You will be responsible for the strategic development and the staff of the Phytopathology group. You will lead a group of about 5 permanent staff members and several PhD students, postdocs and other temporary staff in scientific, technical and administrative matters. The main focus of this group is on research on forest pathogens, especially invasive fungi and oomycetes, and their interactions with host trees and other organisms such as insect vectors or antagonistic microorganisms. Your research is expected to provide the scientific basis for the prevention and management of harmful tree diseases. A modern plant protection laboratory is available, which includes state-of-the-art biosafety level 2 and 3 laboratories and a biosafety level 3 greenhouse. Also integrated into the group is a molecular diagnostics laboratory, which fulfils national tasks in forest protection. For your research you will acquire funding from national and international institutions and publish your results in recognized ISI journals.