Research Associate & Coordinator (m/f/d) for the Center for Forest Management in the Alps

Freising

Professur für Ökoklimatologie, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technische Universität München

The Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of the leading universities globally. At the TUM School of Life Sciences one focus is on forest ecosystems, aiming to better understand their dynamics and contributing to their sustainable management under climate change. Funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, a new Center for Forest Management in the Alps will be installed at the TUM School of Life Sciences. The goal of the new center is to bring together different disciplines and perspectives to further the sustainable management of mountain forests in the Alps. The center is led by Prof. Dr. Annette Menzel and Prof. Dr. Thomas Knoke.

We are looking to fill the position of the coordinator (m/f/d) of the new Center for Forest Management in the Alps (remuneration according to pay grade TV-L E13, 50%), available from January 2026 for 54 months (fixed-term).

Your profile

• Completed master's degree, preferably a PhD degree, in a natural science field (e.g. environmental sciences, forestry, geography, landscape- or geoecology, biology, or a related discipline)

• Experience in coordinating and managing inter- and transdisciplinary research projects

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

• Experience in academic work and scientific publishing

• Knowledge of GIS and ecosystem modelling is an advantage

• Ability to work independently and in a goal-oriented manner, as well as being a team player

• Willingness to travel for work purposes

• Driver’s License (Class B)

• Excellent German and English language skills (min. C1)

Your tasks

• Coordinate the overall project (Center for Forest Management in the Alps with its five subprojects) and monitor project progress

• Advise and guide project participants

• Organize and support communication and collaboration among stakeholders

• Consolidate partial results and contribute to reports and publications

• Organize events (e.g. summer school and international excursions) as well as guest stays

• Communication of research findings at conferences and stakeholder meetings

• Support doctoral researchers and master's students in their work

Our offer

• Work in a highly dynamic and international research setting of the new Center for Forest Management in the Alps (Profs. Menzel, Knoke, Peters, Seidl, Senf)

• Extensive opportunities for professional development

• Interact with a wide network of peers, scientists and stakeholders both nationally and internationally

• 50% position in remuneration group TV-L E13, for a period of 54 months

• The place of employment is the TUM School of Life Science in Freising, Germany, a campus with access to modern facilities (e.g., a wide range of sports activities) and infrastructure

Contact

We look forward to receiving your detailed application documents (cover / motivation letter, CV, and relevant certificates) combined into one single PDF file named “AlpineCenterCoordination_lastname_firstname.pdf”.

Please submit your application exclusively by e-mail with the subject line “Application Alpine Center” no later than 05 October 2025 to Prof. Dr. Menzel (sekretariat.ecoclim@ls.tum.de).

For questions about the position, please contact Prof. Dr. Annette Menzel (annette.menzel@tum.de).

TUM is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified people of all gender are encouraged to apply. We strive to increase the proportion of women, so applications from women are especially welcome. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference if they essentially have the same qualifications.

As part of your application for a position at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), you will be submitting personal data. Please refer to our data protection information in accordance with Art. 13 of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) https://portal.mytum.de/kompass/datenschutz/Bewerbung/ regarding the collection and processing of personal data as part of your application. By submitting your application, you confirm that you have taken note of TUM's data protection information.