The EMBL Legal Services team plays a key role in supporting the Laboratory in fulfilling its mission, enabling EMBL scientists to concentrate on delivering world-class research while safeguarding and advancing EMBL’s legal interests, both internally and externally.

The scope of legal advice provided is broad and diverse, covering areas such as institutional governance, grants and consortium agreements, collaborative and commercial partnerships, employment law, litigation and arbitration, as well as relations with host countries, Member States, European Union institutions, and other national and international research organisations and bodies.

Legal support for all six EMBL sites is coordinated from Headquarters in Heidelberg, with dedicated teams also based locally in Hinxton, UK, and Barcelona, Spain.

Your role 

As Legal Officer, you will be exposed to a wide variety of legal matters and be required to perform a broad range of legal work, including research, drafting, negotiations, etc. The focus of this role is dealing with employment-related matters, including day-to-day legal advisory to Human Resources and other stakeholders regarding the interpretation and implementation of EMBL’s legal framework in the area of employment, as well as advisory on employment-related disputes and other formal proceedings. The postholder will work closely with a Senior Legal Officer handling employment matters.

The role may also include other matters  in the following fields:

• Relations with other international, research or commercial organisations

• (Scientific) Cooperation agreements

• Research Grants & Consortia

• EMBL status/institutional matters (Privileges & Immunities, Relations with the Host Countries)

• Relations with EMBL Member States

• Commercial contracts

It is envisaged that you will initially be trained and closely supervised by your supervisors so as to provide the necessary guidance and quality assurance. Over time, the expectation is that you should be prepared to work increasingly independent, albeit in close cooperation with the supervisors. From time to time, you may also be required to liaise with and oversee the work of outside legal counsel. You will report to the Head of Legal Services, and be supervised by the Head of Legal Services as well as the Senior Legal Officer (Employment).

You have 

• As our ideal candidate, you will have a masters degree (or equivalent) in law demonstrating an international focus in your academic career, and ideally at least 3 years of professional experience (candidates with less experience may be considered if their profile shows a clear focus on employment matters). You are qualified to practice (although bar-admission is not required).

• Excellent legal drafting skills are required, and experience in the following areas is desirable: International Public and private Law, International Civil Service Law, Commercial Law.

• You will bring strong analytical skills and the ability to identify problems and offer pragmatic options for solutions. You will have demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, you are client-focused and – if required – can work to tight deadlines and handle a multitude of legal matters in parallel.

• Excellent communication skills in English are mandatory.

You may also have

• Working knowledge of French is an asset.

Contract length: 1 year (absence cover)

Salary: Grade 6, monthly salary from EUR 4.580,37 (after tax, and before 13% EMBL social security deductions) plus other paid benefits

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. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. 

We encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team – we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and personal experiences reflect the diversity of the populations that our science serves. We actively encourage applications from all genders and cultures, ethnic groups and all demographics to help us avoid perpetuating biases and oversights at this transformational point in our people strategy.

Enjoy lots of benefits:

• Financial incentives: Salary free of income tax, 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

• 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 to public holidays

• Relocation package including installation grant (if applicable)

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

• Family benefits: Kindergarten (Heidelberg), 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.

• 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. Visit our International Applicants page, to find out more.

• 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 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.

• 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