Project Officer

The Council of Europe Office in Chisinau assists the authorities in fulfilling their membership commitments and obligations, supports legislative and other reforms, provides expertise in the Organisation’s fields of competence, develops effective training programmes or implements activities such as thematic campaigns.

You will be part of the team implementing the Project “Improving electoral practice in the Republic of Moldova (IEPRM), 2025-2028” within the Parliamentary and Electoral Cooperation Division of the Secretariat of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).

This 48-month project, which started in January 2025, aims to strengthen the integrity, transparency, professionalism and inclusiveness of electoral processes, and align Moldovan electoral legislation and practices with European standards.

As a Project Officer, you will:

• assist with planning, organisation, co-ordination, implementation and follow-up of the project activities in accordance with the project workplans, in close co-ordination with the Project Manager and under supervision of the Project Supervisor in the Council of Europe headquarters (HQ), as well as the Head and Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau;
• ensure quality and relevance of the project activities and outputs, suggest adjustments as necessary; 
• contribute to the preparation and drafting of project documents, including work plans, project reports, terms of reference for various contractual engagements, briefings, speaking notes, relevant meeting documents, minutes, mission reports; ensure editing documents prepared in English and in Romanian;
• assist with the budgetary follow-up of all project expenditure in accordance with Council of Europe regulations and procedures; 
• liaise with the representatives of national and local authorities, civil society and the international partners working on the ground with a view to implementing the project; 
• assist in coordinating and supervising the work of consultants and experts when carrying out tasks and missions in the field or in HQ, providing organisational and content-related assistance; 
• participate in and contribute to meetings between the CoE, CoE experts and national authorities / counterparts / beneficiaries concerning the project; 
• contribute to selection of service providers, negotiate and prepare contracts, grants in consultation with the Project Manager, management of the Office and HQ; 
• contribute to enhancing the visibility of the project by drafting web news items, press releases, by disseminating information and providing advice and input on publications; 
• undertake official journeys in connection with your duties;
• perform any other tasks related to the implementation of the project as requested; 
• promote the Council of Europe values internally and externally.

You must:

• hold a completed full course of general secondary education and appropriate professional qualifications in one of the following fields: law, public administration, international relations, political sciences or related field;

• have a minimum of four years of relevant professional experience in the fields of elections, public administration, policy implementation, as well as experience in project management/implementation of technical cooperation or policy-oriented programmes at international and/or national level;
• have excellent knowledge of Romanian (first language level) and a very good knowledge of English (one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe);
• be a citizen of the host country or one of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe and fulfil the conditions for appointment to the civil service of that state;
• be present in the Republic of Moldova;
• 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 competency framework.

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

• Professional and technical expertise:

• experience in project management, implementation of technical cooperation projects, or policy-oriented initiatives; 
• knowledge of project management tools (e.g., logframes, risk monitoring, PM methodologies);
• ICT skills: sound computer skills and experience with standard office applications (word processing, presentations, outlook, spreadsheets, canva, internet publications).

• Operational - Results orientation
• Interpersonal - Resilience

• Professional and technical expertise:

• knowledge of Council of Europe and international standards relating to electoral rights, the rule of law and/or public administration.

This job vacancy is for a local external recruitment based on temporary contracts. Employment is limited to 31 December of the current year and may be extended. You can consult the conditions of employment (salaries, allowances, pension scheme, social insurance etc.) on the webpage What we offer.

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page Our recruitment process. This recruitment is carried out in accordance with Rule No. 1234 laying down the conditions of recruitment and employment of locally recruited staff members working in Council of Europe Duty Stations located outside of France. 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 [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].