Programme Manager - Violence Against Women

The team within which you will work, the Violence Against Women Division, supports the implementation of the Istanbul Convention by coordinating the monitoring work of GREVIO and the Committee of the Parties, including preparing country evaluations, organising evaluation visits, and drafting reports. It provides expertise, research, and policy guidance, facilitates co-operation with the parties to the convention and other relevant stakeholders, and ensures synergies across Council of Europe bodies and international partners to strengthen efforts to end violence against women and domestic violence.

The Violence Against Women Division is seeking the secondment of a Programme Manager to join its committed team working to advance the implementation of the Istanbul Convention. To this end, it seeks an experienced professional with knowledge in the field of violence against women/gender equality, international human rights law and/or European Union law to provide strategic and policy advice, to support the monitoring process of GREVIO, and to contribute to intergovernmental co-operation and stakeholder engagement aimed at ending violence against women and domestic violence.

As a Programme Manager, you will:

• support the Group of Experts on Action Against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) in its evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) in the parties, including by researching, compiling and analysing information on its implementation, identifying relevant stakeholders, planning, organising and carrying out evaluation visits, and on this basis drawing up draft GREVIO evaluation reports;
• draft working documents as necessary for meetings of the Committee of the Parties and GREVIO;
• maintain close working contacts with representatives of parties to the Istanbul Convention, international governmental organisations, NGOs, specialised institutes etc. dealing with combating violence against women, including by representing the Council of Europe in conferences and seminars; 
• cooperate with other Council of Europe committees, bodies and divisions active in combating violence against women and in promoting the Convention.

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

• Professional and technical expertise:

• experience in the field of violence against women or gender equality, at national, regional or international levels, including intersectional policies;
• ability to plan complex projects, draft documents and deliver presentations in areas related to women;

• Operational - Results orientation
• Operational - Concern for quality

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • strong background in gender issues, advocacy or work in public administration, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, women networks and organisations or other relevant structures.

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 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 [email protected], 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 [email protected].