Founded in 2014, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH) in Jena is a young and highly dynamic research institution that assembles scientists from all over the world who work across a wide range of disciplines bridging the natural sciences and the humanities, including genetics, linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history. The overarching goal of the MPI-SHH is to explore big picture questions in human biological and cultural evolution from the Paleolithic until today, addressing a broad range of themes from human dispersals and migrations, to early forms of globalization and language spread, using state-of-the-art analytical methods in genome sequencing, proteomics, archaeological science, language databases, bioinformatics, and population genetics.

We are seeking a

Head of press (f/m/d)

to start as soon as possible.

As Head of press you belong to the Scientific Services Group
(https://www.shh.mpg.de/781798/scientific-services) and will report to the Scientific Coordinator.

The main tasks of the position are:

• Writing and editing of press releases in English about a broad range of scientific topics
• Communication with internal and external scientists, research institutions, journalists and the central press department of the Max Planck Society General Administrative Headquarters in Munich
• Moderation of social media platforms (e. g. Facebook, Twitter)
• Editing of institute website
• Organization and management of PR activities and deadlines in cooperation with the other PR officer, the graphics design team and the institute management
• Supporting the Scientific Coordinator in a range of other tasks, e. g. preparation of annual reports, production of display material, nominations for scientific awards, etc.

Qualifications for the position include:

• A degree in communication/journalism, philology, literature, or another field related to the institute's research profile or that qualifies you to write about our research
• Excellent communication skills in both written and spoken language, having a native speaker level of English and some German language proficiency or the willingness to learn German
• Capacity to formulate texts for different target audiences using precise and engaging language
• Competence in the strategic use of social media
• Experience with web-editing using a content management system (CMS) is advantageous

We are looking for an open-minded, dynamic, creative, and curious individual who possesses a high degree of initiative, very good social skills, and who is enthusiastic about the research topics covered at our institute.

We offer:
We offer a 75% position initially limited to two years with the prospect of becoming permanent and full-time. Payment is according to TVöD up to pay group E13 depending on qualifications and including usual employee benefits of public service.

The Max Planck Society is committed to employing more handicapped individuals and especially encourages them to apply. The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Please submit your application via the following link

"https://lotus2.gwdg.de/mpg/mjws/perso/shh_s021.nsf/application"

no later than 11. August 2019. Candidates are requested to submit their application in English and as a single pdf file that includes a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, copies of certificates, and three relevant work samples.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and will be asked to perform a journalistic writing task as part of the selection process. For further information regarding the position, please contact Dr. Sabine Ziegler (ziegler@shh.mpg.de), maternal substitute for the institute's Scientific Coordinator Dr. Beate Kerpen.

Information regarding the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History can be found at "https://www.shh.mpg.de/"