Communications Officer

Purpose of the position

CECOP – CICOPA Europe, the European Confederation of cooperatives active in industry and

services, is looking for a dynamic and motivated Communications Officer, to join a small team based in Brussels.

CECOP was founded in 1979 in Manchester, and its permanent secretariat was established in
1982 in Brussels. Today, it associates 27 member organizations in 15 European countries, which in turn affiliate approximately 50,000 enterprises employing over 1,3 million workers. CECOP also hosts and manages the secretariat of CICOPA, the global organisation of cooperatives active in industry and services and a sectoral organisation of the International Cooperative Alliance.

CECOP is the voice of its members, mainly vis-à-vis European institutions, as well as other European-level organisations. Beside advocacy and promotion of cooperatives in industry and services, a crucial role of CECOP is also to facilitate networking, information exchange and entrepreneurial development for its members.

The Communications Officer will be in charge of the design and implementation of the overall communications strategy of CECOP and CICOPA. The position covers both internal and external communications throughout the use of different platforms. We are looking for a motivated person willing to work in an international environment, able to work independently but also in close collaboration with other colleagues. The successful candidate might be required to travel occasionally.

CECOP has a dynamic and multicultural team of 5 full-time employees and 2 part time collaborators, with very complementary job profiles.

You can find more information about CECOP and CICOPA here:
www.cecop.coop

www.cicopa.coop

Main tasks and responsibilities

 Plan and implement the overall communications strategy for CECOP (Europe) and CICOPA (world level);

 Ensure the visibility of the two organizations and image positioning in collaboration with the other members of the staff;

 Coordinate and animate the CICOPA communications working group among the communications officers of our member organisations;

 Draft press releases, articles and other media materials and ensure their targeted distribution

 Overall management of the institutional websites together with ongoing campaigns

 Manage the e-magazine “Work Together” edited in English, Spanish and French;

 Edit the internal newsletters to members;

 ManageCECOP and CICOPA social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube);

 Coordinate and produce communications tools and materials (reports, publications,

leaflets, videos, event materials etc);

 Manage the relationships with journalists and media inquiries

 Provide communication support for events (conferences, statutory meetings, fairs, etc)

Candidate’s profile

 University degree in communications, journalism or related field;

 A previous experience of minimum 3 years as a communications officer;

 Previous experience in a European or international organization is an asset;

 Excellent spoken and written English and Spanish skills (English is CECOP’s and CICOPA’s main working language, Spanish is CICOPA’s second language) ;

 Good working knowledge of French and basic working knowledge of Italian or Portuguese an asset;

 Computer literacy (Microsoft Office, online meeting softwares etc.);

 Management of design and edition programs (Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere, etc.) and video-editing softwares are an asset;

 Capacity to organize one’s work agenda autonomously and proactively, managing multiple deadlines with consistency and accuracy;

 Adaptability to different environments with an international and multicultural mindset, and availability to travel;

 Positive attitude, resistance to stress, ability to show flexibility and capacity to work in a team;

 Interest and/or experience in the cooperative movement an added value.

What we offer

We are looking for a candidate available to join our team on September 1 2017. We will offer a full-time, open-ended contract.

Applicants should send their CV and motivation letter by e-mail to Leire Luengo, Communications Officer (leire.luengo@cecop.coop) by 25 July 2017. In the subject line of your email please indicate your name and “Communications Officer Application.” The CECOP offices are located in Brussels. We offer public transport costs within the Brussels region and meal vouchers.