About us

We are Europe’s research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organization performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. Attached to the EMBL are the Hotel ISG and three guesthouses. The clientele is international. The Hotel ISG has 52 hotel rooms, five conference rooms, as and a restaurant with beer garden to host max. 80 pax at the same time.

The ISG Hotel offers the service of a good middle-class hotel and is certified by Dehoga as a three-star plus hotel. The rooms are primarily available to EMBL guests and staff, but also to external seminar guests, business travelers, tourists and travel groups. In addition, EMBL operates three guest houses with a total of 82 flats of various sizes for its staff as well as EMBL students and doctoral candidates.

Your role

We are looking for a qualified and motivated manager to operate the Hotel and the Guesthouses.

General areas of responsibility:

• Management and implementation of all operational processes in the Hotel ISG
• Coordinating all departments in the hotel with the aim of achieving the highest possible satisfaction of all guests
• Your role involves supervising a team of 20 individuals employed by EMBL, providing necessary guidance and direction to these team members
• Direct line management of the Guesthouse manager, the Front-office manager and the Restaurant staff
• Keeping high quality standards and service levels in all departments of the hotel
• Ensuring compliance with health and safety standards
• Planning and optimizing the utilization of the available resources
• Managing income/expenditure/budgets and reporting
• Following financial procedures and liaising with the finance department on, tracking invoices, payment requests, dunning procedures, lease, rental and service charge statements, cash balances and credit card statements
• Co-operation with various departments of the EMBL, especially with the Course & Conference Office
• Responsible for pricing and associated price strategies under consideration of economic efficiency
• Responsible for the purchasing of consumables and services, in cooperation with the restaurant team, the caretakers, the reception, and the housekeeping staff
• Responsible for obtaining quotations for major purchases, equipment, technical renovations, as well as processing
• Contract management including communication with the building owner
• Responsible for the scheduling and deployment of staff - including those from external companies - in accordance with the occupancy rate and in collaboration with the front office manager and the guesthouse manager
• Close cooperation with HR on contract changes, staff assignments, performance and development, promotions, recruitment and staffing
• Supervision and training of apprentices

This position reports to the Heidelberg Head of Operations & Administration.

The contract is an absence cover for a period of at least two years, full-time.

You have

• A completed degree in hotel management or equivalent as well as at least five years of professional experience in the hotel industry are required
• Outstanding organizational skills in all operational processes with a strong sense of responsibility for cost development
• Experienced staff manager with strong proven leadership skills
• Very good German and English language skills are required
• Well developed business acumen and experienced contract manager
• Strong negotiation skills
• The hospitality industry requires extreme resilience; even in stressful situations, the job holder will not loose smile and overview and will remain confident, attentive, friendly and courteous towards the guests
• As our ideal candidate, you will be a fair and communicative manager to the staff, who acts decisively and leads the international team to success
• Honesty and loyalty towards your employer are indispensable
• The ideal candidate has a hands-on mentality and is able to actively support the team when needed.

The weekly working hours are 39 hours. There is no fixed schedule of working hours as the post holder will be expected to be present at the hotel for events or special occasions and to carry out the necessary supervisory and control duties. Therefore, the actual working hours are at the discretion of the job holder according to the requirements of running the houses and sometimes exceed the 39 hours in a week. The work requires presence on site.

Contract length: Limited to 2 years (absence cover)

Salary: 6; depending on qualifications and experience (monthly salary starting from 4.5k EUR net + other paid benefits)

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 (select sites), on-site library, subsidised on-site gym and 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 strongly believe that inclusive and diverse teams benefit from higher levels of innovation and creative thought. We encourage applications from women, LGBTQ+ & individuals from all nationalities.
• 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: 20/01/2026

Apply now

Please apply online through: www.embl.org/jobs