Research Coordinator

The vision of the** Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern** is to achieve a just and sustainable world in which nature conservation and human well-being reinforce each other. We are a place of innovation where research, business, policymakers, and communities come together to co-design solutions for sustainable futures. Our goal is to research, develop, and implement innovative solutions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, land use change, and rising inequality - by connecting technical, social, economic, institutional, and policy innovations at the interface of nature and people. The Wyss Academy comprises four Regional Hubs, one each in Europe (Switzerland), South America (Peru), East Africa (Kenya), and Southeast Asia (Laos). Please find more information on our website.

**We are seeking **a Research Coordinator to join the Transformational Research Teams at the Wyss Academy for Nature. The research coordinator will work closely with the existing research teams of Prof. Julie Zähringer (Land Systems and Sustainability Transformations), Prof. Margaret Owuor (Integrated Biodiversity Conservation), Prof. Kai Gehring (Political Economy and Development Economics), Prof. Edouard Davin (Climate Scenarios for Sustainable Development), and 2 additional professorships in Information and Communication Technology and Governance Innovations (Political Science).

This is an exciting opportunity to join a multicultural team of researchers and experts from various disciplines at the Wyss Academy. All of our research teams aim to work in a truly interdisciplinary way and to break the silos that often divide academic disciplines. We take part in innovative action research projects that require out-of-the-box thinking and transdisciplinary engagement with societal actors. Considering the real-world impact of our research for sustainable development is a key part of our approach, which is why our research projects combine cutting-edge, data-driven methods with empirical fieldwork in the Regional Stewardship Hubs. The research coordinator will play a key role in enabling and facilitating this interdisciplinary cooperation, the exchange between the researchers and research partners in the Hubs, as well as further activities involving diverse stakeholders and the public.

Your tasks:

- To enable, facilitate, and document interdisciplinary collaboration between the research teams
- To strengthen exchanges and networks between researchers, other units of the Wyss Academy and the Regional Stewardship Hubs and strategic partners (e.g. by organizing meetings, workshops, and field trips)
- To assist with developing, coordinating and managing the scientific strategic project portfolio of the Wyss Academy
To assist in the organization of transdisciplinary events
- To provide administrative support, quality assurance and coordinate the provision of administrative and staff services to investigators and researchers

Your qualifications:

- Master's degree or preferably PhD in one of the fields covered by the research teams

(as mentioned above), in a closely related field or in research management
- Experience in designing and documenting processes of interdisciplinary collaboration
- Ability and strong motivation to work in an interdisciplinary, multicultural environment
- Very good communication and organizational skills
- Working experience in transdiciplinary approaches and south-north research partnerships
- Very good English language skills (oral and written) a must; knowledge of German and Spanish an asset
- Proven track-record in research and grant management, and project coordination is an asset
- Data and knowledge management experience an asset
- Own research experience in a related field, e.g. through a PhD, an asset

We offer
- For you to be part of an adaptive organization that develops, tests, and scales up innovative solutions to the most urgent problems of our times, exploring new modes of collaboration between science, policy, and practice
- A stimulating intercultural, international, multidisciplinary environment with a modern culture of collaboration across four world regions and the space for innovative approaches and creative thinking
- Open-ended employment by a foundation whose salaries are based on the University of Bern's salary conditions
- Flexible working hours and the opportunity for personal growth and development

Applications must be written in English and include your CV, a max. 2-page cover letter explaining your personal motivation for joining the Wyss Academy for Nature, and a separate document containing relevant certificates and two reference letters from your previous, recent employment. If you have no reference letters, please state on your CV the names and contact details of two referees.
- Dossiers submitted through employment agencies will not be considered.