Junior Grant Advisor

Leiden Univ; Leiden; Hybrid; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday allowance

End-of-year bonus

Pension ABP

Hybrid work

Laptop & mobile provided

Job summary

Leiden University invites applications for a junior grant advisor within the Grant Development Team at LURIS. You will support researchers in preparing a range of proposals, connect researchers across disciplines, and build relationships with funding agencies while maintaining expert knowledge on research grants.

The role offers a 0.7–0.8 fte contract for one year with a competitive salary on scale 10, annual leave and pension arrangements; hybrid work in the Netherlands, and opportunities for

Qualifications

• University degree and at least three additional years of extensive research experience, preferably in a Dutch academic or R&D setting.
• Experience with obtaining research funding as researcher and knowledge of the current funding landscape.
• Ability to quickly conceptualise.
• Affinity for multiple research areas and ability to connect research and society.
• Natural networker with strong interpersonal skills to motivate others.
• Excellent written and spoken Dutch and English; willingness to acquire Dutch language skills if needed.
• Enthusiastic, inventive, service- and results-oriented behaviour.
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary teams and contribute as an expert while remaining flexible.

Responsibilities

• Support researchers in preparing proposals from individual grants to collaborative proposals by assessing ideas and reviewing proposals.
• Connect researchers in- and outside the university to facilitate interdisciplinary research.
• Build relationships with funding agencies and maintain expert knowledge on research grants with the team.
• Share expert knowledge internally and contribute to training courses and events.

Skills

Dutch & English writing

Conceptual thinking

Networking

Research funding knowledge

Education

University degree

PhD (plus)

Job description

Applying is possible up to and including: 4 October 2026

Want to work at the heart of groundbreaking research? Join our team and help researchers turn big ideas into funded projects and see your work create real-world impact.

What you will do

As grant advisor, you will play an important role in enabling exciting disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary research that provides a strong basis for solving major societal challenges. You will partner up with the researcher and work closely the other support staff of the Leiden Research Support Network to set up robust research projects that lead to winning the funding bids. You quickly grasp rules and regulations, can read between the lines and enjoy making texts accessible. You will also help in the organisation of events related to funding and keeping our knowledge base up to date. You have a hands-on mentality, work well in a team and you are eager to learn the challenges of the playing field you are operating in to get the job done before the inevitable deadline. Never a dull day.

Key responsibilities as part of the team:

• Support researchers in preparing a variety of proposals, ranging from individual grants to collaborative proposals, by assessing their ideas and reviewing proposals;
• Connect researchers in- and outside the university to facilitate interdisciplinary research;
• Build good relationships with the funding agencies, develop and maintain expert knowledge on research grants together with the entire team and community;
• Share expert knowledge widely internally, and contribute to the organisation of training courses and events;

Where you will work

LURIS creates and facilitates the network between Leiden scientists and public and private partners, with a focus on generating societal impact through research, knowledge and innovation. We support scientists at Leiden University in their ambition to further develop and develop their research. To achieve this goal, we work closely with academics, companies and many other stakeholders in the Leiden ecosystem. Luris is located in PLNT, where innovation meets entrepreneurship.

You will become part of the Grant Development Team at Luris. To keep our team of nine at full strength, we are looking for a junior grant advisor who is willing to learn the tricks of the trade, keeps their cool and gets energy from helping researchers. You will be part of the active and lively (at least we think so) Research Funding Support Community, a community of all grant advisors in the university who actively work together to cover grant support in the university under the umbrella of Leiden Research Support (LRS). We work closely together with the other teams of Luris and Strategy and Academic Affairs to build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders.

What you bring

In this team, we are looking for someone who can work independently and has the ambition to become an expert grant advisor. Every job is different, so we will devote attention to your onboarding and on-the-job training. We will look together at what you need, and draw up a development plan. This position is a good fit for you if you recognise yourself in the following:

• university degree and at least three additional years of extensive research experience, preferably in a Dutch academic or R&D business environment; having obtained a PhD is a plus.
• you may already have some experience with obtaining research funding as researcher and have knowledge of the current funding landscape;
• ability to quickly conceptualise;
• affinity for multiple research areas and possess the ability to identify connections between research and society.
• natural networker with great personal skills to motivate others;
• excellent oral and writing skills in Dutch and English. Non-Dutch native speakers should demonstrate the willingness to acquire Dutch oral and writing skills;
• enthusiastic, inventive, service- as well as results-oriented and diligent;
• functions well in multi-disciplinary teams. Likes to develop an expert role, but possesses the flexibility to make other contributions when needed;
• ability to effectively manage a broad range of projects with competing deadlines.

If you immediately recognise yourself in this profile, or if do you not quite meet all the requirements, but you believe that this is the right job for you, we look forward to your application!

What we offer

Our goal is to work together to create a transparent and inclusive work environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated. Our organisation is always evolving and we need your ideas for improvement and innovation to take us further. We want to devote attention to your personal development. LRS provides many activities for professional development of research support staff, specifically.

You can count on an enjoyable and challenging job within the societally relevant world of education and research. The University's international work environment is located just steps away from Leiden’s lively city centre. We also want to work with you to devote attention to your health and vitality, for example with the activities we organise through Healthy University.

We also offer:

• An employment contract of 0,7 to 0,8 fte for the duration of one year. This contract falls under the CLA of Dutch Universities;
• A salary of a minimum of € 3706,- and a maximum of € 5760,- gross per month, based on a full-time appointment (38 hours) (scale 10);
• A holiday allowance (8%), an end-of-year bonus (8,3%), and an attractive pension scheme at ABP;
• Flexible working hours: as a standard, you are entitled to a minimum of 29 leave days on the basis of a full-time working week of 38 hours; you can also save for extra leave, for example by working 40 hours a week, and in this way accrue an extra 96 leave hours, or exchange 96 leave hours for a 36-hour week.
• Lots of options when it comes to secondary employment conditions; we can, for example, discuss options for a sabbatical or paid parental leave. Within our terms of employment individual choices model, you can exchange leave days and/or salary for benefits such as an advantageous sports subscription or bicycle scheme, and we also offer child-care options;
• If your work allows it, hybrid working is possible within the Netherlands;
• A home-working allowance (day and internet allowance) and attention for good workplaces. The University will also provide you with a laptop and a mobile telephone.

Promoting an inclusive community is central to Leiden University’s values and vision. Leiden University aims to be an inclusive community in which all students and staff members feel valued and respected, and are able to develop to their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High-quality education and research means inclusive education and research.

If you would like more information about what the job entails, please contact Anke Klerkx, team leader of the Grant Development Team, at [e-mail] .

You can apply until 4 October 2026 with submitting both a motivation letter and cv; applications will be processed immediately after. The first round of interviews is planned on the 12 and 14th of October between 14.00 and 17.00, and will be in Leiden. The follow-up interviews will take place on either 19th or 20th of October between 14.30 and 17.00, also in Leiden. We appreciate it if you do your best to take this already into account and if you indicate any conflict clearly in the motivation letter.

• We believe mobility is very important. That is why we are also publishing this vacancy internally.
• A pre-employment screening (references, diplomas) may be part of the selection procedure.

Contact: Anke Klerkx, Team leader Grant Development Team