Under the authority of the Head of Office and the supervision of the Horizontal Facility Co-ordinator, the incumbent will carry out multiple assignments to promote the communication and strengthen the visibility of the CoE/EU Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey (HF).

The incumbent will provide overall guidance to the Council of Europe offices and will assist in developing, planning, implementing and co-ordinating various communication plans and visibility activities in relation to the Horizontal Facility actions implemented across the region, in accordance with the Organisation’s communication strategy, visibility guidelines and donor requirements.

Employment is limited to the duration of the Horizontal Facility which is expected to end on 23 May 2019.

The incumbent performs the following key duties, in co-ordination with the Communication Officer within the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes, in accordance with the Organisation’s procedures, guidelines and priorities, with a concern for quality, efficiency, accuracy and confidentiality:

• provides guidance to HF staff on improving the aspects of visibility and communication, in accordance with Project Management Methodology, Communication Guidelines and Toolbox, HF Communication Guidelines and EU Communication Requirements;
• provides professional expertise and proposes new solutions and ways of improving communication and visibility of HF actions, results and achievements;
• identifies success stories highlighting the impact of the actions to be promoted through written and filmed interviews/stories/photos/infographics etc..) to be used on websites, social media and in newsletters;
• plans and co-ordinates the production and distribution of video material showing success stories and highlighting results;
• monitors, analyses and provides recommendations to increase the use of web and social media for individual actions and at the regional level ;
• supports the development and implementation of action-specific communication plans, including identifying results and corresponding communication indicators;
• proposes a set of key messages under each thematic area and provides guidelines on how to use them;
• provides guidelines to standardise the collection of the media coverage by the CoE Offices for individual actions, analyses impact/reach and provides recommendations for improvement;
• co-ordinates communication efforts with Communication Officers in EUDs, stakeholders and other communication multipliers;
• contributes to the efficient functioning of the office, in collaboration with the Head of Office, the Deputy Head of Office and the Project management in headquarters.

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 Serbia.

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 in journalism, communications, public relations or a related field.

Experience:

• At least three years of professional experience relating to media and communication in the framework of co-operation programmes, preferably in international organisations.

Language requirements:

• Very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English);
• Ability to draft clearly and concisely in English;
• Knowledge of French and of languages spoken in the region would be an advantage.

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:

• professional experience in writing, editing and web publishing;
• knowledge of visibility guidelines, communication principles, concepts, techniques and methods;
• broad knowledge of the activities of the Council of Europe and in particular knowledge of international co-operation programmes;
• good research and analytical skills;
• sound computer skills of standard tools in office applications (word and excel processing; presentation software; outlook; internet/intranet) and knowledge of IT tools related to web and social media publishing.
  • Planning and work organisation
  • Communication
  • Adaptability
  • Teamwork and co-operation
  • Drafting skills
  • Learning and development
  • Concern for quality

Desirable:

• Initiative
• Influencing
• Resilience
• Relationship building

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

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 25 July 2018 (midnight Paris Time).

Any false statements knowingly made by applicants in their application for employment or at the time of their engagement will result in the termination of their employment by the Council of Europe.

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.