German-English Bilingual Assistant to the Director/Office Manager

The German Historical Institute Washington DC (part of the Bonn-based Max Weber Foundation) seeks to fill the following full-time position as soon as possible: German-English Bilingual Assistant to the Director/Office Manager.

The German Historical Institute (GHI) in Washington, DC, is an internationally recognized center for advanced historical research. It serves as a transatlantic bridge connecting American and European scholars and seeks to make their work accessible to decision-makers in the public and private sectors as well as to a general audience. 

Responsibilities

The assistant will independently manage secretarial and administrative services and support scholarly research projects. The assistant will be responsible for handling email, complex travel arrangements, and planning, coordinating and preparing meetings, appointments, events, conferences, and discussions on behalf of the director. He/she will serve as the liaison to the academic advisory board and also prepare presentation materials, collect and process data as needed, gather information from academic publications, and advise research assistants. Help with general proofreading of projects would be appreciated. The role involves serving as an interface for the office of the director and coordinating its day-to-day activities.  

Qualifications

We expect the applicant to have the relevant training and/or experience for the responsibilities listed above. In addition, we require excellent fluency in German and English to be able to handle correspondence and telephone conversations in both languages. This position requires highly developed interpersonal skills including excellent telephone manners and a team-oriented approach; the assistant must be able to manage multiple tasks and have some familiarity with academic research. A degree in the humanities or social sciences would be a plus. A high comfort level with technology, including an excellent working knowledge of Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook, is a must. 

Applicants who are not U.S. citizens must have a valid green card or G4 visa with an unrestricted work permit.

The GHI offers a competitive salary and a generous benefits package, and is an equal opportunity employer and a family-friendly workplace. The position requires occasional work on evenings and weekends. 

Please submit your application by May 24, 2020, with a resume and a cover letter along with two professional references attached in one PDF-document through our online application portal. 

For questions on the position, please contact Brita Hanafy (hanafy@ghi-dc.org) or the Administrative Director Anne Kadolph (kadolph@ghi-dc.org).