OFFRE DE POSTE COMPLÈTE : https://www.fondationbiodiversite.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-08_Operational-manager_AdminFi-EN.pdf
Location: Biodiversa+ Secretariat, Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité (FRB), 195 rue Saint Jacques, 75005 Paris, France.
Contract type: CDI (permanent contract), full time
Experience required: minimum 4 years of experience in a similar activity (including at least 2 years of experience in project management and team management, preferably in an international/European context)
Gross monthly salary: from 3 753€/month, negotiable according to FRB salary grid and experience
Benefits: public transport subscription covered up to 50%, lunch vouchers, partial home office possible (up to three days per week)
Starting date: as soon as possible
Contexte
Biodiversa+ is the European Partnership for Biodiversity, bringing together 83 partners from ministries and funding organisations in 41 countries (inside and outside Europe). With a total budget of 800 million euros over 7 years, it is one of the largest funding programmes for biodiversity in the world. The Partnership is run by the partners and supported by the Operational Team, which is a distributed secretariat with around 18 staff hosted by partners in France, Finland, Spain, Belgium and Sweden. The Operational Team is led by a team of three Operational Managers. We are now looking for a new Operational Manager to complete the management team.
About the Biodiversa+ partnership:
Biodiversa+ is a partnership of national and regional ministries in charge of research and innovation policy, research funding agencies and foundations, as well as ministries in charge of environmental policy and environmental protection agencies. The partnership is funded by the partners and co-funded by the European Commission (EC) under Horizon Europe. Among other things, it contributes to the production and dissemination of knowledge about biodiversity through various activities: – annual joint calls for research projects, – biodiversity monitoring activities and their harmonization at European level, – collaboration with other European and international initiatives/bodies (e.g. Network Nature, IPBES, GBIF, etc.), – activities to strengthen the links between science, policy and society, – communication and dissemination activities.
More information on Biodiversa+: www.biodiversa.eu
About the FRB (host organisation):
The French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB) is currently the coordinating entity of Biodiversa+ and hosting a large part of its Operational Team. The FRB was created in 2008 on the initiative of the ministries in charge of research and ecology, and eight public research institutions. They have since been joined by LVMH, Ineris, the University of Montpellier and the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB), bringing the number of founding members to 11. The Foundation’s mission is to support and act with research to increase and transfer knowledge about biodiversity. The FRB is a foundation for scientific cooperation under private law. It operates independently and has about 47 employees.
More information on FRB: www.fondationbiodiversite.fr
Main role and duties
You will oversee the overall management of Biodiversa+, in close cooperation with the two other Operational Managers (hosted at FRB and at the French National Research Agency, France (ANR), respectively) and three Co-chairs (from Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands). Each Operational Manager has their own area of responsibilities for the overall management of the Partnership (’Team development’, ‘Governance’, and ‘Administrative and Financial matters/Coordination’, respectively), and they oversee different work packages. You will have the following major responsibilities:
Financial management:
> Managing, monitoring and adapting the budget of the Partnership, preparing and updating monitoring documents, drafting budget documents (e.g. budget amendment requests), conducting budget negotiations with partners, while ensuring that the decisions taken by the governance bodies and the rules of Horizon Europe are followed.
> Overseeing the work of the administrative and financial officers and executive assistant in providing technical support to the various partners to help them fulfil their administrative and financial obligations; answering partners’ questions related to administrative and budgetary issues.
> Acting as the official representative towards the European Commission.
> Following FRB invoices to ensure sound financial management together with the administrative and financial officer.
> Performing other financial tasks as required.
Administrative & ethical management:
> Leading the administrative management of the Partnership, including monitoring and updating the membership list and key contracts (including the consortium agreement and grant agreement).
> Overseeing and ensuring timely reporting of finances and activities (collection and consolidation of reporting data) to the European Commission.
> Contributing to the preparation and submission of amendments to the European Commission, as required, as well as preparing the periodic reportings.
> Writing and submitting ethical deliverables and ensuring GDPR compliance of Biodiversa+, with the support of the ANR contact point for all data protection officers.
> Checking and leading the submission of milestones and deliverables on the EC portal.
> Supervise OT staff based at FRB.
Management and coordination in collaboration with the Chairs Team:
> Supervising the officers of the Operational Team under relevant work packages, including the administrative and financial officers and executive assistant.
> Ensuring that the Operational Team is informed about administrative and financial procedures and at ease with such procedures.
> Establishing strong links with the Chairs Team and the two other Operational Managers is essential.
> Supporting the Chairs team in the overall strategy of Biodiversa+, which includes the financial strategy of the partnership.
> Contributing and attending the governance meetings of the partnership, i.e. Executive Board, General Assembly, Steering Committee, Chairs Team meetings, and where relevant, Advisory Board and Enlarged Stakeholder Board meetings.
> Attending and representing the partnership in events and meetings when needed.
You will be the official contact person towards the EC and project officers for the partnership based at REA (European Research Executive Agency) regarding the management of the project. In addition, you will be one of the official contact points between Biodiversa+ and the FRB. Therefore, you will be encouraged to participate in weekly FRB executive committee meetings and regular meetings with the FRB’s Head of European and International Cooperation Department to ensure smooth and strategic collaboration between the two entities.
You will be supervised by the Biodiversa+ Chairs Team and will benefit from professional development opportunities together with the two other Operational Managers.
Candidate requirement
Education and work experience:
Applicants’ education should correspond to one of the following:
Master’s degree in social or political sciences/natural sciences/European project management.
Applicants’ work experience should correspond to one of the following:
Minimum 2 years of professional experience in financial and administrative management of European projects in the field of environment, biodiversity, and/or science-policy interfacing,
or
Minimum 4 years of experience in a similar activity, including at least 2 years of experience in financial project management and team management, preferably in an international/European context.
Skills and personal qualities:
Demonstrable project management experience (organization and planning, administrative and financial coordination) is essential.
Strong experience in budget management is essential. Mastery of administrative and financial monitoring and reporting tools (at least good command of Excel, Word and PowerPoint) is essential.
Knowledge of the functioning of the European Commission and its instruments, as well as Horizon Europe funding programmes is essential.
Experience of drafting and follow-up of agreements with various stakeholders is appreciated.
Legal knowledge (especially about GDPR) is a plus.
Strong team management skills, capacity to ensure team cohesion and engagement.
Organisational skills and self-managing (ability to define priorities for oneself and others).
Team-spirit and ability to work in a multicultural and multi-actor context.
Capacity to evolve in a complex governance system and respect the governance framework.
Multi-tasking.
Strategic, solution-oriented thinking.
Ability to synthetise and analyse.
Strong writing skills in English, attention to detail.
Flexibility and goal-orientation.
Excellent communication skills in English.
Language requirements:
High proficiency in English (reading, writing, speaking). This work position is in English.
Fluency in French (French working environment at FRB).
Other requirements:
You must be eligible to work in France (support for work permits is not provided). Applications will not be considered if submitted by people non-eligible to work in France.
This position falls under the French labour law, the official employer being the French Foundation for Biodiversity Research, on behalf of the Biodiversa+ Partnership.
You may be called upon to take part in other tasks required by the FRB from time to time.
How to apply
Send a CV and a motivation letter (in which you indicate your earliest starting date) in English to Anna Sandor: anna.sandor@fondationbiodiversite.fr
Applications will be considered on an ongoing basis until 7 September 2025.
Important:
Please indicate in subject of your email: Application for Biodiversa+ Coordinating Operational Manager Admin&Finance.
Please send one single PDF file with your cover letter first, followed by the CV, indicating your earliest availability and salary expectations.
Please name your file as follows: “FAMILY NAME_First name_COM2025”.
More information: http://www.fondationbiodiversite.fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-08_Operational-manager_AdminFi-EN.pdf
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