The DFG Head Office provides a vocational training programme in the state-recognised occupation of office communications assistant, following a call for applications and a selection procedure.

Details of the requirements and application documents are provided in the call for applications, which is usually published on our website at the beginning of each training year.

Here you can find further information on vocational training at the DFG(interner Link).

Engaging in dialogue with the media and the public at large and providing information about the DFG’s funding work and funded projects are becoming more and more important and taking on increasingly diverse forms. The DFG’s Press and Public Relations office offers an internship which contributes to the training of accomplished science journalists and communicators. The intern is introduced to all areas of science communication over a period of 18 months. In addition to a degree from a higher education institution, those interested should particularly be able to demonstrate previous experience of journalism, a good feel for language and foreign language skills.

The DFG offers a range of learning and development formats to support your professional development. These complement one another and help you systematically develop your subject-specific, methodological and personal skills.

For new DFG employees:

• induction events
• onboarding meetings
• specific professional development activities (depending on the position)
• training courses, e-learning and external programmes
• more extensive professional development programmes, such as part-time degree programmes or certified courses
• practical development (job rotation)
• supported development (peer case consultation)

For your professional development:

• training courses, e-learning and external programmes
• more extensive professional development programmes, such as part-time degree programmes or certified courses
• practical development (job rotation)
• supported development (peer case consultation)
• individual development planning

Leadership plays a key role in the successful performance of our tasks. Effective leadership provides a framework that enables employees to contribute creatively to shaping their own area of work and achieve the agreed work and development goals. This involves advancing and refining a shared understanding of leadership at the DFG Head Office.

All new managers at the DFG learn about the key elements of good leadership in the workshop series Führungsprofession, a modular training programme that serves to develop a solution-oriented, cooperative culture of leadership and communication at the Head Office. Designed to be emphatically practice-oriented, this comprehensive programme includes elements such as personality tests, case studies, peer counselling, feedback from superiors, coaching units and supervision.

In addition to traditional seminars, we also offer individual coaching. Here, employees can focus on precisely those topics that are currently important to their own personal development with regard to a professional work assignment. External coaches provide targeted support for our managers and employees, for example in phases of change, when new requirements arise or in dealing with current conflicts.

We attach great importance to a healthy feedback culture: after all, employees are only motivated to go about their work if they feel understood, recognised and above all valued.

For this reason, the annual appraisal interview is a mandatory dialogue between managers and employees held once a year at the DFG Head Office. This provides an opportunity for managers and employees to reflect on their past collaboration, assess the current situation and clarify expectations for their future work together. The aim is to establish a shared, robust understanding of how they will work together. Development aspects can also be addressed, but these are not the main focus.

In addition to the annual appraisal interview, a skills and development interview can be held when the need arises. Here, employees and managers systematically analyse skills and identify specific development needs and prospects. 

This is particularly helpful when development needs to be planned systematically, for example in preparation for more extensive professional development programmes or when moving to a higher pay grade if the relevant requirements still need to be met. Overall, the aim of the skills and development interview is to provide a sound basis for planning individual development and aligning it strategically.