Under the authority of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the post-holder shall be Secretary to the Committee of Ministers, the decision-making organ of the Council of Europe, and provide leadership to ensure the effective functioning of the Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, in compliance with the Council of Europe’s values and priorities.

The incumbent performs all or a combination of the following duties:

• ensures the smooth servicing of Ministerial and Deputy level meetings, including informal subsidiary working groups;
• advises the Chairmanship on the content, including priorities, and implementation of its six-monthly programme;
• advises on the political appropriateness of decisions to be taken by the Committee of Ministers and their overall coherence;
• briefs, notably the Chair of the Committee of Ministers;
• facilitates the interface of Permanent Representations with the Council of Europe Secretariat;
• facilitates dialogue between the Committee of Ministers and the institutional partners in the Council of Europe and with committees reporting to it;
• liaises with and briefs, as appropriate, the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General;
• facilitates dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress, the European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Commissioner and the major administrative entities;
• contributes to the development and implementation of the Organisation’s strategic priorities and objectives;
• defines the objectives and manages the financial and human resources of the Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers;
• disseminates information about the Committee of Ministers, in co-operation with the Directorate of Communication.

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

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

Qualifications:

• Higher education degree or qualification. Exceptionally, the degree or qualification requirement may be waived if the candidate has equivalent professional experience.

Experience:

• Sound experience at a senior level in international organisations and intergovernmental committees; very good understanding of multilateral co-operation; excellent knowledge of the Council of Europe and the functioning of the Committee of Ministers or similar bodies would be an advantage;
• Proven experience in managing human and financial resources, preferably in an international organisation.

Language requirements:

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

Nationality:

• Nationality of 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.

The following competencies have been identified as important for the role:

Essential

• Vision and Strategic Insight
• Leadership
• Organisational and contextual awareness
• Relationship building
• Negotiating
• Communication
• Service orientation
• Results orientation

Desirable

• Analysis and problem solving
• Influencing
• Resilience
• Planning and work organization
• Initiative
• Decision making

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

Applications

Applications must be submitted in English or French at the latest 27 September 2016 (midnight French Time) 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.

Only those candidates who are considered to best match the requirements of the job vacancy will be selected for the next stage of the recruitment procedure.

After the preliminary selection has been made, candidates for senior management posts (grades A6 and A7) at the Council of Europe will be subject to a competency assessment.

Candidates may be invited to attend interviews.

The appointed candidate must be a national of a Council of Europe member State. In accordance with the Staff Regulations of the Council of Europe, staff shall retire on reaching the age of 65.

If an external candidate is selected, he/she will be appointed on an initial two-year contract, constituting a probationary period. If successful the appointment will be extended for one or more periods varying in length between one and five years.

If an internal candidate is selected, he/she will be initially appointed for a trial period of two years. If the staff member is confirmed in his/her post at the end of the trial period, he/she shall be re-appointed for three years. At the end of the period of five years, he/she shall be either kept in post, or assigned to another post at the same grade.

Further details on conditions of employment including salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance can be consulted on our recruitment website.

Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed in each category and grade. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex.

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 Organisation

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.

The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and in addition it maintains external presence in more than twenty countries. More information about Council of Europe external presence.

The Committee of Ministers

The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe’s statutory decision-making body. Its role and functions are broadly defined in Chapter IV of the Statute. It is made up of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of member States. The Committee meets at ministerial level once a year and at Deputies' level (Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe) weekly. The conduct of meetings is governed by the Statute and Rules of Procedure. The Ministers’ Deputies are assisted by a Bureau, rapporteur groups, thematic coordinators and ad hoc working parties.