Who We Are & Why We’re Hiring
At EMBL, we’re committed to building a research and work culture that embraces diversity in all its forms. We believe that fostering inclusion and equality isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s essential for driving innovation, solving global challenges, and advancing careers. As an intergovernmental organization and a leader in the life sciences, we support scientists worldwide in their mission to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and improve human health.
Our Human Resources team plays a pivotal role in this mission. By implementing modern HR practices through our new ERP system Workday, we aim to streamline processes and focus on what truly matters: our people. As a People Advisor, you’ll be the first point of contact for employees, helping to onboard new team members, provide proactive support, and address a wide range of people-related matters. You’ll collaborate with HR Partners to deliver exceptional service and contribute to a high-performing, inclusive culture across EMBL’s six sites.
See yourself at EMBL
Join a supportive, collaborative team where creativity and problem-solving are at the heart of everything we do. We’re looking for a proactive, customer-focused professional who thrives in fast-paced environments, excels under pressure, and is committed to making a difference.
As a trusted advisor, you’ll promote open communication, trust, and cooperation. You’ll listen, solve problems, and provide practical HR support, helping to build a harmonious and high-performing workplace.
Your role:
You’ll play a key role in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, empowering individuals from all backgrounds and enhancing team dynamics. Your responsibilities will include:
HR Guidance & Support: Provide professional, balanced, and consistent advice on policies, procedures, and employment terms, ensuring fairness and efficiency.
Onboarding & Offboarding: Work with the Talent Acquisition team to ensure a smooth onboarding experience for new hires and manage offboarding processes, including exit interviews and entitlements.
Contract & Immigration Support: Oversee contracts, immigration, and onboarding for visitors and trainees.
HR Process Coordination: Track and coordinate HR processes, including performance management, new starters, leavers, and absence management.
Knowledge Management: Contribute to the Workday Knowledge Database and Intranet to keep HR information up to date.
Change Management: Act as a change agent, driving the adoption of new HR technologies and processes, and supporting organizational change initiatives.
Collaboration: Work across the HR function to develop integrated solutions, ensuring a ‘one team’ approach that boosts morale and satisfaction.
This is a one-year fixed-term position covering a maternity leave.
You have:
Education & Experience: A degree in HR Management, Business/Public Administration, or a related field, along with professional HR qualifications. Prior experience as an HR generalist or Advisor in a fast-paced, multicultural environment is ideal.
Skills & Mindset: Strong attention to detail, diplomacy, analytical thinking, and confident decision-making. You’re authentic, innovative, and collaborative, with a results-focused approach.
Communication: Exceptional ability to communicate and collaborate across functions, building strong partnerships with colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Emotional Intelligence: Skilled at listening, considering alternatives, and managing diverse viewpoints to navigate conflict and facilitate conversations.
Proactivity: A quick learner who constantly seeks improvement, thinks critically, and communicates thoughtfully. You’re motivated to make a difference and unafraid to ask questions to find creative solutions
You may also have:
Prior experience in using Workday
Knowledge of HR processes and procedures in international organizations
Exposure to and work experience in a multicultural environment, ideally in a scientific organization
Proficiency in another European language (e.g., French, German, Italian or Spanish)
We encourage you to apply even if you are not sure if you meet all the requirements above. We believe candidates with all kinds of backgrounds can have a lot to offer, and we are looking forward to hearing from you!
EMBL does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, ethnic origin, nationality, age, marital status, disability, religious beliefs, social class, sexual orientation and political views or any other attribute that might give rise to inappropriate
discrimination. We only assess candidates on their qualifications and merit.
Contract length: 1 year fixed term (maternity cover).
Salary: Grade 5 (monthly salary starting from €4.031,02 before personal pension and insurance contributions, plus additional 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
18/06/2026