Communication Officer Caritas Europa

Caritas Europa (CE) brings together 45 member organisations (MOs) that are active in 42 European countries. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 169 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations working to build a better world. Caritas Europa focuses its activities on political advocacy in issues related to poverty and social inequality, migration and international development within all countries of Europe. Within the worldwide Caritas network it also assists European members in humanitarian aid.

With a view to further develop its work on communication Caritas Europa is seeking to recruit a (m/f):

COMMUNICATION OFFICER

Starting 1st of May 2011.

Objectives:

We are looking for a pro-active journalist / communicator who

• assures that Caritas Europa’s work is well known at the European institutions and among the Caritas organisations in Europe;
• reinforces the CE image at the European Institutions as key stakeholder in European policies;
• reinforces the knowledge and understanding of the added value of the European dimension in the Caritas work among its member organisations.

Tasks:

External Communication:

• To effectively bring the work of Caritas to the attention of the European decisions makers by making it visible and relevant for their commitment;
• To boost the advocacy and political activities of CE with the adequate communication actions through building up and maintaining a network of contacts within European Institutions and Media, supporting politically relevant public events for Caritas Europa, writing press releases and articles

Internal Communication:

• To ensure effective and interesting communication within the Caritas Europa network through the development of the Caritas communicators network in Europe, the development of internal communication instruments and contributing to a future knowledge management system in Caritas Europe.

Assisting the Governance bodies and Secretariat:

• To support the development of a communication competence in Caritas Europa at all levels.

The main work will be developed in Brussels, but travels to other countries will be part of the work. The Communication Officer, part of the Communication team, reports directly to the Secretary General of CE.

Profile:

• Bachelor Degree or higher in a field relevant to the function (preferably Journalism; but also Communication Sciences or similar)
• a postgraduate degree in the field of political communication, EU studies, or similar is an asset
• Al least 3 years of relevant working experience, part of which as journalist or communication officer within an NGO or EU environment. Experience in relations with Media.
• Working experience related to and good understanding of the EU Institutions, decision-making, social policies, development policies, European networks
• Excellent speaking and writing skills of English and French. Command of other European languages, like German, Italian, Polish among others are an asset.
• Understanding of and commitment to the principles of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church, in which Caritas work is firmly rooted
• Result and solution oriented.
• Skills in organisation, communication, presentation, facilitation and networking.
• Ability to work in an international team.
• Excellent computer skills and experience in working with Microsoft Office software

Our offer:

A challenging experience in Brussels with the possibility to influence European policy and the development of the European Caritas network, working in a multicultural team and in an organisation that is one of the key European stakeholders in social issues.

Please apply by Thursday 31 March 2011 12:00 Brussels’ time in submitting your motivation letter and CV to secretary-general@caritas-europa.org mentioning in the subject “CV Communication Officer”.

We thank in advance all candidates who show their interest in this offer. Those candidates who haven’t been contacted before 15th of April haven’t been shortlisted for an interview. No further correspondence will be held.