Press Officer

Press Officer

CEO - Corporate Europe Observatory

Brussels, Belgium

Can you distil complex political ideas into clear and powerful messages? Are you passionate about social and environmental justice? Can you build relationships and pitch a great story? Do you want to help expose the power of corporate lobbying?

From Big Oil to Big Tech, EU decisions too often reflect the interests of big business; and their corporate lobbies thrive in secrecy. We are looking for a great communicator with vision and strategy to help us shine a light on these stories.

We are a dedicated research and campaign group working to help expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making.

We are looking for a full time press officer to handle our media and communications as part of a small team, working from our Brussels office, ideally from September 2023 (starting date negotiable).

Tasks

You will connect CEO with the media sphere both in Brussels and the EU member states, and will act as the main contact point for journalists. Liaising with reporters, you will ensure that CEO’s perspective contributes to the public debate; you will build and maintain lasting relationships with members of the press; and maintain CEO’s status as a reliable source for expertise on corporate lobbying across a variety of EU policy fields.

Your main tasks will be to:

• use your strategic mind and word-smithing skills to jointly develop and implement CEO’s media strategy to secure coverage of our work in mainstream, specialist, and alternative media;
• engage with journalists, responding to their requests for information in a timely and accurate manner, scheduling interviews with CEO researchers and campaigners, and acting as a spokesperson on general lobbying issues when needed;
• distil the essence of complex issues into accessible, relevant press materials, including press releases, reactive media statements, and on-demand quotes;
• design media outreach plans around our new publications, and co-ordinate timing, framing, and messaging with our researchers/ campaigners and the rest of the communications team;
• work in a team with our communications officer and editor to collectively develop and implement a communications strategy, and ensure that there is a strong communications voice in the work of CEO;
• work with other press officers and researchers at allied organisations to design and implement the communication elements of coalition campaigns;
• systematically track media coverage and produce bi-annual reports assessing the reach of our work;
• manage CEO’s media database, including encouraging journalists to stay in touch/ be added to our press mailing list(s), and ensuring the media database is up to date (in collaboration with campaigners);
• keep an eye out for relevant external hooks, policy developments, and breaking news to produce timely media statements that highlight CEO’s position on a given issue and its relevance;
• organise journalist workshops and press conferences (co-)hosted by CEO, including the planning, implementation and de-briefing stages;
• produce CEO’s annual report;
• join the fundraising working group and help write and send out donation calls;
• You may also be required to provide editorial support to our editor, contribute to social media outreach, manage our podcast programme, produce CEO newsletters, or other CEO communication tasks.

Profile

Essential:

• minimum 3 years experience as a journalist, press officer (preferably in the non-profit sector), or in a related profession;
• a strong identification with CEO's mission, progressive politics, and social justice; and an ability to channel those into an organisationally-relevant media strategy;
• previous experience of and confidence in dealing with journalists from different types of media;
• ability to distinguish which information is and is not relevant for a particular journalist;
• be able to distil and communicate complex ideas and represent the organisation accurately in media interviews and quotes;
• easy to follow, accessible writing style and ability to write occasional op eds/articles;
• excellent writing and editing skills in English (native or comparable); a good command of French is an advantage while additional language skills are very welcome;
• pro-active style of working, a high level of self-organisation, and the ability to manage your workload without supervision within a horizontally structured organisation;
• flexibility to adapt to different tasks as needs arise; strong organisational skills to help coordinate publications planning and to negotiate priorities accordingly, especially when researchers have competing needs for communications capacity;
• a work permit for the European Union and a willingness to work from CEO’s Brussels office.

Desirable:

• skills using text editing software as well as website management tools;
• experience managing contact databases (CEO’s is CiviCRM);
• experience with radio, podcasting, broadcast;
• experience with activism.

About us

Working at CEO means being part of a team which strives for horizontal, collaborative, and participatory decision-making and team processes. There is no line management and each team member is responsible for their own tasks and workload. All employees are expected to contribute to the internal working groups that are the backbone of the organisation (finance, fundraising, human resources, and governance). There is always space to discuss and adapt to individual needs, ask for support, and get feedback.

Our team strives for an organisational culture based on sustainable workloads and respect for a healthy work-life balance.

We offer

• a permanent work contract (following an initial one year contract);
• monthly gross salary based on the years of your professional experience relevant to the job and indexed to inflation. For example: 3 years experience = 3.378,08 €, 6 years = 3.485,43 €, 9 years = 3.596,89 €;
• an end-of-year bonus equivalent to a full month of gross salary;
• 36h working week;
• reimbursement of commuting costs;
• hospitalisation and pension group insurance;
• a “frais forfaitaire” (flat-rate professional expenses) of 45 € per month;
• 25 days annual leave + additional Christmas holiday (5-8 days);
• Access to a training budget to enable you to learn and develop, and to a budget for personal well-being (350 € per year);
• a lively and warm working atmosphere;
• a value and purpose driven job.

How to apply

Corporate Europe Observatory is committed to equal opportunities and diversity. We encourage applications from anyone who believes they fit the essential requirements of the job, irrespective of age, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital or parental status, ethnicity, or religion/belief.

To apply please fill in part 1 and part 2 of our application form and send them to apply@corporateeurope.org stating “Press Officer” in the subject line in .docx or .odt file. The deadline for application is 23:59 Sunday 25 June 2023. If you are interested in this job please apply as soon as possible.

Please note that CVs and cover letters will not be considered.

Interviews will be held in Brussels in week commencing 10 July 2023. We look forward to reading your application and hopefully welcoming you into the team by September 2023. A later starting date can be negotiated.

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