Political Officer - Fish Welfare

Eurogroup for Animals is the Brussels based European umbrella advocacy organisation, representing 67 national and international members across Europe and beyond. Together we provide a voice for the billions of animals kept in laboratories, farms and homes or living in the wild. Our vision is to build a Europe that truly cares for animals where the well-being of animals is assured and where they experience a good life.

The purpose of Eurogroup for Animals is to drive positive change for animals by convening its members around common goals, and coordinating EU wide action to jointly influence EU law and policy making. Our advocacy work consists of dedicated programmes and a growing portfolio of projects and campaigns.

Purpose of the role

In 2016 Eurogroup for Animals started a dedicated programme with the aim to raise the bar for fish welfare in terms of better legislation, enforcement, corporate practice and civil society support. Despite the fact that fish sentience has been recognised by the scientific community, this hasn’t been reflected in actual policies and legislation. For more information about our fish programme please have a look here.

As our work increasingly involves engagement from all EU institutions, we are looking for a Political Officer to reinforce our team. The Political Officer works alongside the Fish Welfare Programme Leader and Communications team to execute our fish welfare lobby strategy. We are looking for a passionate, highly socially skilled colleague with EU public advocacy experience. An understanding of farm animal welfare, fish welfare, fish biology, or aquaculture is an advantage.

Primary responsibilities:

• Alongside the Fish Welfare Programme Leader, develop relationships and build alliances around our advocacy objectives.
• Provide institutional stakeholders with scientific advice and tailored policy solutions.
• Support the fish welfare programme leader in maximising the impact of our involvement in stakeholder engagement platforms - eg. Aquaculture Advisory Council, EU Animal Welfare Platform, OIE Regional Platform for Europe.
• Assist in running the secretariat of the own-initiative fish welfare sub-group as part of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare and the fish subgroup of the Parliamentary Intergroup for the Welfare and Conservation of Animals.
• Arrange and prepare meetings with key policy makers in the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council.
• Support our members in establishing a network at national institutional and political level.
• Follow and identify opportunities with regard to policy and political developments in fisheries, environmental, food, and animal welfare policies.

Person specification

• Well-organised and focused on concrete results and campaign deliverables
• Knowledge of EU policy making and influencing processes
• Flexible and pragmatic
• Service oriented
• Computer literate
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong written English
• Ability to write clear and concise advocacy letters and briefings
• Demonstrable advocacy skills and knowledge
• Good ability to work as team member and independently

Employment Contract

• Contract: Full time (38 hours)
• Location: Brussels, Belgium
• Reports to: Reineke Hameleers Executive Director  
• Salary: Competitive for level of position

How to Apply

To apply for the post, please send a letter of application stating your skills and describing how your past experience equips you for this role along with your curriculum vitae, both in English, by email to hr@eurogroupforanimals.org. 

Deadline for applications: 20 March 2020. However, we are keen to find our new team member quickly so we will review applications as we receive them and close the post once we have found our new colleague.