Reference: e026/2024
Location: Strasbourg, France 
Deadline: 05 June 2024

Would you be enthusiastic about helping to develop institutional communication for an international court? Do you have professional communications experience gained in the field of human rights protection, managing social media profiles and communicating with target groups? Do you have the relevant contextual awareness to handle complex and sensitive messages? If so, our job advertisement may be the right opportunity for you. 
 

Who we are
With over 2200 staff members representing all its 46 member States, the Council of Europe is a multicultural Organisation. We all strive towards protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law and our three core values - professionalism, integrity and respect - guide the way we work. 
The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights 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.
 

Your role
As a Media Officer / Community Manager specialised in the legal field, you may be required to carry out all or a combination of the following tasks: 

• contributing to the design of and implementing the communications strategy of the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”);
• developing and organising external communication and media relations with the overall objective of raising the visibility of the Court; 
• developing and implementing social media policies and providing advice on social media use; 
• supervising staff members within the Communications Department;
• providing expertise on targeted communications and public awareness-raising campaigns, from planning to implementation; 
• organising media coverage events where needed; 
• gathering, assessing and presenting press reviews and statistics on social media activity and helping to identify, expand and engage with key target groups;
• in conjunction with the Press Unit, maintaining contacts with the relevant media and press professionals across Europe: journalists, bloggers, social media influencers etc., raising awareness on the complexity, sensitivity and potential impact of the communication made; 
• providing expertise in the identification, collection, adaptation and publication of relevant and engaging content for short- and long-term objectives (raising public awareness of the Court’s judgments and decisions, the diary of the President of the Court, bilateral visits with superior courts, events etc.); 
• developing and communicating key messages for target audiences and identifying opportunities to deepen engagement in particular on social media platforms; 
• planning and deciding on editorial, visual (photo galleries and infographics, etc.) and audiovisual (videos, podcasts) content for social media;
• in conjunction with colleagues in the Public Relations’ Unit, drafting web news, social media contents and other communications materials; 
• providing expertise on the management of the Court’s X (Twitter) account and developing other social media accounts if necessary.

What we are looking for
You must:

• either:
  • hold a higher education degree equivalent to the 1st cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area in media or communications and have a minimum of 4 years of relevant professional experience in a communication related role in the legal field,
• or
  • in addition to the previous degree, hold a higher education degree equivalent to the 2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area in media or communications and have a minimum of 2 years of relevant professional experience in a communication related role in the legal field;
• have a very good knowledge of one of the Council of Europe’s official languages (English/French) and a good knowledge of the other; 
• be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
• have discharged any obligation concerning national service (military, civil or comparable);
• not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe;
• be under the age of 65 years.

Demonstrate to us that you have the following competencies:                    

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • proven experience in communication in an international, multicultural environment;
  • professional experience in community management, digital media, social media channels and analytics;
  • good knowledge of various networking software packages and of the Adobe and Canva suites;
  • knowledge and understanding of the Council of Europe’s mission and work, including that of the European Court of Human Rights.
• Organisational and contextual awareness
• Drafting skills
• Management of teams
• Teamwork and co-operation
• Initiative
• Adaptability
• Communication

These would be an asset:

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • professional experience of working for an international or domestic court;
  • knowledge of other European languages.
• Results orientation;
• Analysis and problem solving;
• Vision and Strategic Insight.

What we offer
In Strasbourg, you will receive a basic monthly gross salary of €5 536 (grade A1) or €7 074 (grade A2) which is exempt from national income tax. 

The deadline for applications is 05 June 2024 (midnight Central European Time). Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe online application system. 

For more information on how to apply, please click the Apply button.