Head of the Protocol and Public Relations Department

The Protocol and Public Relations Department advises and assists the Organisation as a whole, as well as representatives of member states, observers and candidate states on matters related to protocol, official events, privileges and immunities, public relations, and visits to the Council of Europe, as well as relations with host countries, in particular with France. 

The Department is composed of sixteen staff – nine working on Protocol matters and seven on Public Relations.

As Head of the Protocol and Public Relations Department, you will:

• lead the team, ensuring high performance and the delivery of top-quality protocol and public relations services, manage the human and financial resources allocated to the department, guaranteeing effective and efficient processes;
• steer the organisation of official visits, including those of Heads of State or Government, members of Government and other dignitaries, ceremonies and official hospitality events, in particular on the occasion of summits, as well as ministerial sessions and other high-level events in Strasbourg and elsewhere;
• provide advice on all protocol-related issues to relevant stakeholders, including rules and guidelines for ceremonies and diplomatic protocol; manage the diplomatic privileges and immunities of the Council of Europe, its staff and members of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Organisation; collaborate with the authorities of the host country, in particular the Protocol of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and local authorities, regarding privileges, immunities and other matters of mutual interest;
• develop and maintain strategic relationships with institutional partners, Permanent Representations of the Council of Europe, international organisations, civil society actors and other stakeholders, in order to broaden the Organisation's reach and influence;
• ensure the smooth management of visitor and public relations-related activities and services through:
  • the development and implementation of comprehensive public relations strategies to enhance the visibility of the Council of Europe and raise awareness about its missions and activities, in coordination with the Private Office of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General and the Media Department;
  • the monitoring of public relations indicators and analysis of visitor experience to evaluate impact and drive improvements;
• promote Council of Europe values internally and externally.

You must:

• hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree (2nd cycle of the ) in international relations, public relations, law, political science or a related field;

The degree requirement may be waived if the candidate has at least 15 years of the experience described below;

• demonstrate at least 10 years' experience in roles of increasing responsibility (including at a senior level) in protocol matters, particularly diplomatic protocol, involving dealings with high-ranking officials, preferably in a governmental or international organisation; experience in public relations would be an asset;
• have proven and relevant management experience, including team leadership and development;
• have a very good knowledge of both Council of Europe's official languages (English and French); knowledge of other European languages would be an advantage.

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.

• Managerial - Organisational and contextual awareness
• Managerial - Leadership
• Managerial - Management of teams
• Interpersonal - Service orientation
• Interpersonal - Relationship building

• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Interpersonal - Communication
• Interpersonal - Resilience

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 .

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page . This recruitment is carried out in accordance with Article 490 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 , 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 .