Policy and Advocacy Manager Position – Youth Participation and Digitalisation YFJ – European Youth Forum

Deadline: 11 January 2022
Open to: all nationalities
Benefits: a two year contract , full time

Description

The European Youth Forum is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. We represent over 100 youth organisations, which bring together tens of millions of young people from all over Europe.

The Youth Forum works to empower young people to participate actively in society to improve their own lives by representing and advocating their needs and interests and those of their organisations. In the current uncertain political and social context that affects young people, they can be powerful catalysts for positive change and contributors of innovative solutions to Europe’s challenges.

The position

We are recruiting a Policy and Advocacy Manager, focused on youth participation and digitalisation. The successful candidate will work under the supervision of the External Affairs Director to support our External Affairs and Policy and Advocacy work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Be the main point of contact and expert on youth participation in the Youth Forum. Identify opportunities for advocacy on youth participation at EU, Council of Europe and UN level and ensure coordination with relevant team members, member organisations and other partners;
Strategically lead the European Youth Forum’s relationship towards the Council of Europe;
Develop and implement the Youth Forum’s policy and advocacy strategy on digitalisation- a new topic for us;
Support the Youth Forum’s advocacy on platform workers (as linked to digitalisation portfolio);
Lead the Youth Forum’s involvement in the 2022 Council of Europe campaign on ‘Revitalising Democracy’;
Support 1-3 team members so each colleague has the capacity to lead on their agreed objectives and key results, including but not limited to the EU Youth Dialogue, the development of the Youth Test (a tool to youth-proof future policies), global youth cooperation and funding for youth organisations;
Supervise the day-to-day operations of the team in terms of HR, providing feedback on major milestones, monitoring performance, motivating and coaching, following-up on well-being;
Ensure ongoing and regular coordination with the European Youth Forum Board for areas under your portfolio;
Represent the Forum externally;
Building strategic partnerships with relevant external institutional stakeholders and civil society, as well as the European Youth Forum membership;
Contribute to the development of the annual plan of the European Youth Forum and ensure that the objectives of the Annual Plan related to this position are met within the agreed timeframe;
Coordinate the organisation of relevant meetings and conferences;
Oversee execution of the budget allocated to the working area;
Draft briefings, reports, working and strategy papers as well as articles for internal and external European Youth Forum publications;
Report to and support the External Affairs Director- Policy and Advocacy in the management of the External Affairs Department;
Provide support to management, including hiring and training new team members, as well as to other colleagues and departments of the European Youth Forum as appropriate and necessary.

Eligibility

At least 4 years of working experience in advocacy with an NGO or relevant international organisations is required, with proven ability to design and manage complex advocacy processes;
Experience working with the Council of Europe and knowledge of EU institutions are definite assets;
Degree in social sciences, such as political sciences, international relations, economics or law or equivalent work experience;
Proven ability to produce advocacy materials and to develop mechanisms to share and manage advocacy information and knowledge;
Experience in advocacy on youth and/or digital topics is a definite asset;
Experience with a youth participation mechanism (e.g. EU Youth Dialogue, Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe) and/or background in a youth organisation is a definite asset;
Experience with campaigning is a definite asset;
Experience with coordinating networks/coalitions of members and partners;
Ability to develop and build a strong network of institutional and other partners and to advocate effectively;
Excellent leadership, strategic thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills;
Excellent planning and organisation skills;
Ability to lead and supervise a team;
Ability to meet tight deadlines and manage a challenging workload;
Ability to identify, process and analyse relevant information from multiple sources quickly;
Excellent research, writing and communication skills;
Excellent interpersonal skills;
Ability to work under own initiative and as part of a team on common projects;
Computer literacy, with good working knowledge of word processing, email and online applications;
Languages: Strong oral and written English is required, good knowledge of French is an asset;
Committed to the European Youth Forum’s vision and mission.

Benefits

EYF offers a two year contract , full time (35 hours per week), afterwards followed by an open-ended contract. The gross monthly salary according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement currently applied at the European Youth Forum) is €3,200;
A relocation package, hospitalisation insurance and other benefits are available. Travel expenses within the Brussels region are covered by the European Youth Forum;
Candidates to this position should be willing to travel and work flexible hours including if required occasional weekends;
This position being based in Brussels candidates should be willing to relocate or live in the surrounding area.

How to apply?

To submit your application for this vacancy, please use the European Youth Forum online recruitment system: http://recruitment.youthforum.org.

How to apply with the online application system?

Create a user account: click on “Registration” and fill in your personal details;
Go to the “private area” and login with your username and password;
Click on the vacancy and apply;
Respond to our application questions and upload your CV. Interviews for this vacancy will be held in the week of 17 January and the successful candidate will be expected to start as soon as possible.

Due to the high number of applications usually received for European Youth Forum vacancies, only candidates short-listed for interviews will be contacted. All candidates are kindly requested to refrain from any phone inquiries.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

Anti-discrimination

All appointments should be made in a transparent way and comply with all relevant employment regulations. No job applicant or employee should receive less favourable treatment on the ground of race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, gender, gender identity, marital status, caring responsibilities, sexual orientation, disability or chronic illness.

Volunteering

Any relevant volunteering experience is considered equal to any other professional experience.

Work permit

All applicants, whether EU or non-EU citizens, are considered equally. The Youth Forum welcomes all nationalities and will take any work permit request at its charge.

For more information please visit the official website.