Vacancy: EPB Communications Officer

The European Polar Board (EPB) is an independent organisation that focuses on major scientific, policy and strategic priorities in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Current EPB membership includes research institutes, funding agencies, scientific academies and polar operators from across Europe. The EPB has a mission to improve European coordination of Arctic and Antarctic research by optimising the use of European research infrastructure. We promote multilateral collaborations between our Members and provide a single contact point for the global polar research community. We advance the collective knowledge of polar issues, particularly in the context of European societal relevance. Since 2015, the EPB Secretariat has been hosted by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in The Hague. The EPB has public benefit organisation (ANBI) status in The Netherlands. The working language of the EPB is English.

The EPB is full beneficiary and partner in several large project consortia funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. The EPB leads deliverables including communication with policymakers, organisation of events (both online and in-person) for a variety of audiences, and various other tasks related to communications. The EPB Communications officer will support on these deliverables, as well as central EPB tasks and other tasks as required.

An important role of the Communications Officer of the EPB will be to effectively communicate to both EPB Members and to external audiences. The EPB aims to advance, coordinate and promote European polar research, making a pro-active external communication strategy vital. Internal communication, towards and between EPB Members is equally important, ensuring that the whole EPB network is kept up to date with the latest information on activities, opportunities and best practices, among others. 

Duties

EU-funded Projects and core EPB tasks

• Working with the Executive Secretary fororganising, managing and executing EPB internal and external communications in line with the EPB Strategy, including maintaining and updating the EPB website and other online communication tools, organising cross-cutting sessions and organising and advertising events on polar issues;
• Be responsible for the EPB’s work on communication via the EPB website and maintain theEPB’s website and online presence, including social media;
• Assist with communication related activities of the various EU-funded projects like EU-PolarNet 2, Arctic PASSION, INTERACT III, SO-CHIC where EPB is a partner; these include management of a science outreach competition; development of a video series; communications and capacity building activities;

• Preparation of promotional and outreach materials for the EPB;
• Produce and update annual reports, EPB newsletters and other products for both EPB internal and external use.

Other:

• Assist with EPB Plenary, Action Group and any other meetings as required;
• Any general administrative tasks and other tasks as required in a small Secretariat.

Essential Requirements:

• Education: Minimum Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a field relevant to polar research (including from natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, law, humanities, etc.); Candidates with knowledge of social sciences as well as natural sciences are encouraged to apply;
• Knowledge of European and international polar (both Arctic and Antarctic) research, logistics, governance, projects and organisations;
• Experience communicating sometimes complex information appropriately to different audiences, while maintaining accuracy, using a range of formats and tools;
• Experience using social media for promotion and dissemination of content, and maintaining an online community/audience;
• Excellent IT/technical skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Office, Zoom and Adobe software, and others; Ability to rapidly familiarise with new IT systems and interfaces;
• Capable of working independently and flexibly as part of a very small team;
• Highly organised; able to multitask and meet tight deadlines, adapt to changing circumstances; experience of working effectively within a small team in a dynamic environment;
• Full professional fluency in English at C1/C2 level, for both spoken and written, is essential.
• Ability to travel internationally for official meetings, conferences and other events organised by the EPB or projects that the EPB is part of.

Desirable requirements:

• Formal education or training in communications or related fields; this will be in addition to the essential education requirements;
• Knowledge or experience of writing and/or editing online content/copy; Experience of writing and/or editing information on technical subjects;
• Experience of CMS for managing of websites (such as typo3);
• Experience of publication design and document layout;
• Experience of working within an organisation with links to polar research;
• Knowledge of other European language(s) will be an asset.

Further information

The employment of this position as Communications Officer will be full-time for an initial period of one year, after satisfactory completion of a two-month probation period. Depending on funding availability, this position may be extended at most until December 2024.

Candidates must be eligible for employment in the Netherlands throughout the course of the position; the European Polar Board is unable to provide or sponsor a work visa or permit for the Netherlands for this position.

This position is based in The Hague, the Netherlands, and the incumbent will be required to register in the Netherlands for taking up the Communications Officer position. We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements, and it may be possible for the selected candidate to initially work remotely from anywhere within the Netherlands.

Employment conditions, salary:

The salary will be in accordance with the salary scales described in the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) for the Research Institutes, and will depend on the education and relevant experience of the successful candidate. The expected starting gross salary for this position will € 2846 per month as per pay scale 10 (salary level 0), in the 2021 CAO.

• Holiday allowance equal to 8% of the remuneration, paid each year in May (the “13^th Month”)

• 338 hours of leave per year based on fulltime employment;

• A year-end bonus equal to 8.33% of the remuneration, paid each year in December.

• Contribution towards commuting expenses to and from work;

• Reimbursement for relocation and transport costs within Europe (with prior agreement) – if the successful candidate moves to the Netherlands from abroad;

• Candidate will join National Pension Fund (ABP) and will include an employer contribution;

For any queries regarding the position, please contact EPB Executive Secretary, Renuka Badhe, at r.badhe@nwo.nl. More information about the EPB can be found at www.europeanpolarboard.org.

The EPB is an equal opportunity employer, committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to promoting equality in careers in science. We welcome applications from all sections of society, particularly those currently underrepresented in the polar research community. We are open to a range of flexible working options to support childcare, other caring responsibilities or other needs.

How to apply

To apply, please send a single pdf file that includes:

1. 1. Letter of motivation including your interest in the position, and detailing how your experience meets the requirements of this position set out above (1 page maximum)
   2. CV using the Europass CV template https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv (3 pages maximum)
   3. Contact details of at least 2 references

Please send your single PDF file to epb@nwo.nl by 23:59 CEST on 30^th of April 2022, with “Communication Officer Vacancy” as the email subject line.

Evaluation of shortlisted candidates may include a written assessment exercise and a competency-based interview at a later stage.

The successful candidate will be employed directly by the EPB Secretariat in The Hague, and is expected to join the EPB Secretariat latest by June 2022, and if possible earlier.