Policy and Advocacy manager position- youth participation and digitalisation/ European Youth Forum

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.

PROFILE OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
● 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.

TERMS OF THE CONTRACT
● We offer 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.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
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?
1. Create a user account: click on “Registration” and fill in your
personal details.
2. Go to the “private area” and login with your username and
password.
3. Click on the vacancy and apply.
4. 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.

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