Policy Advisor - Culture and Cultural Heritage

Within the Directorate for Democracy, you will work with the team of the Division on culture and heritage for democracy of the Council of Europe Secretariat which is responsible for the implementation of the Council of Europe sub-programme in the field of culture and cultural heritage.

As a policy advisor on culture and cultural heritage policies, programmes and projects you will contribute to the work of the Council of Europe intergovernmental Steering Committee on Culture and Cultural Heritage (CDCULT), in particular in the field of culture, and will act notably to: 

• provide high quality advice on, develop, manage and implement standard-setting and other type of activities and events of the Division in the field of culture in line with the Council of Europe sub-Programme of 2026-2027 on culture and cultural heritage, particularly but not exclusively in the field of the protection of the freedom of artistic expression, cultural rights and policies;
• contribute, prepare and participate in the plenary sessions, including thematic debates, Bureau meetings, working groups and other meetings of the CDCULT;
• administrate and implement specific culture and cultural heritage projects, including prospection work, the development of new projects and fundraising;
• collect and analyse information, carry out background studies and research, and provide policy-relevant analysis to support evidence-based decision-making;
• liaise, as appropriate, with Council of Europe organs, external partners, cultural, civil society institutions, actors and experts in the field of culture and develop internal and external networks and communities; 
• advise and assist on internal and external visibility of the sector; draft communication outputs and ensure visibility of the work carried out by the Council of Europe on culture and cultural heritage (publications, press releases, articles for the website).

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, social, cultural, law or human rights studies;
• have a minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of Culture or Cultural Heritage policies and international cooperation;
• have a very good knowledge of one of the Council of Europe’s two official languages (English or French) and be willing to learn the other once in post;
• be a citizen of one of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe.

• Managerial - Vision and Strategic Insight
• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Drafting skills
• Operational - Results orientation
• Interpersonal - Communication

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • knowledge of national, international and European cultural standards and policies;
  • knowledge of management of standard setting processes and/or projects in the field of culture;
  • knowledge of international and European cultural landscape and its main actors.

• Managerial - Organisational and contextual awareness
• Operational - Creativity and innovation
• Interpersonal - Relationship building

• Professional and technical expertise: 
  • specific knowledge of the Council of Europe and other international organisations (UNESCO, EU) policies in the field of culture and cultural heritage.

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 foresees the relocation allowance and the travel expenses from the Organisation as indicated in Article 23 of the Resolution.

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 .