Scientific Training Officer (1 year fixed term)

EMBL is Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 80 independent research groups covering the full spectrum of molecular biology. It operates from six sites, Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Cambridge, Grenoble, Hamburg and Rome.

The EMBL-EBI Training team delivers a world-recognised programme that includes virtual and face-to-face training for a global audience, alongside self-paced online learning, live webinars, and capacity building through secondments and train-the-trainer workshops. The team also contributes to a high number of externally funded projects.

Training the next generation of scientists is a core mission of the EMBL. EMBL’s Internal Scientific Training team coordinates EMBL’s Predoctoral and Postdoctoral programmes, which host around 500 fellows at any given time. Both programmes leverage EMBL’s interdisciplinary and dynamic scientific environment and, together with the EMBL Fellows’ Career Service and the Complementary Scientific Skills programme, provide world class training and career development for our fellows.

 
Both teams sit under the umbrella of the EMBL's International Centre for Advanced Training (EICAT) which delivers an EMBL wide programme of internal and external training events.

Your role 

Due to existing team members taking on additional responsibilities, an opportunity has arisen for a Scientific Training Officer. This is a project-limited, one-year role. This role will work across the EMBL-EBI Training programme, based in Hinxton and the Internal Scientific Training Team, based in Heidelberg.  
 

The primary focus of the position is to develop and deliver training courses and knowledge exchange workshops - including both data science training for developers and users of biomedical data services, and complementary scientific skills training aimed at EMBL’s PhDs and postdocs on topics such as grant writing, scientific project management and critical thinking.
 

The post reports to both Scientific Training Lead and Fellows’ Skills and Career Development Lead. It involves substantial autonomy and requires extensive interactions with others at and beyond EMBL. The role will involve European travel, primarily between the UK and Germany but also to other EMBL sites. 

Responsibilities include:

• Supporting the Scientific Training Lead (Core) and Fellows’ Skills and Career Development Lead to develop and deliver training courses and knowledge exchange workshops -  virtually and onsite at Hinxton and Heidelberg. Development involves liaison with hosts and trainers to ensure that course and workshop programmes meet the needs of their target audiences. Delivery involves being present throughout the duration of these courses, which involves some work outside of normal office hours. Some of this work may be done in association with externally funded projects.
• Contributing to the collection and analysis of training statistics with other colleagues.
• Monitoring and responding to feedback from courses and workshops  for the purposes of quality control.
• Developing training materials for face-to-face and online delivery.
• Training on courses where appropriate, both virtually and onsite at Hinxton and Heidelberg.
• Assisting others to develop their training skills, both within and beyond EMBL.
• Working with events organisers and other colleagues to deliver training events and ensure that course information (including web pages) is kept up to date.
• Assisting in marketing the courses and workshops, as and when required. 

You have 

• A PhD, and ideally some postdoctoral experience, in the molecular life sciences or a related subject
• Experience in training other researchers and/or development of training materials or documentation
• Experience in communicating complex concepts to scientists, ideally in a learning environment
• Ability to work to deadlines; good time management, management of own workload and organisational skills 
• Familiarity with using large biological or biomedical data sets to answer research questions 
• Comfortable in using remote collaboration tools and digital project management software (e.g. Zoom, Slack, Trello, Asana, Jira, or similar software)
• Demonstrable enthusiasm for both the scientific and the andragogic aspects of the role
• Highly self-motivated and able to engage and enthuse others
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences
• Confident facilitator and negotiator
• Contributes to a culture of integrity and trust among collaborators, building mutual understanding and helping to set realistic expectations

You may also have

• A teaching or training qualification
• Experience managing or providing contributions to projects in an international setting, ideally including EU- or other publicly funded projects
• Experience of programming and/or bioinformatics analysis
• Experience working in a matrix management structure 
• Ability to take the lead on projects of varying complexity where required

Contract length: 1 year fixed-term contract

Salary: Grade 5 (monthly salary starting at £3,229.13 after tax but excl. pension & insurances) + benefits

Interview date: Interviews are anticipated to take place during the week of 1st September 2025.

Why join us

Do something meaningful
At EMBL-EBI you can apply your talent and passion to accelerate science and tackle some of humankind's greatest challenges. EMBL-EBI, part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is a worldwide leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. We provide the global research community with access to publicly available databases and tools which are crucial for the advancement of healthcare, food security, and biodiversity.
 

Join a culture of innovation
We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus, alongside other prominent research and biotech organisations, and surrounded by beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. This is a highly collaborative and inclusive community where our employees enjoy a relaxed atmosphere. We are committed to ensuring our employees feel valued, supported and empowered to reach their professional potential.  Watch this video to see how EMBL-EBI makes an impact.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Monthly family, child and non-resident allowances, annual salary review, pension scheme, death benefit, long-term care, accident-at-work and unemployment insurances

• Flexible working arrangements - including hybrid working patterns 

• 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 (if required)

• Campus life: Free shuttle bus to and from work, on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

• Family benefits: On-site nursery, 10 days of child sick leave, generous parental leave, holiday clubs on campus and monthly family and child allowances

• Benefits for non-UK residents: 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.

For detailed information please visit our employee benefits page here. 

What else you need to know

• International applicants: We recruit internationally and successful candidates are offered visa exemptions. Please take a look at our International Applicants page for further information.  

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

• Diversity and inclusion: At EMBL, we strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ & individuals from all nationalities. 

• How to apply: To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. Applications will close at 23:59 CET on the date shown below. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date.

Closing Date