Programme Manager On Freedom of Expression

**General Information**:
**Vacancy number**
- 1063/2025

**Recruitment type**
- Secondment

**Posted date**
- 26-Sep-2025

**Deadline to apply**
- 03-Nov-2025

**Duty station**
- Strasbourg

**Entity**
- Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity (DGII)

**Description & Requirements**:
**Your Team**

The team within which you will work, the Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression, supports Council of Europe member States in strengthening policies, legislation, and capacities on freedom of expression, media, and access to information, in line with the European standards. It collaborates with governments, media regulators, judiciary and law enforcement, media actors, civil society and international bodies. The division is advising on policies and legal frameworks, providing capacity building and awareness-raising in such areas as media freedom, pluralism and transparency, enhancing media literacy and countering disinformation, ensuring journalist safety, countering SLAPPs and strengthening public service media and regulatory authorities.

**Your Role**

As a Programme Manager, you will:

- Support the development and implementation of new projects addressing freedom of expression and countering disinformation;
- Contribute to the preparation of policy advice and legal opinions, conduct research in the relevant areas or work, e.g. information integrity;
- Support the development of the division’s new training materials and policy advices;
- Help in organising international events and activities, while ensuring synergies with relevant divisions and standard-setting committees within the Organisation;
- Support the Head of Division in providing various contributions related to freedom of expression, media, countering disinformation and access to information;
- Contribute to the external visibility of the division, such as help in drafting texts for the website and social media;
- Establish and maintain regular contacts with partners and beneficiaries as well as with the appropriate external offices;
- Undertake official journeys in connection with your duties;
- Perform any other tasks related to the implementation of the projects and division’s activities as requested.

**Requirements to apply**

You must:

- have the support of the member State seconding you to the Council of Europe;
- higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master’s degree (**2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area**) in law, political science, media or other relevant fields;
- have at least five years of relevant professional experience related to democracy, media, audiovisual and communications sectors and/or project management;
- have a very good written and spoken knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English); knowledge of the other (French) would be an asset;
- be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe.

**Key competencies**
- Managerial - Vision and Strategic Insight
- Managerial - Organisational and contextual awareness
- Operational - Planning and work organisation
- Operational - Creativity and innovation
- Operational - Drafting skills
- Professional and technical expertise:

- Experience in project management;
- Knowledge of the issues related to information integrity, freedom of media, democracy, civil society.

**Desirable competencies**
- Interpersonal - Teamwork and co-operation
- Interpersonal - Resilience
- Professional and technical expertise:

- Knowledge of the European standards in the area of media freedom;
- Knowledge of the issues and main developments relating to disinformation, digital platforms, AI;
- Experience of working in or with communications, media, government, international projects and grants.

**What we offer**

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.

**Applications and selection procedure**

**Important information