Under the authority of the Head of the Directorate of Democratic Citizenship and Participation and of the Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, based in Luxembourg at the European Institute of Cultural Routes, the position-holder will carry out the activities included in the Council of Europe’s 2017-2020 Grant Agreement with the European Commission (Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy – DG REGIO), “Fostering regional development through transnational cultural routes, heritage policies and practices”.

The project support assistant will be designated in order to ensure the administrative assistance and assist the project manager and the information officer with the follow-up of implementation of the action. He/she will provide a variety of secretarial and financial support to the project, in compliance with general guidelines and priorities.

The duration of the project is of 12 months (full time) and is subject to the signing of the Grant Agreement with the European Commission. The contract might be prolonged according to the progress of implementation of the Grant Agreement and for a maximum duration not exceeding the end date of the Grant Agreement. .

The incumbent performs the following key duties:

• answers telephone calls, provides required information or refers to the person or department concerned;
• takes messages;
• receives, reviews and dispatches incoming correspondence, e-mails and fax messages;
• drafts and formats standard correspondence, memos, files and presentations in accordance with instructions; organises files;
• re-reads and makes grammatical corrections of texts; checks translations;
• carries out the practical organisation of meetings;
• makes travel and accommodation arrangements, assists in the reimbursement of travel expenses in accordance with relevant procedures; verifies cost of missions;
• carries out simple financial tasks in line with clear instructions and standard procedures: reconciles bank accounts and balance sheet accounts, enters information and executes queries in the accounting system;
• prepares, records, verifies and keeps up-to-date all kinds of data, files, documents, statistics, data bases, web sites, information and documentation tools etc. for a specific purpose or on request;
• seeks and collects information, documentation and data; distributes information or documentation to the persons or work unit concerned;
• prepares production and distribution of documents;
• follows up work or activities in progress;
• acts as liaison between management and staff; maintains internal and external contacts with counterparts in other commissions, committees and international bodies relevant to the above activities;
• reports to the supervisor on activities in progress and if and when problems occur;
• promotes Council of Europe values internally and externally.

Please note that the incumbent may be required to perform other duties not listed in the vacancy notice.

This local recruitment procedure is open to applicants already present in Luxembourg.

Only applicants who best meet the following criteria will be considered for shortlisting.

Qualifications:

Completed full course of general secondary education and appropriate professional qualifications.

Experience:

• proven experience of secretarial and/or financial duties.

Language requirements:

• Very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English or French) and good knowledge of the other.

Nationality:

• Nationality of host country or one of the 47 Council of Europe member states.

Age:

• Under 65 years of age at the closing date of the vacancy notice.

Council of Europe staff members adhere to the values Professionalism, Integrity and Respect.

Essential:

• Professional and technical expertise

• good computer skills of standard tools in office applications (word processing, spreadsheet, data bases, presentation software, outlook, internet/intranet publications).
  • Planning and work organisation
  • Concern for quality
  • Service orientation
  • Analysis and problem solving
  • Teamwork and co-operation
  • Communication
  • Learning and development

Desirable:

• Professional and technical expertise

• understanding of the activities and procedures of the Council of Europe.

• Results orientation
• Adaptability
• Resilience
• Initiative

For more information, please refer to the Competency Framework of the Council of Europe.

Launched in 1987, the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme demonstrate, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of Europe's different countries and cultures contribute to a shared and living cultural heritage. According to the Council of Europe a Cultural Route is a cultural, educational heritage and tourism co-operation project aiming at the development and promotion of an itinerary or a series of itineraries based on a historic route, a cultural concept, figure or phenomenon with a transnational importance and significance for the understanding and respect of common European values.

The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme is supported by the European Institute of Cultural Routes, set up in 1998 as part of a political agreement between the Council of Europe and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg (Ministry of Culture, Higher Education and Research). Upon the entry into force of the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes (EPA) in 2010, an agreement establishing the seat of the EPA at the Institute in Luxembourg was signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and the Council of Europe. The Institute carries out regular evaluations of the compliance of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe with the criteria of the statutory Resolution (CM/RES(2013)67) on Cultural Routes adopted by the Committee of Ministers, gives advice to new applicants for certification and houses the extensive information and documentary resources of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme. It provides advice and assistance to routes networks and hosts visits by project managers, researchers and students.

The European Commission is a key partner of the EPA and provides support to its work. The overall objective of the forthcoming DG REGIO’s grant agreement 2017-2020 “Fostering regional development through transnational cultural routes, heritage policies and practices” is to strengthen sustainable regional development in the 4 EU Macro-regions (Baltic Sea Region, Danube Region, Adriatic and Ionian Region, Alpine Region) through cultural heritage policies, practices and services as recognised by the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage (Faro Convention) through the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme which underscores, like the Convention, the importance of local people and their affinity with their region as essential to understanding and rediscovering the cultural identity of the sites and to attracting new activities, encouraging the tourism sector and sustainable local development of rural areas and less-known destinations.

For more information about the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme, visit www.coe.int/routes or www.culture-routes.net

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system. By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your on-line application. Applications must be submitted at the latest 30 November 2017 (midnight Paris Time).

Applications will be examined with regard to the requirements of this vacancy and applicants will be informed in due course of the outcome of your application. This may take some time after the closing date. Preselected candidates may be invited to take written tests before an interview. Written tests may be eliminatory.

In accordance with the Staff Regulations of the Council of Europe, the compulsory retirement age is 65. We cannot therefore accept applications from persons over this age.

The conditions of recruitment and employment which apply are contained in Rule No. 1234 of 15 December 2005 laying down the conditions of recruitment and employment of locally recruited temporary staff members working in Council of Europe Duty Stations located outside of France apply (Link to Rule 1234).

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading organisation in the protection of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It was founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members and now includes 47 member states, all having signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

By Statute, the Council of Europe has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member states’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member states. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution within the Council of Europe mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states.

The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member state concerned.