LIfBi Job Offers
Research Associate (f/m/d) in NEPS-Stage 1/2/3 in the working unit “Early Education”
The Leibniz-Institute for Educational Trajectories invites applications for the following part-time position (salary according to the collective agreement "TV-L" E13, 50% working time, starting 08.08.2026, ending 31.08.2027):
Research Associate (f/m/d) in NEPS-Stage 1/2/3 in the working unit “Early Education” for parental leave cover
The Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), with about 250 employees, is an independent research and infrastructure institution for empirical educational research and a member of the Leibniz Association. The core of the institute is the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), the largest long-term educational study in Germany.
The position is located in the “Competencies, Personality, Learning Environments” department at LIfBi, within the “Early Education” working unit. This unit focuses on research questions related to early education and the transition into the school system, including issues of competence development, educational trajectories, and educational transitions. NEPS-Stage 1/2/3 focus on early childhood development and transitions into kindergarten and primary school, accompanying NEPS data collections in these life phases.
Your tasks
- Supporting the preparation and conceptualization of data collections and the implementation of the survey design for the planned new newborn cohort of NEPS (NEPS-SC7; children are expected to be approximately 7 months old at the first wave)
- Analytical processing and documentation of constructs managed by NEPS-Stage 1-3 (e.g., from surveys and assessments)
- Contributing to the documentation of the current newborn cohort of NEPS (NEPS-SC1)
- Assisting with data management
- Participating in the planning and coordination of feasibility and development studies (e.g., preparation of survey materials, training preparation)
- Empirical analyses as well as topic-related presentations and publication activities with a focus on early childhood education are supported.
Your profile
- University degree in a relevant field (e.g., psychology, education, sociology, or empirical educational research)
- Interest in quantitatively oriented empirical educational research in early childhood and school contexts
- Knowledge of early childhood development and education (preschool and primary school age)
- Excellent knowledge of statistical and quantitative methods; experience with longitudinal studies and longitudinal data analysis is desirable
- Very good command of English
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team
We offer
- Working in the socially relevant field of educational research and in a region with a high quality of life
- Performance-related remuneration according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L) as well as a company pension plan with VBLU
- Modern equipped offices, social rooms, company health promotion, parent-child room, etc. for a pleasant working environment (details on our social benefits at https://www.lifbi.de/en-us/Start/Career)
LIfBi advocates gender equality and staff diversity. Our institute promotes the compatibility of family, care and career through flexible working and part-time models.
Your contact
Please send your meaningful application by the 31.05.2026 via our online form. Questions regarding the content of the position will be answered by Dr. Markus Vogelbacher (+49 951 700 60 160, markus.vogelbacher@lifbi.de).
