The team within which you will work, the Election Observation Unit of the Protecting Local Democracy Department, monitors and assesses local and regional electoral processes across Council of Europe member states, supporting the Congress in promoting democratic standards, transparency and compliance with Council of Europe principles.

As a Senior Election Observation Officer, you will carry out a variety of assignments under the supervision of the Head of Protecting Local Democracy Department and in cooperation with the colleagues of the election observation entity, in compliance with the priorities, regulations and values of the Council of Europe, in particular:

• collect, examine and evaluate information with regard to Council of Europe countries in which local and regional elections are due to be held;
• prepare country profiles, background documentations and briefing papers, as well as deployment plans and work programmes for Congress election observation missions;
• draft speaking notes and outline papers to assist Congress members, in particular thematic spokespersons;
• contribute to the drafting/revising of Congress’ election observation reports and to reports dealing with transversal electoral matters, including resolutions and recommendations to the Committee of Ministers;
• participate in pre-election and/or election observation missions organised by the Congress and in other missions in the related area of activity;
• participate in related events and conferences;
• co-operate with internal and/or external counterparts and partner organisations of the Congress in respect of election observation;
• draft web articles, news items and press releases regarding Congress activities related to electoral matters.

You must:

• have the support of the member State seconding you to the Council of Europe;
• hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree () in political sciences or international law;
• have at least three years of professional experience relating to election observation and international relations, or specific knowledge of electoral matters;
• have very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English or French, English preferred) and good knowledge of the other; 
• be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe.

• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Analysis and problem solving
• Operational - Drafting skills
• Interpersonal - Teamwork and co-operation

• Professional and technical expertise:

• • knowledge of, and commitment to Council of Europe’s mandate, values, strategic direction and priorities;
  • knowledge and experience of electoral issues at local and regional levels and related international standards, key challenges and policies, in particular in relation to democratic decision-making;
  • excellent oral and written communication skills, with proven ability to provide high quality, clear and concise presentations, documents, reports and recommendations;
  • sound computer skills (processing electronic information and database inquiry); use of specific documentation management software.

• Operational - Results orientation
• Operational - Concern for quality
• Interpersonal - Service orientation

This vacancy is for a secondment, ruled by Article 23 of . You can consult the conditions of secondment to the Council of Europe (days of leave, allowances etc.) on the webpage . This secondment does not foresee any allowances or travel expenses from the Organisation.

This secondment should start as soon as possible.

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page Our recruitment process of our Career's website. 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). Only applicants who meet the conditions of the Committee of Ministers’ Resolution CM/Res(2012)2) and who best meet the abovementioned criteria will be considered for selection and for the next stage.

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 , 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 .