Skip to content
CV Rocket
Get started
How it worksThe enginePricingBlogContactSign in

Open nowPosted 10 days ago

SPARKHub Director

embl18 open roles

Where
Heidelberg
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Your applicationOpen nowSPARKHub Directorembl · Heidelberg

  1. YouYes, apply to this one.

  2. CV RocketCV written for this posting.

  3. 25 readersRecruiter, hiring manager, skeptic. Round after round.

  4. CV RocketApplied on embl's own form.

The reply lands in your private mailbox

3×more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

The clock on this job

Early applications get read.

13.9% of postings close within 7 days. Measured by our own scanner across the market. embl postings stay open a median of 21 days.

Share of postings closed within
  1. 2.2%1 day
  2. 4.7%3 days
  3. 13.9%7 days
  4. 22.4%14 days
  5. 38.1%30 days
  6. 59.0%60 days
This job: posted 10 days ago

embl median: 21 days open

The posting

About SPARKHub

SPARKHub, the Sustainable Practice and Research Knowledge Hub, is an international initiative to develop and operate an open access platform for sustainable research practices. The platform will be launched in November 2026 to support researchers and organisations to reduce the environmental impact of their activities by providing a catalogue of measures, guidance, training, calculators, peer learning and certification.

EMBO will host SPARKHub in Heidelberg from 2027 onwards. This initiative is supported by an international group of funders and societies and was started by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI). https://sparkhub.eu/

Your role

As Programme Director, you will lead the implementation and development of SPARKHub, with overall accountability for programme delivery.

You will build and guide a small agile team to operate the platform and work with researchers, research organisations, societies and the wider community to ensure it is credible, practical and responsive to users’ needs across the research system.

Your main responsibilities:

  • Lead the scientific operation and further development of the SPARKHub platform, manage the programme team, and set work plans and priorities.
  • Oversee the development and maintenance of website content, including the certification criteria, guidance, training materials, and calculators.
  • Establish an expert content review board and oversee the quality of platform content.
  • Represent SPARKHub internationally, engaging directly with researchers, research performing organizations, funders, societies, policy stakeholders, and community initiatives to inform programme development and uptake.
  • Monitor scientific developments, tools, policies, and community practice relating to the environmental impact of research, and translate these into programme priorities.
  • Prepare and facilitate meetings of the SPARKHub Oversight Board and oversee programme reporting, including the annual report.
  • Oversee and improve the certification and peer review processes, ensuring consistent review standards, quality control, clear user guidance and effective support.
  • Manage external suppliers, including developers, to ensure the technical foundation of the platform can support its growth and needs.
  • Work with EMBO colleagues, including administration, finance, communications, to ensure that SPARKHub is integrated, efficient and compliant.

You have

  • A PhD in the life sciences or a related field.
  • A strong understanding of the research sustainability landscape, including the practical barriers and opportunities for research groups and institutions.
  • Proven experience in project planning and implementation, preferably in an international scientific or science-policy environment.
  • Experience working with multiple research stakeholders, including researchers, funders, research performing organisations and policy stakeholders.
  • Experience drafting guidance, policy papers and reports for scientific and policy audiences.
  • Excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, sound judgement and the ability to manage several priorities concurrently.
  • Excellent written and oral English language skills, including the ability to communicate complex issues clearly to different audiences.
  • A collaborative leadership style and the ability to build trust and act diplomatically within international and interdisciplinary communities.

You might also have

  • Demonstrated expertise in the field of sustainable research practices, particularly in life science laboratories.
  • Published in the field of sustainable research.
  • Experience developing training materials, community resources or scientific standards.
  • Experience managing suppliers or grant-funded programmes.
  • Additional European language skills.

This position may require occasional travel and work outside normal working hours, including evenings or weekends.

Contract duration: 3 years

Salary: Grade 7 (monthly salary starting from EUR 5.408,54 after tax plus generous benefits and financial allowances based on individual circumstances. Excluding 12.99% personal pension and insurance contributions).

Why join us

EMBO is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. We fund talented researchers at all career stages, facilitate scientific exchanges through high-quality academic publishing, conferences, and lectures, and foster a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.

Our diverse international team of approximately 70 staff collaborate closely with one another and with external stakeholders to further our mission. EMBO is located on the international EMBL life sciences research campus in Heidelberg, Germany.

Heidelberg, with a population of around 160,000 people, is an international university city and research hub. It is attractively located between the Rhine River and the Odenwald, a low mountain range that offers a wide range of outdoor activities. The city has good national and international travel connections.

Promote the life sciences

At EMBO, you can contribute significantly to the advancement of life sciences in Europe and beyond. Your work will enable talented scientists to do great research and create an environment that enables their success.

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, 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 public holidays
  • Relocation package including installation grant (conditions apply)
  • Campus life: On-site library, cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)
  • Family benefits: Kindergarten, 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/ EMBO is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we apply DORA principles to our recruitment and performance assessment processes here.
  • Diversity and inclusion: At EMBO, 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

16/11/2026

From $25, paid onceGet the CV for this job

What happens when you press

One press. We do the rest.

  1. A CV for this posting

    Written against embl's own wording, from every piece of relevant proof in your profile.

  2. 25 readers review it

    Recruiter, hiring manager, skeptic and more read every draft, round after round. You get the best round.

    The review screen in CV Rocket: how each CV was read, round by round.

  3. We apply on embl's form

    Our application engine gets through the hardest forms there are. Where a question needs you, AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

    An application in CV Rocket: every answer filled in on the employer's form.

  4. Every reply, sorted

    embl's answer lands in your private mailbox, and we classify it on arrival: interview, question, rejection.

    The CV Rocket inbox: each employer reply classified as an interview, an action or a rejection.

  5. Reply with AI

    AI helps you write the email, checks it and sends it. We show you whether the recruiter read it.

  6. The interview in your calendar

    Full integration with your calendar. The invitation goes straight in.

    An interview invitation in the CV Rocket inbox, added to the candidate's calendar.
Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

Why it works

3×

more interviews than doing it yourself with ChatGPT.

ChatGPT writes a CV and never learns what happened to it. We see every reply. For each CV we know:

  • How it was written, and how the review scored it
  • When we applied, and how long after the posting went up
  • Which posting, which company, which city
  • Who got the interview, and who heard nothing

That is how we know which CVs get called.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

The numbers game

More applications. More interviews.

Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting and paid once. Send enough of them and the law of large numbers finds you the job.

Get the CV for this job
By hand5–10
With CV Rocket100
applications a day

Nearby

Live postings like this one

Same employer first, then the same role elsewhere.

Before you press

Straight answers

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.

What if my background isn't good enough?

We make the most of the background you have. The CV uses every piece of relevant proof your profile holds, and one of the 25 readers reads your whole profile and flags what the CV left out.

Do you really apply for me?

Yes, on the employer's own form, the hardest ones included. Where a question needs you, you answer it right there and AI suggests the best answer. Don't want us applying from our IP addresses? Use our Chrome extension: we apply straight from your own browser.

Is it a subscription?

No. You pay once per CV, from $25. Every application goes out with its own CV, written for that posting.

One job. One CV.
Paid once.

Pick the posting you want. We write for it, apply for you and catch the reply.

Get the CV for this job

From $25 per CV, paid once. No subscription.