45/2025 Research Associate (f/m/d)

Museum für Naturkunde; Berlin; Vor Ort; EUR 40.000 - 60.000; Teilzeit

Zusammenfassung

An international research museum in Berlin is seeking a Research Associate to conduct transdisciplinary provenance research on collections from Togo. This position requires a completed degree in relevant fields and experience in provenance research. Candidates should possess very good German and English skills, with a preference for knowledge of French. Flexible working hours and extensive training opportunities are offered.

Leistungen

Flexible working hours

Extensive training opportunities

Employer subsidy for public transport tickets

30 days holiday plus additional days off

Company health management

Qualifikationen

• Experience working in interdisciplinary research teams.
• Experience in archival research with the ability to read old German handwriting.
• Knowledge of colonial history and museum history.

Aufgaben

• Conduct transdisciplinary provenance research on collections from the German colony of Togo.
• Research the provenance history and acquisition contexts of collections.
• Communicate and discuss research results with partners.

Kenntnisse

Proficiency in intercultural communication

Excellent teamwork and communication skills

Research experience in colonial contexts

Presentation experience

Publication experience

Very good written and spoken German

Very good written and spoken English

Knowledge of French

Ausbildung

Completed university degree in history, anthropology, or related

Jobbeschreibung

Vacancy

Our Mission: Discovering and describing life and earth - with people, through dialogue.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) is an excellent and integrated research museum of the Leibniz Association with an international reputation and globally networked research infrastructure. It is active in three closely interlinked fields: collection-based research, collection development and cataloguing, and research-based public and educational work. Over the next ten years, the Museum für Naturkunde will realise its plan for the future, creating new laboratories and jobs for cutting‑edge research. At the same time, one of the world’s most comprehensive natural history collections with over 30 million objects will be housed in modern collection buildings and will be completely digitised. The implementation of the Future Plan, funded with a total of 660 million euros from the Federal Government and the State of Berlin, will only succeed with strong interdisciplinary national and international partners.

Become part of our team as researcher.

• Position: Research Associate (f/m/d)
• Work Schedule: part-time 80%; equivalent to 31 hours and 31 minutes per week
• Duration: third‑party funding, starting at the earliest possible date, limited to 24 months – subject to funding approval
• Salary Level: E 13 TV‑L
• Code: 45/ 2025

Project Description

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Natural History Museum Berlin), the Ethnological Museum and the Zentralarchiv der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (SPK) (Central Archive) as well as the Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum are conducting the first joint research into collections from the German colony of Togo. The research and evaluation are carried out in cooperation with partners from the Archives Nationales du Togo and the University of Ghana, as well as local experts in Togo and Ghana – as a model for trans‑disciplinary provenance research. For the first time, the archives and collections of Berlin museums, which were granted a prerogative on shipments from German colonies by a 1889 Bundesrat resolution, are being analysed in a comprehensive overview. The extensive colonial holdings continue to shape research and museum work to this day, but their origins are often insufficiently documented or unknown. At the same time, interest is growing in countries of origin in natural history collections in European museums as evidence of local knowledge and colonial appropriation, which reinforces the relevance of trans‑disciplinary provenance research. The project therefore examines acquisition contexts and the role of museums in the violent colonisation of Togo, focusing on the colonial stations “Bismarckburg” and “Misahöhe.” The aim is to break down the colonial logic inherent in the collections and to revise colonial narratives.

This is being done through archival research in Berlin and Lomé, joint workshops, and exchanges with actors from local communities to document their knowledge, perspectives, and memories of colonial collections and their significance.

Your tasks

• Transdisciplinary provenance research on collections from the German colony of Togo in a joint research team and with partners in Togo and Ghana
• Research into the provenance history and acquisition contexts of natural history and ethnological collections at the three participating museums, as well as research into the colonial actors involved
• Research into the remaining museum holdings from the above‑mentioned colonial stations by evaluating archival records and museum databases
• Research on the history of the objects and their acquisition in their region of origin in collaboration with local representatives in Ghana and Togo; recording local memories and contexts of meaning in relation to selected collection objects
• Strengthening and expanding research networks in Togo and Ghana
• Communication and discussion of research results (internal + external)
• Design and organisation of accompanying exchange formats, workshops, and an international online conference
• Editing research results for migration into museum databases
• Presentations at national and international conferences, final report
• Preparing results for public relations work (Website, Social Media)
• Planning of the public closing event

Your profile

• Completed university degree in history, cultural and social anthropology, cultural studies, or related disciplines
• Experience in provenance research on colonial contexts or comparable research
• Certified expertise in colonial history and museum history, knowledge of the colonial history of Berlin’s museums
• Experience working with natural history and/or ethnological collections and museums
• Work experience in interdisciplinary research teams
• Desirable skills include proficiency in intercultural communication and experience collaborating with local communities
• Presentation and publication experience
• Experience in planning and implementing events
• Experience in archival research with the ability to read old German handwriting (Sütterlin), knowledge of relevant archives in Berlin
• Very good written and spoken German and English skills. Knowledge of French is a plus
• High level of teamwork and communication skills
• Willingness to spend some weeks conducting research in Togo and Ghana

We offer you

• Exciting working environment in an attractive research museum with varied tasks in a dynamic and future‑orientated market
• Very good public transport connections in the centre of Berlin
• Extensive further training opportunities on a personal and professional level
• Flexible working hours and a wide range of options for balancing work and family life (e.g. flexi‑time or individual part‑time models)
• Depending on the job, mobile working is possible for up to 60 % of individual working hours
• Remuneration according to TV‑L with company pension scheme (VBL), special annual payment and capital‑forming benefits
• Employer subsidy for the “VBB Firmenticket” (company ticket) or “Deutschlandticket Job” (Germany ticket job)
• Employee events, company health management and German and English language courses
• 30 days' holiday plus 24 December and 31 December off

Special Notes

In support of equal rights applications from qualified women are particularly welcome. Handicapped individuals will be given preference in cases of identical qualifications.

We look forward to receiving your application with the usual documents (cover letter, curriculum vitae, certificates) by 28.11.2025, preferably via our online application portal. The project is funded by the German Lost Art Foundation. As part of the project, another research position will be created at the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum. Applications for both positions are very welcome. For information on the application procedure, please contact [e-mail].

Privacy Policy

By sending your application, you provide us with your information for the purpose of processing your application by the Museum für Naturkunde. Your data will be kept strictly confidential at all times. Once we have received your application documents, they will be entered into our database. Your data will be stored on our server. In doing so, we observe the provisions of the data protection laws. Information about the handling of applicant data at the MfN (in German) and Privacy policy for the MfN website (in German).

Family Policy

The Museum für Naturkunde has set itself the goal of promoting a work‑life balance and has been awarded the certificate berufundfamilie audit of berufundfamilie gGmbH – an initiative of the Hertie Foundation. Further information can be found under: https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/uber-uns/jobs-und-karriere/arbeiten-am-museum-fur-naturkunde/reconciling-work-and-family-life-audit