Talent+ Training Program Coordinator

Job description

We are offering a 1-year part-time position for a Coordinator to set-up and run our new Talent+ training program: a three-strand multifaceted training program to provide research experience and skills to talented people from under-represented backgrounds, carefully tailored to catalyze their talent via training and research experience for a career in Cognitive Science. The position would suit a graduate with an interest in a career in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion University/Research Support and Administration and or International Program Coordination.

The TALENT+ program is designed to remove barriers caused by reduced access to research experience and training opportunities for groups from developing countries, historically economically/ethnically disadvantaged backgrounds, disabled people, and those who experience multiple barriers (intersectionality). The program will provide relevant experience and skills in how to conduct research in Cognitive Science, with the goal of increasing people’s competitiveness for PhD fellowships. The program contains three strands, each designed to provide research experience at MPI-PL and free/reduced cost access to training at our partner, Radboud University (RU). The program is jointly funded by the MPI for Psycholinguistics and a grant from the Max Planck Society Diversity Excellence Fund.

The role of the Coordinator will be to set up and pilot the Talent+ program, focusing on putting in place an end-to-end diversity-friendly ecosystem that includes:

• A recruitment model that will mitigate effects of implicit bias and more reliably identify talented applicants from historically excluded backgrounds.
• A support infrastructure that will meet the needs of the recruits during their time at MPI-PL, identifying and combating local diversity barriers.
• A careers training program focused on addressing long-term careers barriers.

In close cooperation with the project team (see below) you will take the lead in the operational implementation of the project. You will set up the project, make a clear plan with deliverables and timelines, and coordinate the execution of the project. You are responsible for monitoring the progress and quality of the project as well as for planning, identifying risks and adjusting where necessary. You will be in contact with many different international partners and other parties involved in the project, which requires sensitivity to social and political relationships as well as good communication skills. Other tasks involve advising the project team, coordinating financial reporting, organizing events, and actively thinking along about how work processes can be improved. The Coordinator will be embedded within the Institute’s Graduate School (IMPRS for Language Sciences) and will be supervised by the IMPRS Coordinator Kevin Lam.

The project is funded by a grant awarded to the Diversity & Inclusion Committee at the MPI for Psycholinguistics by the Max Planck Society.  The project team also includes members of the D&I committee:  Candice Frances (D&I committee chair),  Karin Kastens (Equality Officer), Andrea Martin, Caroline Rowland, and Anique Heurkens (HR).

Requirements

Essential

• A relevant HBO (Bachelor) degree (relevant directions include, for example: economics and business', behaviour and society, law and management and language and communication). Candidates without qualifications but who have reached the same level in terms of relevant experience are encouraged to apply.
• Expertise or experience in project coordination or management, especially of educational and/or research projects.
• Experience in working with complex administrative procedures.

• Excellent written and oral command of English.
• Good written and oral command of German (at least B2 level). German is required as the candidate will need to communicate regularly with the Max Planck Society Administrative Headquarters in Germany.
• The ideal candidate will also be able to show evidence that they:
  • are efficient and methodological.
  • have excellent time-management skills and are able to manage a diverse and demanding workload.
  • have excellent interpersonal, networking and communication skills.
  • are capable of working independently.
  • easily adapt to different work styles and expectations.
  • are able to stimulate others to meet deadlines.

Preferred

• A good command of oral Dutch is desirable but not essential, as the language of the Institute is English.
• Proven ability to build longer-term relationships between academics and (inter)national external networks is desirable but not essential.

What we offer you

• The position is available from January 2024. Start date is negotiable but you should be in place by March 2024 at the latest.
• Hybrid (but not fully remote) working is possible on negotiation.
• Part-time position (20 hours per week) with a term of appointment of 1 year.
• The salary is determined according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group E09b. Depending on the experience of the applicant, the current salary (until February 2024) based on a full-time employment (39 hours per week) is between EUR 3,230.42 and EUR 4,542.51 gross per month. In addition, a holiday bonus of 8% is part of the salary. For the salary table from 1 March 2024, please check here (gross amounts excluding the 8% holiday bonus).
• An allowance of 30 days annual leave (based on a full-time employment) and the German as well as the Dutch public holidays.

Application procedure

Informal enquiries should be addressed to Anique Heurkens (HR Advisor and member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee) at HR [at] mpi.nl

The deadline for applications is 16 October 2023. Please submit your application directly via this link on our recruitment portal.

Applications should include:

• A cover letter that explains why you are interested in this post and how you fit the essential and desirable criteria for the post listed above.
• A CV. We prefer to receive CVs without photo and birthday/year, to ensure a procedure that is as objective as possible.
• Contact details for two referees (referees will not be contacted unless you are invited to interview).
• Details of your availability for interview in the week beginning 6 November 2023.
   

The employer

About our institute

The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is a world-leading research institute devoted to interdisciplinary studies of the science of language and communication, including departments on genetics, psychology, development, neurobiology and multimodality of these fundamental human abilities.

We investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real time, how the brain processes language, how the human genome contributes to building a language-ready brain, how multiple modalities (as in speech, gesture and sign) shape language and its use in diverse languages and how language is related to cognition and culture, and shaped by evolution.

We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We aim to provide a working environment with room for differences, where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Therefore, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates. (https://www.mpi.nl/page/equal-opportunities).

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center.
Staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the art research and training facilities.

About the IMPRS

The IMPRS for Language Sciences is a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and two research institutes based at Radboud University; the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies. The School serves to bring together outstanding doctoral students from diverse disciplines in the language sciences on campus, and offer them high-quality training in an environment that both broadens their interdisciplinary experience and prepares them for fulfilling careers in the language sciences.