Senior Policy and Project Officer

Job description – Senior Policy and Project Officer – Rural Integration

Type of Appointment: Fixed term employment contract (24 months, project-funded)

Place of assignment: ICMC Europe, Brussels, Belgium

Job Title: Senior Policy and Project Officer – Rural Integration

Closing date for applications: October 28, 2020

Start date: As soon as possible – no later than December 1, 2020

Duration: 24 months, with possibilities of extension.

COVID-19: The ICMC Europe office has recently re-opened ensuring social distancing and hygienic standards. At the present moment, flexible office presence (30-50%) will be required, in addition to working online. As of January, policies will be re-assessed – maintaining possibilities for working remotely.

Goals and responsibilities:

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an internationally operating non‐governmental organisation that serves and protects uprooted people: refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. The ICMC Europe office in Brussels supports ICMC Headquarters, follows EU policymaking in the area of asylum, migration and integration, advocates for better and more inclusive EU policymaking and funding, and implements projects financed by the EU and other donors.

In 2020 and early 2021, ICMC Europe is beginning a new project cycle, focused on refugee and migrant integration and inclusion in rural areas and on private sponsorship. Projects will be implemented in the framework of the SHARE Network, an EU-wide initiative led by ICMC Europe since 2012. The projects are implemented in collaboration with civil society and institutional partners across the EU, with a particular focus on France for refugee and migrant integration and inclusion in rural areas, and also include a substantial programme of advocacy, communications and capacity building events and activities at EU level (taking place in Brussels or virtually).

ICMC Europe seeks a Senior Policy and Project Officer – Rural Integration to conduct policy analysis, research, mapping, and advocacy on refugee and migrant integration in rural areas of the EU, and to ensure smooth implementation of two projects related to the topic.

Specific tasks:

The Policy and Project Officer will work under the supervision of the ICMC Head of Office and will be responsible for:

Policy Analysis, Research, and Advocacy

• Closely monitor policy developments (national and EU-level) and initiatives related to migrant and refugee integration and inclusion, especially in rural areas.

• Build and maintain relationships with partners across Europe to follow developments on the ground related to integration in rural areas (i.e. identifying promising practices and common challenges, mapping programme outcomes, etc.).

• Draft policy documents and policy-focused communications outputs (policy briefs, talking points, presentations, newsletters, etc.) related to migrant and refugee integration and other related topics.

• Work with partners to facilitate research and develop publications related to rural integration and other related topics.

• Develop and coordinate capacity building events in selected regions.

Project Management

• Serve as the primary contact point to coordinate with the project’s partners and other external actors located in different European countries.

• Support coordination of grant administration and reporting in line with grant requirements (in cooperation with ICMC Europe finance and administration staff).

• Promote the project through outreach to stakeholders and development of communications materials and representation at external events, as needed.

Support to ICMC Europe Overall

• Facilitate strong linkages with other ICMC projects and overall ICMC advocacy efforts.

• Excellent network building skills.

• Other tasks as needed and required.

Requirements:

• Excellent policy analysis skills. Interest in and knowledge of the EU policy context with regards to refugee, migration, asylum and social inclusion issues is required; familiarity with rural integration and/or integration systems and policies in France is preferred.
• Highly organized and experienced with project and budget management. Experience managing transnational EU-funded projects preferred.
• Fluent written and oral communication skills in French. Very strong written and oral communication skills in English (good command of other languages highly preferred).
• Able to work proactively in a small office environment.
• Personal qualities and experience including a refugee or migrant background, a strong commitment to social justice and human rights, experience volunteering with migrants or refugees, etc. will be taken into consideration alongside formal educational and professional experience.
• 5-9 years of proven professional experience in migration and integration field.

Languages: Fluent French required; excellent English; good command of other languages (especially Spanish) preferred.

Salary: Salary offered in line with salary scale of other international NGO’s in Belgium