Policy Advisor on Children's Rights

You will work in the Children’s Rights Division within the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity of the Council of Europe. The Division elaborates recommendations and guidelines, carries out co-operation projects, and identifies and shares good practices on how to better implement Council of Europe standards. The Division is responsible for the implementation of the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child and the work of the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF). The upcoming priorities contain activities on child friendly justice, freedom from violence for all children, and children’s rights and technologies. 

As a Policy Advisor, you will:

• contribute to the activities of the Children’s Rights Division by providing analysis with a view to implementing the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022 – 2027);
• Support the work of the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) and its relevant subordinate bodies by advising on and critically analysing matters related to violence against children, child-friendly justice, child participation, and safe use of technologies for all children, including the implications of artificial intelligence and the metaverse; 
• coordinate and supervise the work of external experts and teams of consultants;  
• organise and actively participate in conferences, seminars, study visits and capacity building activities; 
• enhance internal and external visibility of the programme and facilitate the dissemination of its results (drafting of speeches, issue papers, presentations, factsheets, website pages);
• prepare draft agendas, working documents, memoranda, mission and meeting reports, supervise logistics and preparation of awareness-raising materials, manage consultants or interns to ensure effective delivery of results; 
• contribute to the development of cooperation projects in the area of the rights of the child; 
• collaborate and build synergies with other operational sectors of the Council of Europe regarding other programmes or activities on various aspects of children’s rights, and follow activities of other institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations active in the same field;
• promote Human Rights and Council of Europe values internally and externally;
• follows developments and keeps abreast of new ideas and concepts regarding children’s rights.

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 masters degree (2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area), preferably in law, political science, or international relations with a focus on the rights of the child;
• have at least 3 years of relevant professional or higher academic work experience in the area of the rights of the child with proven experience, knowledge and practical understanding of the international standards and challenges in their implementation at national, regional or international levels;
• have very good knowledge of one of the Council of Europe’s official languages (English or French) and good knowledge of the other (French or English);
• be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe.

• Operational - Professional and technical expertise
• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Drafting skills
• Operational - Results orientation
• Operational - Concern for quality

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • knowledge and work experience of children’s rights, particularly in connection with digital technologies, including artificial intelligence;
  • ability to communicate and draft clearly, concisely and convincingly in English or in French.

• Interpersonal - Relationship building
• Interpersonal - Initiative

This vacancy is for a secondment, ruled by Article 23 of Committee of Ministers’ Resolution CM/Res(2012)2. You can consult the conditions of secondment to the Council of Europe (days of leave, allowances etc.) on the webpage What we offer. 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 talents@coe.int, 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 talents@coe.int.