Executive Programme Lead, COO Office

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and highly capable Executive Programme Lead to join the COO Office on a secondment basis for a period of 2 years. This role operates at the heart of the organisation, providing programme leadership across a portfolio of complex, high-priority initiatives reporting into the Head of the Operations Management Team.

The Executive Programme Lead will lead and coordinate cross-cutting programmes including Council-commissioned reviews, policy reviews, and other strategic initiatives, alongside ad-hoc work for the COO. Acting as a senior liaison across all functional areas under the COO portfolio, the role ensures that programmes are well-governed, risks are managed, dependencies are understood, and delivery remains aligned to organisational and scientific priorities.

The role requires strong EMBL institutional knowledge, strategic oversight and hands-on programme delivery, excellent stakeholder management skills, and the credibility to operate confidently with senior leaders. It is particularly suited to someone who can protect executive time by providing clarity, structure, and disciplined follow-through across multiple workstreams.

Your Role

Programme & Portfolio Management

• Lead the end-to-end management of a portfolio of programmes and reviews on behalf of the COO Office, including Council reviews, policy reviews, and other strategic initiatives.
• Establish and maintain programme plans, milestones, dependencies, and delivery frameworks to ensure timely and high-quality outcomes.
• Monitor progress across programmes, proactively identifying risks, issues, and resource pressures, and proposing mitigation strategies.
• Provide structured oversight of ad-hoc initiatives commissioned by the COO, ensuring clarity of scope, ownership, and deliverables.

Strategic, Governance & Risk Support

• Support the COO team in shaping, implementing, and tracking strategic direction, ensuring alignment with organisational and scientific priorities.
• Coordinate governance processes for programmes and reviews, ensuring alignment with organisational policies, Council requirements, and operational standards.
• Prepare high-quality executive papers, briefing notes, reports, and recommendations for senior leadership and Council, translating complex information into clear, actionable insights.
• Track KPIs and benefits realisation across programmes, providing clear reporting and assurance to the COO and senior stakeholders.

Executive Liaison & Stakeholder Management

• Act as a senior liaison across all functional areas reporting into the COO, ensuring effective coordination, communication, and delivery of agreed priorities.
• Work closely with the COO, their Deputy, the Head of Operation Management Team, and the COO’s Executive Assistant to anticipate priorities, manage interdependencies, and protect executive focus.

Communication, Coordination & Leadership Support

• In conjunction with the team’s Change and Engagement Manager, coordinate communication across senior leadership and cross-functional meetings, ensuring consistent messaging and effective cascading of decisions and actions.
• Prepare and coordinate materials for executive and governance meetings, ensuring papers are timely, coherent, and decision-ready.
• Attend senior meetings as required, capturing decisions and actions, and ensuring robust follow-up and delivery.
• Build and sustain strong working relationships across operational, functional, and administrative teams, fostering collaboration and accountability.

You Have (Essential Requirements)

• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience.
• Significant experience in programme or portfolio management, operations, or senior executive support within a complex, multi-cultural, and international organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex reviews, strategic initiatives, or organisational change programmes.
• Strong stakeholder management and liaison skills, with the credibility to operate at senior leadership and Council level.
• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple, competing demands.
• Proven experience of governance, risk management, and performance reporting.
• Excellent analytical, including numerical, capability
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including drafting high-quality executive papers and presentations.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and integrity.
• Excellent command of English; German and/or French proficiency is an advantage.

You might also have (Desirable)

• Experience within a research, higher education, public sector, or not-for-profit environment.
• Familiarity with Council or board-level governance and policy review processes.

This is a high-impact role offering the opportunity to shape and deliver some of the organisation’s most important strategic programmes. As Executive Programme Lead, you will play a central role in enabling the COO and its team to operate effectively, ensuring that Council reviews, policy work, and priority initiatives are well-managed, well-governed, and aligned with the organisation’s long-term scientific and operational goals.

Other helpful information

Contract length: 2 years (renewable up to 9 years)

Salary: Grade 7 or 8; based on qualifications and experience

We are committed to open and fair recruitment practices. We would like to be transparent that internal candidates with relevant experience will be prioritized for consideration and assessment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and will ensure a fair and objective selection process.

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

05/03/2026