Campaign Assistant

FERN

Brussels, Belgium

FERN is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) created in 1995. Our mission is to achieve greater environmental and social justice, focusing on forests and forest peoples’ rights in the policies and practices of the European Union. We do this by co-ordinating NGO networks and by working co-operatively with partners to achieve change.

We believe that to be effective it is essential to understand and address the social dimension of environmental conflicts; that strong coalitions are more likely to achieve lasting change; and that presenting ways forward is often more effective than highlighting problems.

We have no director, and strive to make decisions by consensus.

Details of our current campaign areas can be found at www.fern.org/campaignareas.html.

We currently have 11 staff working from two offices, in Brussels (Belgium) and Moreton in Marsh (UK).

We are looking for a part-time (19 hours a week) campaign assistant for our Brussels premises to provide strong and professional support to the organisation.

A. KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND ASSOCIATED TASKS

1. General administration:

• Cooperate closely with the Finance and Administration Team to ensure the smooth running of the Brussels office and to provide support to all campaigners;
• Ensure compliance with FERN’s House rules and procedures;
• Deal with incoming mail, phone calls and outgoing mail;
• File and archive office documents;
• Print, file, order, send out and archive publications; 
• Contribute to keeping FERN’s databases up to date (publications, assets, contacts);
• Control French language content of FERN website and update Loggingoff website;
• Occasional short translations and proofread translation work done by campaigners or translators (mainly English to French); 
• Record campaigners’ actions and successes and collect related evidences;
• Support campaigners with printing and mailing of documents; 
• Manage FERN’s photograph archive on Dropbox; uploads photos and label them; organise them with guidance from the communications manager;
• Provide occasionally support to communications manager or press adviser.

2. Logistics and ICT

• Provide first line ICT support to campaigners and visitors (install some software and hardware, solve basic ICT issues);
• Provide logistical support for missions by campaigners and hosting of large meetings, seminars and events; 
• Support guests or partners visiting FERN;
• Procure office supplies and services;
• Maintain the office well organised and welcoming.

B. OTHER REQUIREMENTS

• Travel. As FERN is an international organisation with offices in two countries and activities in numerous countries, occasional travel may be necessary to attend meetings;
• Flexibility. FERN is a small campaigning organisation, and some flexibility may be required in working hours.

C. PERSON SPECIFICATION

We are looking for someone who is organised, able to multitask and can work effectively in a small team. The successful candidate would have to be a good team worker and be support minded.

Essential:

• Office administration or similar studies or relevant experience;
• Fluency in French and English; 
• Excellent computer skills (Word, Excel, Access, Windows 7, internet, utilities);
• Excellent support skills;
• Being organised and able to structure workload.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of other European languages such as Dutch or Spanish;
• Communications and editing skills;
• Experience of working for an NGO;
• An interest in environmental and social issues.

Indicative salary:

• From € 14,040 to € 17,640 annual gross salary, plus lunch vouchers (6€ per working day), contribution to travel costs from home to office, legal holidays money (double-pécule de vacances).

D. HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be submitted in English and comprise a short covering letter explaining why you are interested in this job, including what attracts you to FERN and what you could bring to FERN; a CV detailing all relevant work experience. Applications without a properly prepared covering letter will not be considered. Only selected candidates will be contacted.

Deadline for applications: 17 February 2014