Director of Policy and Advocacy ECRE - European Council on Refugees and Exiles

JOB TITLE: Director of Advocacy & Policy

REPORTS TO: Secretary General

JOB PURPOSE

To provide strategic leadership of ECRE’s policy, legal, advocacy and project activities, to ensure that the organisation achieves its objectives in those areas, to manage the Advocacy & Policy Unit, and to participate in the strategic and corporate management of ECRE as a whole.

PLACE IN THE ORGANISATION

• Service: Advocacy & Policy Unit
• Reports hierarchically to: Secretary-General
• Reports functionally to: Secretary-General
• Line manages:
  o Project Officers
  o Senior Legal & Policy Officers
  o Senior Advocacy Officer
  o Senior Legal Officer
  o Project Administrative Officer
  o Training Officer
• Back-up: Secretary-General

KEY RELATIONSHIPS – INTERNAL

• Director Finance & Resources
• Management Team
• Senior Press and Public Information Officer

KEY RELATIONSHIPS – EXTERNAL

• ECRE Member Agencies
• EU institutions
• Funders
• Governments
• Media/ journalists(for interviews)

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Governance and Management

Purpose: supporting and advising the Secretary General.

Specific responsibilities:

• Participate in the overall management of ECRE and assume the post of acting Secretary General when required.
• Participate in the Management Team and extend general support to the Secretary General in pursuing the strategic priorities of ECRE.
• Participate in the governance structures of ECRE through supporting the Secretary General in Board Meetings, the Director's Forum, the Annual General Conference and other events.
• Drive strategic thinking and planning to ensure that ECRE is sustainable both in terms of activities and income.

2. Advocacy

Purpose: Leading and coordinating the Advocacy work.

Specific responsibilities:

• Attend and represent ECRE at international meeting and to the media.
• Ensure that ECRE advocates to its fullest potential through the Alliance of Members, core groups and targeted national or European activities.
• Maintain and develop close working relations with officials in the European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Ministers, Member State Permanent Representations and national experts.
• Ensure the quality and strategic merit of ECRE's research, policies and public information in line with advocacy objectives.

3. Policy

Purpose: Leading and coordinating the Policy work.

Specific responsibilities:

• Line manage the senior officers and assume responsibility for their annual appraisals and general welfare.
• Coordinate the senior officers in identifying and generating high quality research and policy papers.
• Coordinate the senior officers in collecting and analysing comparative information on the position of asylum seekers and refugees together with ECRE's Members.
• Coordinate the senior officers in identifying policy positions for the ECRE Alliance and lines to take, including oversight of the core groups.
• Coordinate the senior officers in planning and in implementing strategic goals in their activities.

4. Projects

Purpose: Leading and coordinating the Projects and tenders activities.

Specific responsibilities:

• Overall responsibility for managing staff involved in implementing tenders and projects.
• Coordinate and lead internal discussions on the development of new projects together with the senior officers and fund-raising team.

5. Training

Purpose: Leading and coordinating the training activities.

Specific responsibilities:

• Overall responsibility for managing staff involved in implementing trainings.
• Coordinate and lead internal discussions on the development of new trainings together with the senior officers and training officer.

Person Specification

EDUCATION: Relevant degree at higher level

EXPERIENCE: Minimum 8 years track record of successful experience in one of the areas of the Unit (projects and tenders, advocacy, policy and legal work) within the human rights-related field

LANGUAGES

• Fluent written and spoken English
• Good knowledge of written and spoken French
• Working knowledge of other European languages

SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE

• Good overall knowledge of principles in the areas of advocacy, researching and developing advocacy and project work
• Understanding of the key role of membership organisations in a network, and ability to work through an alliance to achieve ECRE’s goals
• Familiarity with the EU legislative process (preferably on JHA issues, including asylum)
• Knowledge of EU structures and institutions

ESSENTIAL ABILITIES

• Ability to lead others to achieve agreed objectives successfully
• Ability to think and plan ahead strategically
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to organise and plan the work of others and manage complex projects, including effective delegation
• Ability to manage staff, including through effective recruitment
• Ability to undertake financial planning and management of budgets
• Ability to represent ECRE at the highest levels

PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Self confident, persuasive and decisive
• Patient and calm in pressurised situations
• Consultative, constructive problem solving approach
• Flexibility and willingness to work out of office hours when necessary
• Willingness and ability to further develop management and other skills through training and collective development
• Readiness to travel internationally (mainly in Europe)

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT

ECRE aims to ensure that no prospective or actual employee is discriminated against on the basis of race, sex, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation, employment status, class, disability, age, religious belief or political persuasion, or is disadvantaged by any condition or requirement, which is not demonstrably justifiable.

Please send your cover letter and CV to Ronald Simon (rsimon@ecre.org) before the 27th May 2011.

Read the full job description here: http://www.ecre.org/get_involved/job_vacancies.