About us:

The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich is looking to fill the position of student assistant (studentische Hilfskraft) for 6 hours per week within the “Changing Environments, Changing Childhoods” (CECC) research group led by Dr. Jan David Hauck and funded through an ERC Starting Grant. Dr. Hauck’s team is carrying out a cross-cultural and cross-environmental ethnographic study of how changes of the environment impact the moral development of children in in four small-scale societies in Malaysia, Namibia, Paraguay, and Uganda. The successful candidate will play a central role in the operational backbone of the project, supporting Dr. Hauck and his team with the management of research data, administrative workflows, organization of events, and the writing of reports and research outputs. The position will start on November 1, 2026 or at the earliest possible date thereafter. It is a fixed-term position through July 31, 2027, which includes a three-month probation period.

We are looking for you:

Student Assistant (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

You will support a small team consisting of the Principal Investigator, a Co-Investigator working remotely, three doctoral candidates, and affiliate researchers. Our team uses an Obsidian vault as our central research hub—a shared space for research data, analyses, knowledge base, meeting notes, reporting and documentation, academic writing, expense tracking, and administrative documents.

Research Data Management and Workflow Support

• Manage the organization and structure of the vault,
• Maintain a database of audio and video recordings, transcriptions, and other research data, supporting data security and backup procedures,
• Assist with the annotation and analysis of data,
• Ensure consistency and data interoperability,
• Automate repetitive research tasks and data workflows,
• Support the team in troubleshooting,

 Administrative Support & Documentation

• Support administrative tasks such as taking of meeting notes or processing of travel reimbursements,
• Assist in compiling research data for reports, publications, and presentations,
• Support the preparation of research outputs and academic documentation,
• Support the logistics of workshops and events,
• Maintain the project website,
• Obtain and scan library or archival materials.

Your qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• Excellent organization and communication skills,
• Advanced computer skills, high level of comfort with digital tools, workflow automation, scripting, and database management,
• Native-level fluency in English,
• Strong command of academic writing and a keen eye for detail,
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team,

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with Obsidian (or a comparable knowledge management tool),
• Programming skills,
• Media literacy and experience with archiving audio and video data,
• Experience working with language data, incl. transcribing, annotating, etc.
• Experience with organizing events,
• Fluency in any additional languages (especially German).

A qualification or interest in anthropology, linguistics, child development, and/or environmental humanities is desirable. Applicants should enjoy working with colleagues of diverse cultural backgrounds, be able to balance multiple assignments, and meet deadlines.

Benefits:

The research associate will work part-time (6 hours per week) on a studentische Hilfskraft contract at LMU Munich. For this reason, enrolled status (Immatrikulation) in a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a German university is required. Salary will be determined according to the LMU compensation scale for studentische Hilfskräfte. As the candidate will be an employee of the state of Bavaria, they are required to have German health insurance as well as to pay German taxes and contributions to the pension system. We welcome applications from qualified individuals irrespective of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, marital or parental status, age, sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We especially seek applications from qualified candidates with disabilities, and we welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds and gender identities.

People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Contact:

To apply, please send your cover letter, CV, any supporting information such as a (short) writing sample or projects you’ve previously worked on, and the contact information of two references to changingchildhoods@carsoncenter.lmu.de.

Review of applications will begin on October 10, 2026 and continue until the position has been filled. Interviews will take place shortly thereafter. Application materials should be submitted in English.

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