The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is an international public interest law organisation defending and promoting the human rights of Roma across Europe.

The ERRC pursues its goals through strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and policy development, and training. Established in 1996 and based in Budapest, the ERRC as a Hungarian foundation has an international Board of Directors, employs approximately 20 staff, as well as consultants and interns, and has an annual budget of over EUR 2.5 million. For more information, see the ERRC website: http://www.errc.org

The PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR (PD) develops and implements, with relevant staff, the research and policy, advocacy and human rights education work of the organisation. The PD ensures informed and timely action on all advocacy issues related to Roma rights and guarantees the production of high quality advocacy materials.

The main duties of the post-holder include:

· In cooperation with the Executive Director and senior staff, developing and refining a policy and advocacy strategy for the organisation, including research and human rights education components

· Supervising the implementation of this strategy

· Ensuring high quality and timely delivery of programmes department work in accordance with the strategy and annual work programme

· Contributing to ERRC budgeting and annual work programme design

· Overseeing programmes department budget and grant project budgets for which programmes department has primary responsibility

· Staying abreast of developments in human rights and Roma rights, at domestic and international levels

· Coordinating policy input to all ERRC published materials, including reports, press releases and letters of concern

In specific the position’s tasks cover the following programmes areas:

Research, policy analysis:

· Analysing the situation concerning Roma in Europe and advising the Executive Director in taking appropriate advocacy measures

· Determining the focus of research work and developing the research programme according to the organization’s strategy

· Liaising with qualified professionals as relevant to ensure informed policy responses

· Overseeing the production of thematic and country-specific reports, ERRC journals and newsletters

Human rights training and other capacity building:

· Supervising the development and implementation of capacity building/human rights training activities of the organisation, including the Roma internship program

Advocacy:

· Designing and undertaking advocacy work directed at domestic and international bodies

· Determining the focus of advocacy work and developing the advocacy programme according to the organizational strategy

· Liaising and building partnerships with relevant stakeholders to maximise the impact of ERRC advocacy work.

· Coordinating the submission of policy statements to intergovernmental structures and instruments concerning Roma

· Representing the organisation in domestic and international fora

Cooperation with legal department:

· Ensuring information flow between programmes and legal departments

· Working with legal department to plan and execute joint activities, in particular on advocacy and implementation of significant court decisions

· Where appropriate, incorporating a litigation component into programmes department research and reporting

Project development and supervision:

· Proposing project activities

· With the Operations Director, coordinating project-specific fundraising

· Overseeing project activities and project management

· With the Operations Director, coordinating donor reporting

Management:

· Supervising the staff of the programmes department

· Undertaking performance evaluations of programmes department staff

· In consultation with the Executive Director and Finance Manager, creating the budget for the programmes department and overseeing and approving expenditures from that budget

Other:

· Contributing articles to ERRC publications and periodicals as appropriate

· Facilitating constructive work relations with relevant stakeholders

· Other tasks as requested by Executive Director

Essential Requirements:

Strong commitment to promotion of Roma rights;
Proven record of leadership in complex environments, coordination skills and initiative in fulfilling the goals of the organisation;
Superior analytic ability;
Independent judgment;
Familiarity with international and European human rights law and advocacy, the European political context and the position of Roma, with special reference to Central and Eastern Europe;
Familiarity with existing EU and member-state Roma policies and integration initiatives;
Proven ability to lead a culturally diverse team of highly-skilled individuals;
Strong administrative and budgetary skills;
First-class drafting skills including an ability to write clearly and concisely;
Fluency in oral and written English;
Excellent networking skills;
Willingness to travel as required inside and outside Europe

Further advantages:

Broad involvement in the work of human rights institutions at the international, European and national level
Fluency in other languages of Eastern Europe and/or Romanes
A mixture of experience in non-governmental and other settings
Knowledge of the principles and techniques of grant administration
Salary and Benefits:

The remuneration level shall be commensurate with experience, from annual level of 52.000 – up to 58.000 € (paid in HUF) plus benefits.

Applicants should send a letter of interest (up to 500 words) indicating why they are ideally qualified for the position, a full CV, and the names of two referees who may be contacted before interviews are held to the address indicated below. Candidates are encouraged to submit their documents in electronic form.

Application deadline: 15 June 2009.

ERRC – Programmes Director Position Search
PO Box 906/93
H-1386 Budapest 62
Hungary
Fax: (36 1) 41 32 201
csilla.farkas@errc.org