SPARKHub Director

7000 European Molecular Biology Organization; Heidelberg; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Relocation package

30 days annual leave

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

EMBO, hosting SPARKHub in Heidelberg, seeks a dynamic leader to drive the implementation and ongoing development of SPARKHub. You will guide a small agile team, engage researchers, organisations and policy stakeholders, and ensure the platform remains credible, practical and responsive to users’ needs across the research system.

The role requires a PhD in life sciences, strong sustainability expertise and proven international programme management experience.

Qualifications

• PhD in life sciences or related field.
• Strong understanding of research sustainability and practical barriers/opportunities.
• Proven experience in international project planning and implementation.
• Experience working with researchers, funders, organisations and policy stakeholders.
• Experience drafting guidance, policy papers and reports for scientific audiences.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage several priorities.
• Excellent written and oral English.
• Collaborative leadership and ability to build trust in international communities.
• Demonstrated expertise in sustainable research practices and published work.

Responsibilities

• Lead scientific operation and development of SPARKHub, manage the programme team and set work plans.
• Oversee website content, certification criteria, guidance, training materials and calculators.
• Establish an expert content review board and ensure content quality.
• Represent SPARKHub internationally to researchers, funders, societies and policy stakeholders.
• Monitor developments in environmental impact of research and translate into priorities.
• Prepare and facilitate Oversight Board meetings and annual report.
• Oversee certification and peer review processes with clear guidance and support.
• Manage external suppliers to ensure platform's technical foundation.
• Collaborate with EMBO colleagues to ensure integration, efficiency and compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Project planning

Stakeholder engagement

International collaboration

Policy writing

English proficiency

Education

PhD in life sciences

Job description

About SPARKHub

SPARKHub, the Sustainable Practice and Research Knowledge Hub, is an international initiative to develop and operate an open access platform for sustainable research practices. The platform will be launched in November 2026 to support researchers and organisations to reduce the environmental impact of their activities by providing a catalogue of measures, guidance, training, calculators, peer learning and certification. EMBO will host SPARKHub in Heidelberg from 2027 onwards. This initiative is supported by an international group of funders and societies and was started by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). https://sparkhub.eu/

Your role

You will lead the implementation and development of SPARKHub, with overall accountability for programme delivery. You will build and guide a small agile team to operate the platform and work with researchers, research organisations, societies and the wider community to ensure it is credible, practical and responsive to users’ needs across the research system.

Responsibilities

• Lead the scientific operation and further development of the SPARKHub platform, manage the programme team, and set work plans and priorities.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of website content, including the certification criteria, guidance, training materials, and calculators.
• Establish an expert content review board and oversee the quality of platform content.
• Represent SPARKHub internationally, engaging directly with researchers, research performing organizations, funders, societies, policy stakeholders, and community initiatives to inform programme development and uptake.
• Monitor scientific developments, tools, policies, and community practice relating to the environmental impact of research, and translate these into programme priorities.
• Prepare and facilitate meetings of the SPARKHub Oversight Board and oversee programme reporting, including the annual report.
• Oversee and improve the certification and peer review processes, ensuring consistent review standards, quality control, clear user guidance and effective support.
• Manage external suppliers, including developers, to ensure the technical foundation of the platform can support its growth and needs.
• Work with EMBO colleagues, including administration, finance, communications, to ensure that SPARKHub is integrated, efficient and compliant.

Requirements

• You have A PhD in the life sciences or a related field.
• A strong understanding of the research sustainability landscape, including the practical barriers and opportunities for research groups and institutions.
• Proven experience in project planning and implementation, preferably in an international scientific or science-policy environment.
• Experience working with multiple research stakeholders, including researchers, funders, research performing organisations and policy stakeholders.
• Experience drafting guidance, policy papers and reports for scientific and policy audiences.
• Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, sound judgement and the ability to manage several priorities concurrently.
• Excellent written and oral English language skills, including the ability to communicate complex issues clearly to different audiences.
• A collaborative leadership style and the ability to build trust and act diplomatically within international and interdisciplinary communities.
• Demonstrated expertise in the field of sustainable research practices, particularly in life science laboratories.
• Published in the field of sustainable research.
• Experience developing training materials, community resources or scientific standards.
• Experience managing suppliers or grant-funded programmes.
• Additional European language skills.

Contract

Contract duration: 3 years. Salary: Grade 7 (monthly salary starting from EUR 5.408,54 after tax plus generous benefits and financial allowances based on individual circumstances. Excluding 12.99% personal pension and insurance contributions).

Location

EMBO is located on the international EMBL life sciences research campus in Heidelberg, Germany.

Benefits

• Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family (including all prescriptions and generous dental & optical cover)
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition public holidays
• Relocation package including installation grant (conditions apply)
• Campus life: On-site library, cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
• Family benefits: Kindergarten, 10 days of child sick leave, generous paid maternity/parental leave and monthly family & child allowances
• Benefits for international newcomers: Visa exemption, education grant for private schooling, financial support to travel back to your home country every second year and a monthly non-resident allowance.

International applicants

International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions.

DORA

EMBL/ EMBO is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.

Diversity and Inclusion

At EMBO, we believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.