ELIXIR Governance and Institutional Affairs Officer

Job notes

ELIXIR is looking for a Governance and Institutional Affairs Officer to play a central role in supporting the governance and institutional development of our European research infrastructure.

ELIXIR brings together leading life science organisations across Europe to coordinate and sustain the data resources, tools and services that enable scientific discovery. Effective governance is fundamental to this mission, ensuring that our international partners can collaborate, make informed decisions and deliver on shared priorities.

Your role

This is a varied and influential coordination role offering the opportunity to work closely with senior leaders, national representatives, scientific advisers and institutional stakeholders from across Europe.

Reporting to the General Counsel and working across Legal Services, Operations and External Relations , you will work closely with the Heads of Operations and External Relations and their teams on activities within their respective areas of responsibility. You will help ensure that ELIXIR's governance bodies and institutional processes operate smoothly, transparently and effectively.

You will be involved in everything from coordinating high-level international meetings and supporting institutional decision-making to improving governance frameworks, strengthening processes and helping the organisation adapt as it develops.

This is more than a traditional committee-support role. We are looking for someone who combines outstanding organisational skills and attention to detail with analytical thinking, sound judgement and a genuine interest in how international organisations operate.

Key responsibilities include:

Supporting governance at the highest level: Coordinate the work of ELIXIR's Board, Heads of Nodes Committee, Scientific Advisory Board and Industry Advisory Committee, working closely with Chairs, members and senior leadership;

Enabling effective decisions: Prepare high-quality agendas, briefings, reports, minutes and decision records, ensuring that decisions are documented and actions are followed through;

Strengthening institutional processes: Support governance frameworks, appointments, membership processes, institutional agreements and the maintenance of key governance documentation;

Connecting people across Europe: Act as a central coordination point for governance-related engagement with Member States, Heads of Nodes, advisory bodies and colleagues across the ELIXIR community;

Driving continuous improvement: Identify opportunities to modernise governance procedures, streamline workflows and make better use of digital and AI-enabled tools;

Supporting responsible operations: Help coordinate data protection and other defined Legal Services compliance activities, working alongside specialist colleagues.

You have

You will be a confident, resourceful and highly organised professional who can balance meticulous operational delivery with a broader understanding of institutional priorities.

You'll bring relevant experience in governance, Board or committee support, institutional affairs, public administration, executive coordination or a comparable environment.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:

Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage complex activities involving multiple stakeholders and competing deadlines;

Strong written communication skills, with experience producing clear, accurate and professional documentation;

Diplomacy, discretion and confidence when engaging with senior colleagues and international stakeholders;

Analytical thinking, good judgement and the ability to navigate complex information and processes;

A proactive approach to improving systems, workflows and ways of working;

Confidence using modern digital collaboration, document-management and AI-enabled tools appropriately.

Experience in an international organisation, research infrastructure, university, public-sector or membership-based environment would be particularly valuable, as would familiarity with governance frameworks or compliance processes.

You don't need to be a lawyer. This is a governance and institutional coordination role, with specialist legal interpretation and advice provided by ELIXIR's Legal Services team.

You may also have

Familiarity with European research policy and international scientific collaboration;

Experience supporting formal governance and decision-making processes.

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