Pre-Award Grant Facilitator/Coordinator to the Dept of Laboratory Medicine

Description of the workplace

The Department of Laboratory Medicine (ILM) is advertising a position as Pre-Award Grant Facilitator, a key role combining active grant writing with strategic coordination of application processes. This position is a strategic initiative by the departmental management and is intended to become a central and highly valued role at ILM. The role offers a clear and attractive career path for researchers holding a PhD who wish to apply their scientific expertise in a new way, with direct impact on the department’s ability to compete for major research funding. This position is one of the department’s most important strategic investments.

The core of the role is to support ILM’s researchers, while also acting as a strategic link between the departmental management and the central Section for Research, Collaboration and Innovation (FSI) at Lund University. As this is a newly established role at ILM, you will have a unique opportunity to help shape the position and exert real influence over how it develops and may potentially be scaled up within the organization.

The position as Pre-Award Grant Facilitator will be located at the ILM administrative office on floor I 13 at BMC. The ILM administrative office comprises 14 staff members: one administrative coordinator, two HR partners, one HR administrator, seven financial officers and two financial administrators, all under the leadership of an administrative manager. The mission of the administrative office is to support the department’s operations through qualified administrative support and advisory services, based on in-depth knowledge of applicable regulations and the needs of the organization.

ILM conducts research in, among other areas, hematology, clinical chemistry, medical microbiology, immunology, stem cell biology, cancer biology, and occupational and environmental medicine. The department is characterized by a strong academic environment, high levels of expertise, interdisciplinary collaborations, and a professional and collegial working climate.

We value a healthy work environment in which everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Physical, social, and organizational working conditions are all important to us. We actively work to prevent ill health and have zero tolerance for harassment or abusive behavior.

We offer

As a public authority, Lund University offers you special benefits, generous annual leave, and a favorable occupational pension scheme. In addition, ILM offers a stimulating research‑adjacent environment, close collaboration with leading researchers, and the opportunity to contribute to strategically important research initiatives. Read more on the university website: Working at Lund University.

Work duties and areas of responsibilities

In the role of Pre-Award Grant Facilitator, you will provide direct and qualified support to ILM’s researchers in the preparation of competitive research grant applications. The primary focus is on larger applications where an ILM researcher is the principal applicant, in particular consortium projects within the EU framework program Horizon Europe.

Your duties include:

• Identifying relevant calls, monitoring the funding landscape, and ensuring that the department works proactively and strategically ahead of major application deadlines.
• Supervising and coaching principal investigators and editing texts provided by both principal and co‑applicants.
• Taking responsibility for the non‑scientific parts of applications, such as open science, data management, gender equality aspects, project management, and organisational structures.
• Integrating all components into a well‑structured and coherent application with clear, accurate, and consistent language and correct use of terminology.
• Creating and improving figures, diagrams, and tables, and ensuring a high‑quality layout.
• Maintaining clear communication with all consortium partners, including assisting the principal applicant in obtaining necessary materials.
• Supporting principal applicants during consortium meetings, for example by taking minutes and preparing presentation materials.
• Contributing to ILM’s capacity building through guidelines, example texts, and writing support for broader use within the department.
• Actively monitor and implement AI tools for grant application writing and literature searches, establish best practices, and guide ILM’s researchers in the professional use of these tools.
• Acting as a contact person between ILM and the Section for Research, Collaboration and Innovation (FSI), and monitoring conditions within Horizon Europe and other relevant funding programs.

Qualifications

Required qualifications:

• A PhD in a relevant field, such as biomedicine or medicine
• Documented experience of working with European or international research grant applications, either as an applicant or a consultant
• Excellent command of English, both spoken and written, with the ability to produce well‑structured, clear, and persuasive texts
• The ability to quickly understand and communicate complex scientific content
• Good knowledge of how research applications are reviewed and evaluated, and of what is required for an application to be competitive
• Experience in planning and structuring work, managing deadlines, and working in parallel with multiple projects
• Strong collaboration skills and a clear communication style

Great emphasis will be placed on personal suitability. We are looking for someone who is motivated by contributing to research with scientific and societal value. You are genuinely driven by helping others and gain energy from seeing how your contribution helps researchers become more successful. You are able to plan and prioritize your work independently and are accustomed to handling multiple parallel projects with varying deadlines. You are flexible and adaptable when priorities change rapidly. Through your competence and experience, you help create confidence and momentum among researchers in demanding situations. The role requires a strong analytical ability, attention to detail, a commitment to high quality, and the capacity to make complex science understandable to a broader audience. It also requires that you take responsibility for your work, give and receive constructive feedback effectively, and thrive in a fast‑paced environment with high ambitions.

Meriting qualifications:

• Good ability to write in Swedish
• Experience of popular science writing
• Experience with tools such as Affinity Designer or Adobe Illustrator, and Excel, for the creation of figures and tables
• Documented experience of using AI tools, such as large language models, for scientific text production and literature searches

Additional information

This is a fixed‑term employment (SÄVA) on a full‑time basis (100%) for 12 months. The position will commence on July 1st, 2026, or as agreed. Interviews will be conducted on site in Lund.

Due to the nature of the role, working hours outside regular office hours may occasionally occur within the framework of the working time agreement.

If this project, linked to the department management’s strategic initiative, is successful, the position may be extended.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via Lund University’s recruitment system. The application should include a cover letter (maximum 1 page) outlining your motivation and how you meet the requirements, a CV (maximum 2 pages), copies of degree certificates and transcripts, and any other documents you wish to be considered. The application must also include the contact details of two referees who have agreed to provide references.

Type of employment Special fixed-term employment

Employment expires 2027-06-30

Contract type Full time

First day of employment 2026-07-01, eller enligt överenskommelse

Salary Månadslön

Number of positions 1

Full-time equivalent 100

City Lund

County Skåne län

Country Sweden

Reference number PA2026/1225