Job Description

EMBL is among the world’s highest ranked scientific research organisations aimed to explore the secrets of life. EMBL integrates 28 member states and employs close to 1800 people across its six research sites in Barcelona, Cambridge (Hinxton), Grenoble, Hamburg, Heidelberg, and Rome. Its headquarters is located in Heidelberg (Germany) and integrate both research groups and core facilities.

Your role

We are looking for a detail-oriented and proactive Accountant to join our finance team in Heidelberg, Germany. You will play a key role in ensuring the smooth operation of our accounts payable processes, supporting accounting activities, and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Your role

The Accountant will be responsible for the following:

• Process and book accounts payable (AP) transactions accurately and in a timely manner.
• Reconcile open AP items, investigate discrepancies, and liaise directly with suppliers to resolve issues.
• Coordinate with Treasury to ensure timely payment of invoices.
• Maintain vendor master data, including bank details, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Support month-end closing activities, ensuring assigned tasks are completed within agreed timelines.
• Review, validate, and process travel and expense claims (staff, visitors, entitlements), ensuring compliance with financial rules, travel policies, and audit requirements.
• Process reimbursements in the ERP system with correct accounting treatment and timely execution.
• Review and manage corporate credit card transactions, hospitality expenses, and other business-related costs, ensuring proper documentation and policy adherence.
• Provide guidance to staff, Unit and Site Administrators on expense, travel, and corporate credit card policies and best practices.
• Support internal and external audits by preparing documentation, responding to queries, and addressing findings in coordination with Finance, the Budget Office, and Team Leads.
• Maintain accurate records, audit trails, and logs related to expense and credit card processing.
• Produce regular and ad hoc reports, analyses, and statistics on expenses, travel trends, credit card usage, and compliance metrics.
• Contribute to finance-related projects, including process improvements, system enhancements, and policy updates.
• Identify risks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for automation and standardisation within AP and expense processes.
• Perform other finance and administrative duties as assigned.

Your Profile

Our ideal candidate is proactive, takes ownership of responsibilities, and demonstrates strong problem-solving skills. You are deadline-oriented, self-motivated, diligent in complying with internal controls, and committed to continuously developing your accounting expertise. You thrive in a team environment, communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues and stakeholders, and can collaborate across different departments and cultures.

You have

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. CIMA or ACCA certification is a plus.

• Relevant accounting experience in accounts payable, VAT operations, or financial administration preferably in an international and multicultural setting.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to interact sensitively with staff from diverse backgrounds.

• Proactive, organised, and solutions-oriented approach with strong attention to detail, and the ability to work to demanding deadlines.

• Fluency in English and Spanish, French, or German is required for this position.

Contract length: 1 year

Starting salary: Grade 4 (Starting salary 3.704 EUR or higher, depending on experience and qualifications, after tax and before German social security deductions of approx. 28%)

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.

Campus life & benefits:

• Attractive income tax free salary and full inclusion in the national system including related benefits

• Flexible working arrangements - including hybrid working patterns

• Generous time off: 30 days annual leave per year, in addition to public holidays

• Campus life: Free shuttle bus to campus, library, on-site sports activities, cafeteria, casual dress code, extensive sports and social club activities (on campus and remotely)

• Family benefits: On-site Kindergarten (Heidelberg), maternity leave and holiday clubs on campus

What else you need to know

• 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 believe that diverse teams drive innovation and scientific excellence. We encourage applications from candidates of all genders, identities, nationalities and/or any other diverse backgrounds.

• How to Apply please submit a cover letter and a CV through our online system. We aim to provide a response within two weeks after the closing date shown below.

Closing Date

30/05/2026