Project Management Assistant

The European University Institute (EUI), based in Florence, Italy, is seeking to recruit Project management assistants, who will be responsible for successfully implementing externally funded programmes and projects and supporting the EUI’s mission of excellence in doctoral and post-doctorate studies and research. Reporting to the Schuman Centre team leader for research management and under the daily supervision of senior project managers, the project management assistant supports the preparation of applications and the daily management of (mostly externally-funded) research projects, while contributing to the daily financial, budgetary and resources management of the programmes and units.

Level of Expertise:

• Acting as subject matter generalist: knowing the EUI-specific regulations, as well as external trends for the implementation and management of projects.

Representation/Communication: 

• Contributing to representing the unit and its externally-funded projects inside and outside the EUI, and liaising with internal and external academic collaborators and stakeholders;
• Assisting in the communication with donors, project officers and consortium partners during the entire implementation phase of externally funded projects.

Policy/Strategy Making: 

• Providing support through insights, statistics and data in the design and implementation of the strategy of the programmes and units;
• Assisting in tracking and identifying potential sources of external funding, and providing advice on funding opportunities to academic staff.

Level of autonomy and accountability: 

• Reporting directly to the team leader for research management, whereas the daily supervision is being executed by a senior project manager;
• Possessing a good level of autonomy in the implementation of assigned tasks. 

Role in HR processes: 

• Providing coaching and training on general project-management matters to academic staff, trainees and newcomers;
• Supporting the organisation of selection procedures for academic assistants, research fellows and trainees (e.g. contacting candidates, managing the logistics of selection procedures, etc.).

Finance and procurement responsibility:

• Supporting financial and procurement workflows: preparing invoices for verifications, requesting commitments, drafting debit notes, participating in the e-payment workflow;
• Supporting the drafting of contracts and calls for tender, in collaboration with other administrative staff;
• Acting as a point of contact for external debtors and creditors.

Budget management: 

• Assisting in the monitoring of the budget of individual programmes, in collaboration with the academic directors and the direct manager (including procurement);
• Supporting the budget implementation and ensuring the legal and financial compliance of the externally-funded project activities with EUI rules and the rules of the external donors;
• Assisting in preparing budget forecasts for the programme directors and for externally funded projects;
• Contributing to the drafting of project and annual reports, including financial reports, and contributing to project-related documentation for auditing purposes.

Role in administrative processes: 

• Providing administrative and technical guidance to support the academic staff with the preparation and timely submission of project applications;
• Assisting in the daily administrative management of the project, in cooperation with other services of the EUI;
• Taking charge of the secondment and timesheets workflow for external collaborators and internal staff assigned to externally funded projects;
• Collaborating with other academic units and administrative services in view of the organisation of administrative workflows;
• Providing administrative support to the coordination of academic project staff, contractors and external collaborators.

What we offer:

• A role in an inspiring community of young scholars with an exclusive focus on master, doctoral and post-doctoral studies;
• A truly multicultural community of 1100 academics at all career stages and support staff of approximately 85 different nationalities;
• The commitment to a genuine culture of equality, diversity and inclusion, and the commitment to attracting, encouraging and retaining a diverse and highly qualified workforce;
• A world-class research library, the Historical Archives of the European Union, and many other excellent research facilities;
• Language courses and soft skills training opportunities;
• Access to all EUI facilities: library, PC rooms, crèche, cafeteria, gym, participation in seminars and workshops;
• Competitive salary package;
• A healthy work-life balance in a family-friendly environment.