Programme Officer South

VACANCY NOTICE Ref. No: EED/5

PROGRAMME OFFICER SOUTH (2 vacancies)

1. Main functions of the post:

• coordinating, administering and monitoring of the EED democracy programmes within the region of EU Southern Neighbourhood;

• providing input to the development of the EED strategies and programmes in order to implement EED’s mandate and ensure consistency and coherence in programming and policy implementation in compliance with the EED strategic planning mechanisms;
• developing grant-making strategies, priorities, and guidelines, in conjunction with the Director of Programmes and other staff/consultants.

2. Duties and Responsibilities:

Programme Officer South reports directly to the  Director of Programmes  and shall be responsible for (in addition to the above-mentioned):

• interpreting, together with the Director of Programmes, relevant political developments and forecasts in the EU Southern Neighbourhood countries, and their impact on EED strategies, programmes and operations; on that basis providing advice on the development of the thematic work of the Executive Director and his decisions;
• proposing projects to be granted and in doing so cooperating closely with the Director of Operations as well as Operations and Grants Evaluation Officers on the financial aspects;
• travelling to the region to monitor existing grantees, identify new funding opportunities for EED, and gain an on the-ground perspective on the political situation. The visits include on-site meetings with all or most EED grantees, meetings with core institutes, potential civil society partners, other donors active in the country, and political analysts and opinion-makers;
• supervising the preparation and accompanying, if necessary, the Executive Director or the Director of Programmes on their visits to the EU Southern Neighbourhood countries;
• maintaining liaison with relevant non-governmental organizations based in Brussels and working in the field similar to the EED activity, to ensure information exchange and synergies;
• providing input for speeches and other relevant activities of the Executive Director and the Director of Programmes;
• reviewing and assessing letters of inquiry and making funding recommendations and declinations to the Director of Programmes;
• inviting grant proposals from selected funding applicants;
• working with applicants to develop and finalise grant proposals;
• co-ordinating the analyses of political developments and forecasts in the EU Eastern Neighbourhood countries, formulating relevant policy papers and other relevant documents with a special focus on transformation countries.
• performing other tasks for the Director of Programmes as required.

3. Key eligibility and selection criteria

a.      Conditions for eligibility:

• be a national or having permanent residence permit of one of the EU/EEA countries or Switzerland;
• be entitled to his/her full rights as a citizen;
• have completed any obligations imposed on him/her by the laws concerning military service;
• produces the appropriate character references as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties;
• be physically fit to perform his/her duties;
• hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at CONFIDENTIAL and/or EU SECRET level).

b. Essential selection criteria:

Level and type of formal education

• master’s degree in International Affairs, Political or Social Science, Law, International Development or related discipline;

   Professional experience

• at least 8 years of proven full-time professional experience in democracy-related projects and programs in government or international organisations or the civil society; proven of at least 3 years of experience in the international environment would be an asset;

• substantive understanding of political issues and trends in the EU Southern Neighbourhood as well as EU policies towards the region;
• working experience in democracy-related projects and programs in government or international organisations or the civil society.

Functional competencies

• good knowledge of grant-making and democracy support procedures;
• good knowledge of the European Institutions and working mechanisms within the EU;

• substantive understanding of political issues and trends in the EU Neighbourhood as well as EU policies towards the region;
• field work experience that includes several years of working in EU Southern Neighbourhood country would be an asset;

• thorough knowledge of English and Arabic;  good command of French is required;

• ability to keep full confidentiality about all assigned tasks and related documentation as well as able to exercise confidentiality, discretion and tact when dealing with diverse groups of people;
• high degree of communication skills and excellent interpersonal skills;
• ability to develop strong working relationships internally and externally at all levels;
• thorough understanding of social media, its purpose and exploitation;
• solid ICT skills;
• high personal and professional culture;
• ability to work in multi-ethnic and multi-national environment;
• readiness for frequent duty travel;
• provide at least three (3) references as to the suitability for the performance of duties.

4. Application

Please make sure you meet all required qualifications and experience. Application must include a CV in the Europass format, cover letter, contact information for three (3) references and your net monthly salary requirements.

Failure to fully comply with one of the required information (CV, cover letter, references together with contact information and net monthly salary requirement)  shall result in the exclusion of the applicant concerned from the selection procedure.

Application should be made online using “apply for the job” panel. After successfully submitting your application you will receive an automatic email confirming receipt of your application.

In addition to it please send a copy of your CV as an attachment to email address:vacancies@democracyendowment.eu, with reference number andProgramme Officer South in the subject line. Please no phone calls/emails/letters.

Applications should be submitted no later than 15 April 2013, 12 noon (Brussels time)

The applications will not be returned to candidates but will be kept on file by the EED. The information provided in the applications is subject to EU legislation on protection of personal data and confidentiality of information.

 5.      Terms of contract

Two-year fixed term contract (with the possibility of its extension) plus decent set of personal benefits.

Expected take up duty date: ASAP (no later than 1 July 2013).

Working place: EED HQ located in the centre of Brussels, Belgium.