Ombudsperson

at  European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Administration
EMBL Heidelberg
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is a non-profit, Intergovernmental Organisation funded by 29 member states and 1 associate member state. EMBL has around 1,900 members of personnel from over 80 nations based across its six sites: the headquarters in Heidelberg (Germany), the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) in Hinxton near Cambridge (UK), Grenoble (France), Hamburg (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain).
The Ombudsperson is responsible for providing guidance in the application and interpretation of the EMBL Code of Conduct and assists in the resolution of concerns and disputes, making sure that the principles of confidentiality, neutrality, independence are followed. All members of personnel (MoP), i.e. staff members, local staff, fellows, trainees and visitors, have access to the services of the Ombudsperson on a voluntary basis.
The role supplements, but does not replace, EMBL’s existing resources for addressing concerns and providing support to informally resolve conflict.
Your role
Main responsibilities:

Conflict resolution

• Provides confidential and neutral assistance to all MoP supporting the informal resolution of workplace issues through various forms of mediation working in adherence with the Code of Conduct and other relevant EMBL policies;
• Helps in clarifying issues that have created conflict or concern;
• Researches and analyses concerns, and means for resolving them;
• Facilitates informal meetings and mutual resolution of concerns;
• Develops and promotes positive, informal problem solving methods;
• Provides follow-up and support as needed;
• Promotes awareness of services offered by the Ombudsperson;
• Educates the EMBL community on how to manage conflict;
• Makes recommendations on continuous improvement of early conflict resolution;
• Identifies new concerns and opportunities for systemic change at the organization and helps improve existing processes by bringing them to the attention of the responsible decision-makers within the organization;
• Refers individuals to appropriate resolution resources available to them;
• Helps create workplace well-being by promoting cross-cultural awareness and fostering ethical behavior, fairness, respect and good governance throughout the organisation;
• Collaborating with Human Resources and with EMBL’s International Centre for Advanced Training in the design of training programs for Members of Personnel in conflict resolution, and

You have
Applicants must have a relevant university degree, or relevant qualifications, and at least 10 years of experience in conflict resolution, workplace mediation or in providing psychosocial support, preferably in an intergovernmental organisation and/or a scientific or higher education environment.

The skills required for the role include, but are not limited to:

• Practical knowledge of organisational development and disciplines related to general management, strategic thinking, and human resource management;
• Extensive experience in senior positions with a substantial administrative element;
• Demonstrated ability to bring leadership to strategic, organisational and managerial work;
• High degree of integrity, confidentiality and independence;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with diverse audiences;
• Active listening skills, remaining non-judgmental, empathetic and authentic;
• Excellent negotiation and problem-solving skills including knowledge of managing difficult team situations ;
• Excellent analytical skills as well as capability of anticipating implications of analyse situations;
• Qualifications that are relevant for the position, e.g. a relevant university degree or certificates relevant to the position;
• High level of service orientation;
• Very good knowledge of English and at least one other of EMBL’s official languages (French and German).

You might also have

• A good knowledge of additional language/s is highly desirable.

Why join us
EMBL is curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer , we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. EMBL offers attractive conditions and benefits appropriate to an international research organisation with a very collegial and family-friendly working environment.

ENJOY LOTS OF BENEFITS

• Financial incentives: Income tax exemption, monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, a pension scheme, life insurance, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Certified training and continued development of your professional and personal skills
• Private medical insurance for you and your immediate family
• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year
• Generous relocation package including installation grant (if applicable)
• Family benefits: On site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave and monthly family and 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
  We are Europe’s research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international, innovative and interdisciplinary laboratory.
  **Don’t meet every single requirement? We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply nevertheless.

What else you need to know

• Contract duration: This position is a 5 year contract, renewable to a maximum of 9 years.
• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Read more on our page for international applicants.
• Diversity and inclusion: We strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ and individuals from all nationalities.
• EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we implement best practices in research assessment in our recruitment processes here
• Job location: This role is based in Heidelberg, Germany.
• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Please apply online through: www.embl.org/jobs

• Practical knowledge of organisational development and disciplines related to general management, strategic thinking, and human resource management;
• Extensive experience in senior positions with a substantial administrative element;
• Demonstrated ability to bring leadership to strategic, organisational and managerial work;
• High degree of integrity, confidentiality and independence;
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with diverse audiences;
• Active listening skills, remaining non-judgmental, empathetic and authentic;
• Excellent negotiation and problem-solving skills including knowledge of managing difficult team situations ;
• Excellent analytical skills as well as capability of anticipating implications of analyse situations;
• Qualifications that are relevant for the position, e.g. a relevant university degree or certificates relevant to the position;
• High level of service orientation;
• Very good knowledge of English and at least one other of EMBL’s official languages (French and German)