Director of Congress

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (hereafter “The Congress”) is the Council of Europe’s political assembly dedicated to strengthening local and regional democracy and upholding human rights and the rule of law at grassroots level in the organisation’s 46 member states. It brings together elected representatives from local and regional authorities and provides a forum for political dialogue. The Congress monitors the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, observes local and regional elections, and supports local and regional authorities when putting the Council of Europe’s fundamental values into practice.

The Secretariat of the Congress consists of about 90 professionals, half in Strasbourg’s Headquarters and half in Council of Europe external offices.

You will assist the Secretary General of the Congress with the management of the Congress Secretariat and with the fulfilment of the Congress mandate. You will in particular:

Leadership and Team Management

• lead, inspire and support the Congress’s staff working at different levels of responsibility, in headquarters and external offices, and clearly define roles within the teams;
• review performance and encourage the development of team members so as to support the relevance of their professional skills and knowledge;
• promote effective team communication, synergy, transversal connections and teamwork, in a positive, collaborative work environment.

Programme and Resource Management

• oversee the Congress’s statutory and co-operation work on strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law at grassroots level;
• translate the Congress’s newly adopted priorities into work programmes based on a results-oriented organisation with clear outcomes and impact, through effective and efficient working methods;
• manage financial resources and ensure their effective use and compliance with applicable rules;
• liaise and follow the activities of the Committee of Ministers and of its rapporteur groups in areas covered by the mandate of the Congress; ensuring the Congress’s representation in relevant meetings;
• liaise and follow the activities of the intergovernmental sector and of the other Council of Europe institutions and bodies (Parliamentary Assembly, European Court of Human Rights, Commissioner for Human Rights, Venice Commission etc.);
• maintain close relationships with the Office of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

Communication and Representation

• establish and maintain contacts with Congress members, local and regional authorities and their representative national and European organisations;
• establish and maintain contacts with governments, permanent representations of member states to the Council of Europe, international organisations, partners in civil society and other relevant bodies and institutions;
• represent the Congress at working meetings and official functions; maintain co-operation with other Council of Europe bodies and sectors operating in related fields;
• communicate diplomatically and efficiently with internal and external stakeholders;
• contribute to the visibility of the Congress’s work;
• promote the values and interest of the Council of Europe both within the Organisation and externally.

You must:

• hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree (2nd cycle of the Bologna process Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area) in law, political science, public administration, or a relevant related field; the degree requirement may be waived if the candidate has at least 12 years of the experience described below;
• have at least 10 years of relevant professional experience in roles of increasing responsibility, including at management level, in policy development, programme management or intergovernmental work;
• demonstrate a sound understanding of the structures, responsibilities and functioning of local and regional authorities;
• demonstrate substantial professional experience in managing teams and budgets;
• demonstrate excellent communication skills and ability to interact and negotiate with high-level officials;
• have a very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English or French), and a good knowledge of the other or have the ability to acquire it rapidly on the job.

You must also:

• be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
• have discharged any obligation concerning national service (military, civil or comparable);
• not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe;
• be under the age of 65 years.

Your application must demonstrate to what extent you have the competencies listed below. To help you doing so, feel free to consult our competency framework.

• Managerial - Vision and Strategic Insight
• Managerial - Leadership
• Managerial - Management of teams
• Managerial - Decision making
• Interpersonal - Communication

• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Interpersonal - Relationship building

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • sound knowledge of the intergovernmental activities of the Council of Europe.

This job vacancy is for an international external recruitment. You can consult the conditions of employment (salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance, etc.) on the webpage What we offer. Candidates appointed to grade A6 by way of international external recruitment shall initially be appointed for a fixed-term period of one year. The appointment may be extended for one or more periods each not exceeding five years.

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page Our recruitment process. This recruitment is carried out in accordance with Articles 490 and 4140 of the Council of Europe Staff Rules. The deadline for applications is indicated in the General information section of this vacancy notice (see above) and is fixed at 23:59:59 (CET/CEST). When applying, make sure your motivation shows how your competencies make your profile the best for the role.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunity policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve gender parity in staff employed in each category and grade. At the time of appointment, preference between suitable people shall be given to the person of the gender which is under-represented in the relevant grades within the category to which the vacancy belongs.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us at talents@coe.int, we will ensure that your request is handled.

The information published on the CoE’s careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication of the vacancy notice. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process will be updated on our Portal and will apply at the time of the job offer. Our career's website is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. Should you have remaining questions, please contact us at talents@coe.int.