Internship – EU Advocacy Assistant - NRC Europe

Brussels

Organization: NRC - Norwegian Refugee Council
Location: Brussels
Grade: Internship - Internship
Occupational Groups:
- Administrative support
- Communication and Public Information
- Emergency Aid and Response
Closing Date: Closed

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation providing assistance, protection and long-term solutions to displaced persons worldwide. NRC is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and has operations in over 30 countries, as well as representation offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Dubai, Geneva, London and Washington.

NRC’s representation in Brussels was established in 2005 in order to strengthen the existing relationship between NRC and the European Union. NRC Europe’s main role is to support NRC’s country programmes in their collaboration with the EU institutions by improving communication with EU donors, and by providing evidenced based policy analysis on issues affecting refugees and displaced persons to decision makers in the EU.

Job description

Position: Internship – EU Advocacy Assistant
Reports to: EU Advocacy Advisers
Duty station: Brussels
Travel: Occasional if required
Duration and
type of contract: 6 month full-time paid internship

Generic responsibilities

Support the EU Advocacy Advisers by conducting research into relevant EU foreign, humanitarian and development policies, analysing opportunities for policy change in the EU, and assisting with advocacy and communication tasks.

Specific responsibilities

• Support the advisers by monitoring and preparing notes, briefings and updates on EU institutions and Member States’ humanitarian and development policies and activities;
• Conduct background research on relevant EU policies and activities, and analyse official EU documents;
• Attend relevant meetings organised by the EU, Member States and NGOs to draft notes and advocate in accordance with NRC’s positions;
• Assist in the organisation of events and meetings, including contacting EU and Member States’ officials;
• Assist in preparing meetings in Brussels for visiting field-based colleagues, including conducting research on EU policies towards those countries and drafting briefing notes;
• Assist in the distribution of reports, updates and briefs from the field to EU interlocutors;
• Manage and update NRC Europe’s contact database.

Qualifications

Generic professional competencies:

• University degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field such as international relations, European affairs, humanitarian assistance, international development, political science or advocacy.
• Fluency in English, knowledge of other EU languages (French in particular) is an asset
• Fully computer literate

Context/Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Good knowledge of EU institutions and EU policy
• Demonstrable interest in refugee and/or humanitarian issues
• Eligible to work in Belgium
• Previous NGO or advocacy experience desirable

Personal qualities

Behavioural competencies

• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Organizational skills including the ability to multitask, prioritize and work efficiently with limited supervision
• Comfortable in a multicultural professional and/or NGO environment
• Commitment to humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence

We offer

• Contract: Belgian “Social immersion professional contract”, with 13th month, meal cheques and transport allowance included.
• Contract period: 11th September 2017 – 10th March 2018 (negotiable)
• Deadline for applications: 15th July 2017
• Please note that only applications received through Webcruiter will be considered.