human abilities.

We investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real time, how the brain processes language, how the human genome contributes to building a language-ready brain, how multiple modalities (as in speech, gesture and sign) shape language and its use in diverse languages and how language is related to cognition and culture, and shaped by evolution.

We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We aim to provide a working environment with room for differences, where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Therefore, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center.Staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the art research and training facilities.