Administrator in the "Academia & Business" Team EPO

European Patent Office

Munich, Germany

Directorate IP Awareness
European Patent Academy

The European Patent Academy is an institution of the European Patent Organisation which provides and co-ordinates the EPO's external training activities on patent-related intellectual property (IP). It supports target audiences in five key areas – institutional strengthening, judiciary, professional representatives, academia and business – representing groups essential to the continuing success of the patent system in supporting innovation in Europe.

The Directorate IP Awareness supports patent-related training for "Academia and Business" audiences. It is seeking an administrator to strengthen the team which manages and co-ordinates its education and training projects in this area, with the main focus being support for industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Main duties:

• Co-ordinating IP awareness and dissemination projects;
• Developing educational products and services, as well as training concepts;
• Co-ordinating and organising educational and training activities;
• Supporting the development of course curricula and content;
• Liaising with internal and external partners and consultants;
• Developing, in co operation with the relevant departments, communication and promotion plans for the various activities and products;
• Unit-related resource monitoring;
• Building up and expanding the Academy's IP network.

The ideal candidate will have:

• a customer-oriented approach;
• an understanding of the issues facing business (principally SMEs), especially those related to the use of IP and its role in protecting innovation for wealth creation;
• the ability to bring stakeholders (e.g. start-ups, academics involved in knowledge transfer) together;
• a network of intermediaries through which business can be reached, such as chambers of commerce, (European or global) associations, and technology transfer bodies;
• a track record of designing training for the target audience;
• experience with budget and project management.

His or her strengths will include:

• team-player qualities and the ability to motivate a small team;
• the ability to develop and implement creative actions to achieve the goals of the team;
• a precise, careful and well-structured way of working combined with good organisational and analytical skills;
• working under pressure to strict deadlines and within budget;
• excellent communication skills;
• high levels of motivation and initiative.

It will also be an advantage to have:

• a knowledge of IP, particularly patents.

Minimum qualifications:

Diploma of completed studies at university level or - in exceptional cases - equivalent professional experience. Excellent knowledge of one official language and ability to understand the other two.

Selection procedure:

The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of qualifications, supplemented as appropriate by interviews, tests and/or a personality questionnaire. Interviews are likely to be held in calendar week 43 in Munich.

Please apply online, using the online application form, reference number INT/EXT/5305.

Closing date: 16.09.2012.

As the second largest European organisation, the European Patent Office offers a competitive salary, excellent social benefits and varied work in a modern international environment.

More information on www.epo.org/vacancies.