Advocacy and Membership Manager Position at the EaP CSF Secretariat

29 July 2015

The Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) is looking for an Advocacy and Membership Manager who will have a strategic role within the Secretariat focusing on advocacy, membership and internal communications. The Advocacy and Membership Manager will be responsible for providing strategic political analysis to support the development and implementation of effective advocacy strategies with institutional, governmental or other relevant actors. Along with advancing core campaigns, the Manager will identify and coordinate research on topical issues for the Forum. The Advocacy and Membership Manager will work with the Steering Committee, Working Groups and National Platforms of the EaP CSF on achieving the advocacy goals of the Forum as specified in the Forum’s strategy. Reporting to the Director of the Secretariat, the person will be responsible for the internal communications of the Forum and will be successfully communicating the activities of the Forum to its internal and external audiences focusing on the results and impact achieved.

The key responsibilities of Advocacy and Membership Manager are to:

Develop and feed into advocacy strategies as appropriate
Develop concepts and draft agendas of advocacy events
Under the guidance of the Steering Committee and the Director of the Secretariat, initiate and develop statements and position papers
Write, proofread and edit information material provided by the EaP CSF to its members and external stakeholders (statements, press releases, speeches, position papers, publications)
Support linkages between the structures of the EaP CSF and develop Forum’s membership to ensure a sound structure is in place
Under the guidance of the Steering Committee and the Director of the Secretariat develop draft agendas of the general assemblies
Work with National Platforms’ and Working Groups’ Coordinators to ensure the annual work plans are in place and the quality annual reporting for the general assembly is provided
In cooperation with the Communication Manager optimise the internal information flows towards the EaP CSF participants and maintain the database of Forum and Working Group participants
Identify opportunities for synergies between the projects of the EaP CSF, such as European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership countries, Working Group projects, and others
Ensure dissemination of successful practises among Forum participants from 6 Eastern Partnership countries
Based on the feedback of Forum participants, identify needs in professional development and capacity building
Contribute to drafting proposals for funding

Profile of a candidate:

The candidate will have a Master’s degree in international affairs, international development, European studies, media, journalism, or another relevant discipline and previous relevant experience in membership development, policy development, advocacy or communication. The candidate will also have excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to develop strong productive working relationships with EaP CSF participants and external stakeholders (EU institutions, NGOs, private organisations, national governments, etc.), be able to manage a varied and heavy workload and work independently in a busy team.

Required

High quality communication skills, both verbal and written, including a very high standard of written and spoken English demonstrated by previous work experience. Capacity to explain complex issues simply and clearly in a concise, direct and understandable way for diverse audiences.
Excellent analytical skills and demonstrated ability to think strategically
4 to 6 years of work experience at a membership NGO, international organisation or donor agency
Excellent political judgment and understanding of political dynamics in the Eastern Partnership countries and European policies vis-à-vis EaP countries
Ability to produce advocacy and policy documents
Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
Ability to work well under pressure, maintaining both a highly organised level of accuracy and output; ability to meet deadlines; and deal with multiple, sometimes conflicting, priorities
Good knowledge of European institutions

Desirable:

Knowledge of Russian or any other language of an Eastern Partnership country
Good understanding of the functions of a membership organisation
Experience in proposal writing

What we offer:

An interesting and challenging role to take the Forum’s advocacy efforts to a new level
Space for development of new ideas
Excellent networking opportunities
Attractive remuneration
Be part of a small, friendly, dynamic and international team in the heart of the Brussels EU district

Selection Process

CV and motivation letter should be sent to applications@eap-csf.eu by midnight CET 23^th of August with the reference: “Advocacy and Membership Manager”. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. The interviews will be conducted in person in Brussels or via Skype in late August-early September.

About the Forum and the Secretariat

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) was established in 2009 and aims to support Eastern European countries' sustainable reform process with a view to accelerating their political association and economic integration with the EU. The Forum strengthens the diversity and plurality of public discourse and policymaking by holding governments and public authorities accountable to the commitments made in the joint declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership summit, signed by the EU and the governments of the six Partner countries. See archive.eap-csf.eu for further details.

The Secretariat of the Forum was registered in 2012 as an international non-profit organisation in Brussels, Belgium. The Secretariat serves as an information, coordination and expertise hub for the participants of the Forum, the bodies of the Forum, and stakeholders in Brussels and Eastern Partnership countries.

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