Events officer

The Joint Secretariat (JS) of the URBACT III programme is recruiting an Events Officer.  This is a new temporary (15 months) position within the Capitalisation & Communication unit.
The current vacancy is a temporary support due to a peak of activity notably for programme events. The person will work under the supervision of the Head of Unit, and in close cooperation with other colleagues to deliver several major events, in particular:
–    A ‘training’ style event (summer university-style) for 500 participants, mainly city and local partners of URBACT financing. This event will take place early 2022, in mainly digital format
–    A large public communication event, URBACT City Festival, for at least 500 participants. This open event will share the results of URBACT III networks and launch the URBACT IV programme. This event is part of the official events of the French Presidency of the EU 2022. The event will take place in June 2022, provisionally in-person.

1.    ABOUT THE URBACT III PROGRAMME

URBACT is a European Territorial Cooperation programme (ETC), financed by the European Regional Development Fund and national contributions of 28 Member and 2 Partner States (Switzerland and Norway). It is a European exchange programme promoting sustainable and integrated urban development in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. URBACT enables European cities to work together to develop effective and sustainable solutions to major urban challenges.

The total budget eligible budget of URBACT III is 96.3 M€.
The URBACT III programme is structured around 4 specific objectives:
1)    To improve the capacity of cities to manage sustainable urban policies and practices in an integrated and participatory way.
2)    To improve the design of sustainable urban strategies and action plans in cities
3)    To improve the implementation of integrated strategies and action plans for sustainable urban development.
4)    To ensure that practitioners and decision-makers at all levels (EU, national, regional and local) have increased access to URBACT thematic knowledge and share know-how on all aspects of sustainable urban development in order to improve urban policies

The URBACT III programme promotes capacity building to enable practitioners and decision-makers in European cities to improve the design and implementation of urban development policies and to find solutions to the urban challenges they face. The programme is about sharing know-how, learning, networking and exchanging good practices for a more sustainable urban development in Europe.
The activities of the URBACT III programme are organised around 3 main strands:
•    Transnational networking: To support cities with the design and implementation of integrated urban strategies, building on mutual learning and the transfer of good practices.
•    Capacity building: To enhance the capacity of urban players to develop integrated and participatory approaches to the design and delivery of urban policies.
•    Capitalisation & Communication: To build and share knowledge, practices and recommendations and inform the design and delivery of sustainable urban policies at local, regional, national and EU level.

More information is available at www.urbact.eu

2.    ABOUT ANRU – AGENCE NATIONALE POUR LA RÉNOVATION URBAINE

State-owned public and industrial organisation of about 110 people, ANRU supports the implementation of national urban renewal programmes (PNRU) and the national programme for the redevelopment of deprived areas (PNRQAD). In addition, the ANRU is responsible, in the name of and accountable to the French State, for the implementation of the programmes and actions of investments in the future (Internships of excellence and success / Development of the scientific, technical and industrial culture / Innovative projects for youth / Sustainable and inclusive city, environmental excellence of urban renewal). It is also in charge of managing the URBACT programme.

3.    THE CAPITALISATION & COMMUNICATION UNIT IN THE URBACT SECRETARIAT

The daily implementation of the URBACT programme is carried out by its Joint Secretariat under the responsibility of its Managing Authority (French General Secretariat for Territorial Equality) and in line with the decisions taken by the Monitoring Committee.
The Joint Secretariat is composed of three units.

The capitalisation & communication unit has the responsibility to strengthen the coordination between capitalisation and communication/dissemination activities in order to facilitate access for practitioners and decision makers at all levels to knowledge and know-how on integrated and sustainable urban development. It is responsible therefore for the implementation of the specific objective 4 of the programme. The unit is comprised of the Head of Unit, one Communication Officer, one Partnership Officer and one Capitalisation & Communication Officer.

A/ Job description

1.    Event organisation
–    Support the Communication team in coordinating the organisation and delivery of major communications events as outlined above;
–    Project manage the organisation of the URBACT ‘University’ in strong collaboration with the Capacity-Building Officer, and with the support of an external events agency
–    Project manage the URBACT City Festival organisation in strong collaboration with the Communication & Capitalisation Officer and the support of an external events agency
–    Identify suitable digital formats responding to the needs identified should the event be digital
–    Coordinate and follow up the organisation, logistics, graphic identity, internal and external communication
–    Assist the JS staff with the organisation of events related to specific strands of activities (especially related to Networking –e.g. Trainings for beneficiaries; Capacity-building –e.g. National training seminars and Summer universities; Capitalisation –e.g. Launch events for publications);
–    designing communication campaigns for activities;

2.    Programme implementation
–    Liaise closely with the Communication & Capitalisation Officer and with the Partnerships Officer in the development of activities;
–    Contribute to the preparation, implementation and follow up of the decisions of the URBACT III Monitoring Committee related to communication activities;
–    Assist the Head of Unit in monitoring the Programme budget and performance indicators;
–    Contribute to the production of the annual implementation reports in accordance with European Commission requirements;

B/ Profile requirements (qualification, skills and abilities)

Qualifications & experience
•    A degree in a field relevant to URBACT communication activities or in a domain pertinent for the position
•    Confirmed experience in organizing large-scale events, preferably in an international environment
•    Experience using online meeting tools for professional purposes
•    Project management experience, coordinating external suppliers
•    Experience in another EU programme would be an advantage, as well as knowledge of EU communication rules, EU institutions

Skills and abilities
•    Fluency in English and French (both written and spoken); other EU languages appreciated.
•    Excellent communications skills (both oral and written);
•    Excellent event project management skills
•    Knowledge of traditional and digital communication tools
•    Basic graphic design skills (Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) and ability to produce in-house graphics a plus;
•    Capacity to effectively interact with a multiplicity of stakeholders including policy makers, senior civil servants and service providers;
•    Ability to handle multiple tasks and deadlines, and work well with others in a fast-paced environment. Should be able to organise and prioritise own work with limited supervision;
•    Attention to details;
•    Available for frequent travels across Europe, subject to public health restrictions.

C/ Additional information

Confidentiality
Candidates are reminded that the selection process is confidential. All enquiries or requests for information or documentation in relation to the selection should be addressed to the address referred below. Candidates are asked to report any potential change of contact information in writing without delay.

Equal Opportunities
Equal opportunities policy without distinction on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation will be applied.

Salary
This position is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The employment is foreseen on a full-time basis. The salary shall be fixed according to the professional experience of the candidate starting from €2,800 gross per month.

Employer
URBACT staff are employed by ANRU, the French National Agency for Urban Renewal. The contract will be a private contract under French law.

Working place
The working place will be Paris (France):

URBACT Secretariat
Agence Nationale pour la Cohésion des Territoires
20, Avenue de Ségur
75007 Paris

Contract starting date and duration
Working at the Joint Secretariat should start in June 2021. The contract is a fixed-term contract. The trial period duration is one month.

Submission of Applications
Interested candidates are invited to send their applications in English, including a Curriculum Vitae (Europass format), and a cover letter outlining their relevant experience, what motivates them for the job and first considerations for organising a large-scale training event online.
Supporting documents such as diplomas or references might be requested on demand.
Applications should be sent by email to Nuala Morgan, Head of Unit – Capitalisation and Communication [email protected] and Thierry Picquart, Head of Unit – Administration and Coordination [email protected]

Applications closing date and recruitment process
o    Closing date for applications: 6th May 2021 midnight (CET).
The URBACT Secretariat reserves the right to close the recruitment process before the deadline depending on the applications received.
o    Online and/or face-to-face interviews will be organised with short-listed candidates.