empirica communication and technology research is an independent research and consulting company with a strong international orientation. For 30 years we have been working for numerous clients in five business areas: Energy, Digital Skills & Work, Research & Innovation, Digital Health & Care, Inclusive Society.

Join us and you can expect to work on topical issues that connect the worlds of science, industry, and politics, in collaboration with policymakers and practitioners across Europe. Contribute your ideas and expertise as part of our interdisciplinary, international project teams, and benefit from a collaborative working and learning environment with flat organisational structures.

We are hiring

Junior Consultant in the field of Smart Energy and Green Economy 

We support the design, implementation and evaluation of policies with a focus on research and innovation and digital transformation for regional, national and international public sector organisations, in the field of Energy and Green Economy e.g. for the European Commission (DG GROW, DG ENER, DG RTD, DG CNECT) and the German Federal Government (BMWK). Together with our large international partner network and with our clients, we support decision-makers to increase their capacity to innovate, to improve living and working conditions, and rebuild competitive economies for people and planet. 

You will be working with the Smart Energy team, across a variety of subject areas to support the EU Commission, national and international clients in studies, impact assessments, and EU research and innovation actions in energy focused policies, programmes, and projects. Currently, we are leading innovation projects in making net-zero renovations market-ready and assist cities in deploying the Circular Economy. We continuously consult policy makers on energy-related questions and conduct cross-country analysis. 

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the delivery of the team’s growing portfolio of research and innovation projects as well as impact assessments, including cost-benefit analysis, data collection, stakeholder consultation, management of innovation procurement, and managing client and partner networks.  

The successful applicant will have strong quantitative and/or qualitative analytical skills, first experiences of delivering research projects, the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

Your profile 

We are looking for someone with at least 1-2 years’ relevant work experience, either in a consulting environment, academia or an equivalent role in a government department or related agency. We would like the candidates to understand the policy environment and have knowledge of German and/or EU policy related topics relevant to clean energy transition, energy efficiency, and innovation in green technologies. 

More specifically, you must have: 

• Academic background in a relevant subject at B.A. level or above 
• Affinity with clean energy and climate change policy areas and knowledge of current developments in the field 
• Ability to learn about new concepts and technologies and to apply your skill set creatively  
• Highly computer literate (e.g. MS Office, statistics packages) 
• Ability to write well and to a professional standard, in English – German would be a strong asset 
• Self-motivation, intellectual curiosity and an ability to work independently and across different disciplines 
• A willingness to travel and work in international teams. 

Other desirable attributes: 

• Ability to prioritise and multi-task, and work under strict deadlines 
• Client relationship skills 
• Excellent oral communication skills. 

Duties 

• Help to grow the Smart Energy practice 
• Design and deliver high-quality analysis and apply methods of data collection and data analysis (qualitative and quantitative) of wider green policy assessments 
• Prepare study reports, publications and contribute in proposals  
• Support, organise and with time manage R&D workstreams and related events 
• Ensure individual assignments are delivered to plan (insightful, high- quality and on time) 

What we offer 

• Competitive salary and performance-related bonus scheme, along with 30 holiday days each year. The company also offers tax-deductible company bikes and membership in fitness clubs 
• Opportunity to work flexibly, including a mix of home and office-based working in downtown Bonn 
• Challenging and varied projects conducted in a dynamic environment and working closely with European senior researchers and policy advisors in the European Commission and beyond  
• Influence policy at EU-level and design solutions across Europe with thought leaders 
• Learn to manage complex projects with a diverse range of stakeholders 
• Opportunity to travel across Europe and internationally working for some of the world’s most important and influential public bodies 

The position would be full time with the potential for some level of flexible working, to fit with family and other commitments. This will be a permanent position, following the successful completion of a 6-month probationary period. 

How to apply 

To apply, please send a copy of your CV together with a covering letter stating your salary expectations and explaining your interest in the specific job, how your skills and experience meet our requirements and why you believe you would be a good addition to the empirica team.  

Please send your application to georg.vogt(at)empirica(dot)com. 

Closing date for receipt of applications is 10 November 2022. 

For Students

empirica offers student jobs to work in an open-minded, interdisciplinary team in the framework of European and international projects. The applicant must have a German residence (including German social security number and tax number).  

Ideally the applicant is still at the beginning of his or her main courses or at the end of the basic courses to be available as student assistant for a longer period (at least one year). The more intensive he or she is engaged in the daily project work, the wider the area of tasks could be.  

empirica also offers the possibility for students to complete Bachelor and Master theses as part of European project work. In cooperation with university tutors, we offer extensive support during the preparation of such a thesis work. 

This may be your first step towards a career in consulting and research. Several of our consultants started to work for empirica as a student and were hired when they had obtained their university degree. We offer the following positions for students.

a) Assistant in European projects

Students from various backgrounds, such as economics, social and political sciences, IT, geography and communication / media studies from universities and applied universities.  

Requirements: 

• good command of the English language (in writing and communication). German or other European languages are an asset. 

• interest in at least on of the following ICT–related topics: digital health, innovation society, entrepreneurship, renewable energy, digitalisation 

• motivation to quickly get familiarised with the topic at hand 

• contributing with new qualitative and quantitative research methods (skills in statistics and/or other social science empirical methods) 

• Very good command of MS Office (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote) 

• Excellent communication skills, including some knowledge of digital communication and media (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter, Content Management Systems, etc.) 

b) Assistant for the analysis and presentation of statistical data

Students from various backgrounds, such as economics, sociology, geography, communication and media sciences, mathematics, informatics and others from universities and applied universities.  

Requirements: 

• high affinity towards data and particularly statistical datasets, 

• first experiences with methods of empirical social research and with the processing of datasets, as well as willingness to quickly familiarise with new methods, 

• Very good command of MS Office (especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote) 

• enthusiasm for the cooperation in international projects within future-oriented subjects. 

Further desired skills: 

• experience with professional statistics software (e.g. SPSS and Excel) or willingness to quickly learn these, 

• a good command of the English and German language, both written and verbal.

c) Assistant for webdesign and website maintenance

Basic requirements: 

• HTML and CSS skills 

• Experience in setting–up websites according to current W3C standards (HTML, CSS) 

• Basic layouting / graphic design skills 

• Ability to work independently on a management–by–objectives basis 

Further desired skills: 

• Experience with Wordpress and Elementor

• Experience with Plesk

• Experience with HTML5 and CSS3 

• Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign skills 

• Experience in the creation of accessible websites (according to W3C WCAG)

• References: own web projects, project work experience 

empirica’s team is open-minded, interdisciplinary and used to work in a high-profile ICT environment. Further to the technical tasks , we offer numerous opportunities to also engage in content-related project work on various issues. Whatever you do, there will be experienced colleagues near at hand to provide advice and support.  

How to apply: 

To apply for a student job or thesis placement, please send us a statement of interest with a short CV and information about your studies, main examinations taken, skills in empirical methods, interests, IT skills. 

Applications for thesis placements should be sent about 2–4 months prior to the desired start. 

Please send applications by e–mail to: applications (at) empirica.com 

Please understand that we cannot reply to unspecific requests for internships or jobs without any information about the applicant and his or her interest.