Local recruitment competition open to applicants already present in Azerbaijan!                              

Job: Senior Project Officer Council of Europe Office in Baku

Project: Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Azerbaijan

Reference: o80/2024

Publication:11/12/2024

Deadline: 30/12/2024

Are you committed to promoting gender equality and combatting violence against women? Would you like to contribute to the activities of an International Organisation working for human rights, democracy and the rule of law? If so, our job offer may be the right opportunity for you.

Who we are                                                                                                                     

With over 2600 staff members representing all its 46 member States, the Council of Europe is a multicultural organisation. We all strive towards protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law and our three core values - professionalism, integrity and respect - guide the way we work.

The Council of Europe has its headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and has external presence in more than twenty countries. See here for more information about the Council of Europe external presence.

The project “Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence in Azerbaijan” is implemented by the Council of Europe and is part of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG III) , a joint co-operation initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe for strengthening good governance in the Eastern Partnership region. The project serves as a roadmap to support Azerbaijani authorities in their efforts to combat gender-based violence and to align national policy instruments with Council of Europe and international standards. To achieve this, the project is raising awareness on gender equality standards in Azerbaijan among various actors. It also seeks to strengthen the capacity of key stakeholders involved in preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, protecting victims, and advancing towards effective coordination among the relevant stakeholders.

Your role                                                                                                                         

As a Senior Project Officer, you will:

• contribute to the efficient functioning of the Council of Europe Office in Baku and inform regularly the Head of the Office and Deputy Head of Office about the implementation of the project and co-ordinate the work within the broader framework of the overall activities of the Council of Europe Office in Baku;
• contribute to the planning, implementation and assessment of the whole project;
• manage the project budget;
• take responsibility of the organisation, co-ordination, implementation and follow-up of project activities, including administrative and contractual aspects, providing expert advice on activities and ensuring timely delivery;
• coordinate, organise and supervise the work of experts and project staff in individual activities/outputs of the work plan;
• establishe and maintain close working contacts with relevant project partners and local stakeholders, international organisations and NGOs dealing with preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence;
• co-ordinate your work within the broader framework of the overall Council of Europe Office action in the country;
• provide substance input on specific activities (providing regular advice to Headquarters about national developments in the thematic area);
• participate in and contribute to meetings between the CoE, CoE experts and national authorities, counterparts, beneficiaries concerning the project and ensure that decisions taken at these meetings are carried out;
• provide assessment of results and achievements and advise the Project Manager about risks and problems encountered; suggest new priorities and adjustments as necessary;
• support headquarters-based staff and short-term consultants when carrying out tasks and missions in the field;
• ensure that decisions and correspondence are properly documented and filed;
• ensure the visibility of the Council of Europe with the beneficiaries by providing input for the website, etc.;
• contribute to the efficient functioning of the Office, in collaboration with the Head of Office and the direct project management;
• undertake official journeys in connection with activities described above.

What we are looking for:                                                                                

You must:

• have completed full course of general secondary education and appropriate professional qualifications in a relevant field (e.g. political science, gender studies, international relations, law, etc.);
• have a minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience in contributing to the implementation of assistance and co-operation projects in the area of human rights and/or gender equality at national or international level;
• have an excellent knowledge of Azerbaijani (mother tongue level) and a very good knowledge of English (one of the two Council of Europe’s official languages);
• 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;
• 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.

Demonstrate to us that you have the following competencies:

• Professional and technical expertise:
  • proven experience in project management and implementation in the framework of international or European technical co-operation programmes, in particular in the fields of human rights and/or women’s rights and gender equality;
  • sound knowledge of women’s rights situation in the country;
  • knowledge of relevant Council of Europe and European standards;
  • knowledge of project management tools (project management methodologies, logframes, risk monitoring, etc);
• • experience in working with authorities at national, regional and/or local levels;
  • sound computer skills of standards tools in office applications (word processing, presentation software, outlook, internet/intranet publications).
• Planning and work organisation
• Analysis and problem solving
• Results orientation
• Concern for quality
• Teamwork and co-operation
• Relationship building
• Initiative
• Please refer to the Competency Framework of the Council of Europe ( – 1,6Mo)

These would be an asset:

• Professional and technical expertise:

higher education degree in relevant field (e.g. political science, gender studies, international relations, law, etc.)

strong academic background and/or a further degree in a relevant subject, such as human rights, gender equality, project management;

• specific knowledge of project management, international standards on combating violence against women and domestic violence;
• Creativity and innovation
• Communication
• Influencing
• Negotiation

What we offer                                                                                                                   

If successful, you may be offered employment based on temporary contracts at grade B5. Employment is limited to 31 December 2025 and may be extended. You will receive a basic monthly gross salary of 3 195.66 € which is exempt from national income tax. This salary may be supplemented by other allowances depending on your personal situation. You will be affiliated to a pension scheme and social and medical insurance. You will also benefit from 32 working days leave per year and other advantages (including flexible working hours, training and development, possibility of teleworking, etc.).

This recruitment procedure 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.

If your profile matches our needs and you are not recruited straight away, you may be placed on a list of eligible candidates.

Applications and selection procedure                                                                                  

Deadline for applications is 30 December 2024 (midnight Central European Time). If you are interested in the position, please fill out the application form in English providing all requested details, explain how your competencies make you the best candidate for this role and send the requested form in PDF format to this email address: [email protected]. Please put the reference number o80/2024 in the subject of the email. Only applications received in the requested format will be processed.

Only applications that best meet the abovementioned criteria, and that demonstrate the best profile in terms of qualifications, experience, and motivation, shall be considered for the next stages of the recruitment evaluation process, which may consist of different types of assessment. Further information on the assessment process will be provided to the selected people in due course.

Applications from staff members of the Council of Europe, who currently hold a fixed-term (CDD) contract or former staff members whose fixed-term contract has ended less than 12 months before the deadline for applications, will not be considered.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve 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. During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures shall be taken to facilitate access for people with disabilities.