Overview

The Senckenberg Society for Nature Research was founded in 1817 and is one of the most important research institutions around biological diversity. At its eleven sites throughout Germany, scientists from over 40 nations conduct cutting-edge research on an international scale. The company’s headquarter is in the Main metropolis of Frankfurt in the heart of Germany. It is also home to one of Senckenberg’s best-known facilities, the Senckenberg Natural History Museum.

The Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is looking for the following person to join at the Frankfurt site starting after September 2022: full time Team Leader / Public Engagement Strategist (m/f/d) in the project Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA)

The Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA) project combines marine biodiversity research, species conservation, and science communication within one project. This interdisciplinary project is composed of three pillars, the Discovery Unit, Red Listing Unit and the Engagement Unit, whose tasks are tightly interlinked.

The Engagement Unit will be responsible for the public-facing aspects of this project and developing content to inspire fascination about marine biodiversity for diverse audiences. The SOSA website is already established and mainly managed by the SOSA Project Manager: https://sosa.senckenberg.de/en/

Our aim with this aspect of SOSA is to inspire fascination and curiosity for marine biodiversity. You will develop new audiences, and curate SOSA’s content in a way that captures attention for our key messages for marine biodiversity and conservation.

Your tasks:

  • Develop strategies to generate content jointly with the SOSA units, in collaboration with other Senckenberg teams, and bring our messages to a broad audience;
  • Lead a science communication team (media officer, museum trainee and potential further members depending on project success, phase and direction) – these positions will be recruited after you start and you will help shape their job descriptions;
  • Work with designers to develop the branding (incl. logo) for the overall SOSA project
  • Identify “unique selling points” of SOSA, and collaborate with other SOSA
  • units to set priorities for content creation
  • Identify other leaders in same space and approach relevant people or institutions to propose and develop collaborations
  • Develop Germany / Western / Global perspectives on engagement with marine content (biodiversity and conservation), and develop strategies on who can / should be reached
  • Understand the current and emerging channels of communication (video, radio, social media, website, apps, telepathy, etc.) for our goals, and plan content
  • development accordingly
  • Be part of the SOSA management committee and have shared responsibility for the overall success of SOSA, and represent SOSA externally;
  • Work collaboratively with other units of SOSA (conservation, species discovery), and across Senckenberg with other relevant teams (communication, fundraising, museum, etc.);
  • Propose an initial (2 year) plan including metrics for performance evaluation and resource planning
  • Develop medium term (5-10 year) plan for SOSA confirmed life cycle
  • Develop a long-range sustainability plan including monetising content and/or recruiting additional donations in collaboration with the Senckenberg fundraising unit

Your profile:

  • A university degree or equivalent experience in ONE of the relevant areas (or more) of science communication, social media, cultural studies, journalism, museum
  • Fluent in English and in German (spoken and written)
  • An experienced and effective “translator” between science and media.
  • You can understand detail-oriented scientific topics to find stories or topics
  • that will generate excitement and fascination in the general public.
  • An ability to solve problems and make independent decisions
  • An appreciation of complex public engagement matters and the necessary diplomacy, tact, and political awareness;