Conference Officer COST

COST is an inter-governmental system supporting European research networking. In order to accomplish its mission, the European Science Foundation (ESF) provides administrative and scientific management to COST (European Co-operation in Science and Technology), its Domain Committees and its Actions through the COST Office in Brussels and corporate support services in Strasbourg. This is achieved through a support grant provided to ESF by the European Commission.

ESF-COST Office seeks a Conference Officer whose mission is to provide optimal administrative and logistical support to COST research conferences and COST outreach activities (Science Days, Strategic Workshops, Exhibitions, etc.) and other events emanating from COST and COST-ESF collaborations, by supporting the Conference Unit in the organisation of conferences within the framework of established procedures and by assisting in the implementation of COST conference and outreach activities. The person should be available to start as soon as possible.

Position responsibilities:

• Organising research conferences, COST seminars, strategic workshops and other events, covering a wide range of scientific domains (corresponding with Conference Chairs, registering participants and arranging venues, all within tight planning schedules and deadlines);
• Attending conferences to take care of the on-site logistical tasks, overseeing the efficient running of local administrative arrangements and assisting the Conference Chair;
• Dealing with enquiries and requests for information regarding the conferences and enhancing the COST visibility by providing participants with information about COST’s activities;
• Drafting, preparing and disseminating conference documents and information on other COST outreach activities;
• Undertaking the necessary financial and budgetary control in compliance with the EC-COST contract and with the COST Financial Rules;
• Guiding the Administrative Assistant and/or trainee, with regards to:
  - the data processing of conference applications, the maintenance of an accurate database and the preparation of computer listings;
  - the Posting and advertising for conferences on relevant Web pages and in scientific magazines and for other COST outreach events;
  - the verification and controlling of invoices and claims for expenses from participants and providing necessary information to Administration and Finance allowing the regular presentation of financial reports;
  - the development of standardised documents and procedures for conference organisation and for other COST outreach activities;
• Undertaking other administrative duties as necessary and generally at the request of the COST Office Director.

Profile and competencies:

Specific competencies

• Conference and/or event/exhibition management qualifications and proven previous experience (3 to 5 years) in an international environment;
• Proven administrative experience and knowledge of procedures in the organisation of international conferences and/or events and in handling complex ad hoc projects;
• Qualifications and/or experience in Communication & Conferences being highly desirable but not a requirement;
• High standard of spoken and written English as the working language; any other European language is an strong asset (German, French, Spanish…)
• Sound working knowledge of MS Office systems (especially MS Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint and databases)
• Knowledge of web page maintenance and development (e-Z Publish and online tools e.g. Madmimi, Google documents);
• Working knowledge and experience of financial and budgetary control. Inter-personal competencies
• Good organisational skills and capacity to deliver on allocated tasks and respond in a timely manner to deadlines;
• Ability to manage priorities;
• Task-orientated, responsible and autonomous, and continuously improvement-minded;
• Strong inter-personal and communication qualities within a multi-national context, including discretion, diplomacy and tolerance;
• Commitment to “customer care” with colleagues throughout the organisation and to ensuring external customer satisfaction;
• Positive and constructive attitude
• Capable of demonstrating the ESF-COST values: Excellence, Openness, Responsiveness, Team Spirit, Pan-European approach, Ethical Awareness and Human Values.

The ESF offers:

• A full-time contract under the Belgian law with a duration linked to the FP7 COST Grant Agreement II (ending June 2014), with an initial probation period of 6 months;
• An international working environment located in Brussels (Avenue Louise 149, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium)
• Unless a national of the ‘EU and EEE’ candidates must be eligible to work in Belgium and must have a Work Permit.

Electronic applications (motivation letter + CV) should be addressed to the HR Unit and sent to job@cost.eu

Reference code: 2012CONFOF.

Deadline for application: 29 July 2012, the interviews will be planned the week of 20 August 2012.

For general details see http://www.cost.eu

Closing date: 29 July 2012