Policy and Advocacy Officer

Call for Policy and Advocacy Officer

TGEU is looking for a full-time (100%, 40h/week) Policy and Advocacy Officer starting February 2025. This will be a critical position within TGEU’s policy and programmatic work. The initial period is 12 months, with the possibility of extension, subject to funding.

The work location is either Berlin, Germany, or Brussels, Belgium, and frequent travel, including between both locations, will be required.

Closing date

Background

TGEU is a member-based organisation working primarily in Europe and Central Asia for the rights and lives of trans people. TGEU’s mission is to strengthen the rights and wellbeing of trans people in Europe and Central Asia and represents 200+ member organisations in 50 countries.

Job description

Trans people across Europe and Central Asia remain at an increased risk of violence, discrimination, criminalisation, and detention. Particularly, trans sex workers, migrants, refugees, unemployed, homeless, and other marginalised groups have to fight a continuous mix of systematic and individual oppression. TGEU commits to centring their voices and experiences when working to advance the rights of trans people and fight against violence and discrimination.

The Policy and Advocacy Officer will work with the Policy team and the Eastern Europe and Central Asia team, in close collaboration with the Community Building team, and report to the Policy Team Manager. They will be responsible for managing TGEU’s policy and advocacy work across specific portfolios outlined below, engaging with European institutions (EU, Council of Europe) and the United Nations, and increasing our capacity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) on these topics.

The Policy and Advocacy Officer will lead on:

Gender-based violence:

• Develop and implement advocacy strategies combating anti-trans violence with a particular focus on strengthening the legal and policy framework, especially for vulnerable populations, such as sex workers, racialised trans people (in close collaboration with the TGEU and Community Building team) and detainees.
• Advocate for EU Treaty Changes and the implementation of EU directives on gender-based violence.

Employment, housing, goods and services:

• Strengthen the inclusion of trans people in gender equality measures and policies.
• Advance the legal protection of trans people on grounds of gender identity and gender expression.
• Advance trans people’s access to and position within the job market 
• Ensuring the implementation of the Equality Bodies Directive at the national level through transposition and 
• Work with member states on national LGBTIQ action plans.

General:

• Support other policy team members leading on the anti-gender movement and TGEUs work with the UN
• Work with relevant stakeholders, including institutions on the European level, such as the European Union and the Council of Europe 
• Draft policy briefs and publications
• Contribute to organising  TGEU’s biennial European and Central Asian Trans Council
• Support planning and grant reporting 
• Other tasks as assigned

Who are we looking for

For this position, we are looking for an advocate with a strong commitment and interest in trans people’s rights, the functioning of European institutions (EU, Council of Europe) and their human rights mechanisms, good knowledge of international human rights mechanisms, as well as a grounding in the needs and perspectives of trans communities in Europe and Central Asia. A commitment to intersectionality is also critical for this role.

The candidate should be a self-starter and take initiative in driving the areas of work forward. We are seeking someone who applies a (self-)critical approach to their work and ideally accumulates a set of skills:

Experience

• At least two years of experience in the areas of policy, advocacy, or European institutions work, particularly with the EU and Council of Europe;
• At least two years of experience in a national or preferably international organisation;
• Good knowledge of international human rights mechanisms; UN knowledge is preferable
• Work or volunteer experience in LGBTI and/or human rights-related fields is desired.

Skills

• Excellent knowledge of English (spoken and written);
• Good knowledge of another European language is highly desired, especially Russian;
• Knowledge of European and international human rights frameworks is desirable;
• Ability to analyse and contribute to European and international-level policy and legislative processes;
• An understanding of intersectionality and the ability to apply it to their work
• Sound networking and relationship-building skills;
• Comfortable with working with policymakers, partners, and external stakeholders;
• Comfortable speaking in public to a diverse set of audiences;
• Ability to manage a high workload;
• Sound ability to work individually and within diverse teams;
• Indisputable work ethics;
• Commitment to TGEU’s values 
• High sense of initiative and ability to manage stressful situations;
• Ability to work well remotely, including building rapport with colleagues online.

Additional preferred knowledge, skills, and attributes

• The ability to communicate in Spanish, Russian, or at least one of the main languages spoken in the European or Central Asian region;
• Good understanding of power dynamics and issues experienced by marginalised groups;
• Experience writing about research in English for a variety of audiences, and writing about complicated issues using accessible language or visual aids;
• Experience working in trans, LGBTQI, or other social movements.

TGEU is an equal opportunities employer striving to avoid discrimination and increase representation and expertise from underrepresented groups on the team. Therefore, TGEU encourages trans and/or queer; Black people and people of colour; D/deaf and disabled people; people with a migration background; sex workers; trans women and gender non-conforming people; people from Eastern Europe and Central Asia; people living with HIV, to apply and mention their backgrounds and experiences in their application. We guarantee that all information will remain confidential.

What we offer

• A 100% (40 hours per week) position for an initial period of 12 months, starting in February 2025
• The possibility of working for the European and Central Asian trans movement 
• A dedicated team that will allow you to implement your ideas
• Gross salary of 46,981 € per year, with 5% increase after one year, at the Officer level 
• Holidays, healthcare and pension plan 
• Up to 3.000 € of relocation support, if needed

Accessibility of the TGEU office

TGEU’s Berlin office is partially accessible for wheelchair users.  There is a steep ramp from the street down to the elevator; once inside, all the rooms are situated on one level and the office doors and corridors are very wide; the toilets are on the same level but the doors are too narrow to allow access when using a wheelchair.

How to apply

To apply, please download and complete the application pack by 8 January 2025, 19:00 Central European Time.Anonymised CVs are welcome, but please do not send degrees or diplomas. Top candidates may be asked to complete a pre-interview exercise. Only complete application packs will be considered.  Any questions about the position should be directed to ****@****.org with POLICY AND ADVOCACY OFFICER in the subject line.

Otherwise, approaching a member of TGEU staff about this vacancy might lead to an automatic disqualification of the applicant.

Timeline

• Launch of the call: 4 December 2024
• Deadline for receiving applications (inc written exercise): 8 January 2025
• Notification to shortlisted candidates for interviews: 15 January 2025
• Interviews: 20-22 January 2024
• Decision communicated to all applicants: 24 January 2024
• Start of position: February 2025

We guarantee that all information will be held confidential.