MIJARC Europe is a non-governmental organisation for rural youth, by rural youth. We promote sustainable agricultural, rural and international development, European citizenship, youth policies, gender equality, environmental protection, interculturality and human rights. In line with our Christian values, we strive to implement and raise awareness about these issues and goals by facilitating inter-cultural non-formal learning opportunities and engaging in advocacy and partnership processes. Employing our methodology of ‘see-judge-act’, we encourage the participation of young people to build the Europe of tomorrow.

We are seeking to hire a resourceful person with strong communication and advocacy skills as well as a good understanding of the EU youth policy environment to fulfil the tasks of a Communication and Policy Officer. This is a critical role primarily accountable for a strong engagement with our member organisations, our political work and the visibility of MIJARC Europe. To be successful in this role you should be passionate about working for non-profit organisations, understanding their specificities and possess a flexible and proactive approach to work.

1. Job duration and conditions

Role: Communication & Advocacy Officer
Reports to: Report to the secretariat management team
Duration: One year contract (CDD) approximately from January 2023 to December 2023. There is a possibility for the contract to be extended.
Location: Office in Brussels (Rue de l’Industrie, 10) with the possibility of occasional travels in Europe. This is not a remote position but there is the possibility of partially working remotely.
Working time: Full-time (38 hours per week).

Renumeration: 2300 EUR gross per month
Benefits: 7-euro lunch vouchers on full-working days.

2. Responsibilities

COMMUNICATION (50%)

Coordinate the creation of MIJARC’s annual Communication Action Plan in line with our Communication Strategy;
Ensure the communication (before-during-after) regarding MIJARC’s Europe events and activities;
Manage our social media channels and ensure regular posting, supported by our volunteer Communication Commission;
Develop European-wide communication campaigns in cooperation with our member organisations;
Monitor communication campaigns from partners in order to identify possible collaborations;
Support the volunteers in the Communication Commission, providing assistance and training and ensuring their well-being;
Manage our website www.mijarc.eu and engage in its development, creating contents and visuals.
ADVOCACY (50%)
Coordinate the implementation of our Advocacy Strategy;
Support the work of the volunteers in the Advocacy Commission, providing assistance and training and ensuring their well-being;
Monitor some key policy developments and networks (Farm to Fork, Our Food Our Future,HREDD, ERDN, CoE, EU Youth Strategy);
Support the Executive Board in the communication and interactions with the various partners and represent us in various international events (ex: the European Coordination la
Via Campesina – ECVC);
Represent us in meetings with European Institutions or partners.

OTHER RESPONSABILITIES
Undertake any other related responsibilities commensurate with the evolving objectives of the post and the evolution of the organization, as may reasonably be requested by the Secretariat Management Team or the Executive Board.

3. Profile

A relevant degree in Communication, Politics or International Relations;
Experience with strategic planning of communication activities
Experience with designing social media campaigns and managing a WordPress-based website;
Experience in policy monitoring, especially with regards to agriculture, environmental or rural policies;
Experience in representation and networking at international conferences and events;
Experience with youth and/or volunteer team management;
Very good knowledge of the Youth representation system and events of the EU and the CoE(Youth Forum Jeunesse, Year of Youth 2022, European Youth Parliament…)
Very good knowledge of Office tools (Word, Excel, Canva, video editing, etc.);
Graphic design skills and/or Website design and management (WordPress);
Comfortable working with different IT and web management tools, and willingness to learn more tools;
Be a Team player, creative, proactive, and autonomous
Highly valued

A rural background;
An interest in agricultural issues and knowledge of peasant farming and agroecology would be an asset;
An interest in a long-term position in MIJARC Europe
Previous experience with volunteers of different nationalities;
Previous experience in an INGO or a Youth Organisation;
Knowledge of Dutch or French;

Other
All applicants must have the right to live and work in Belgium.
Application procedure

To apply, send us a motivation letter (max 1 page) and your CV (max 2 pages) in a PDF file to recruitment@mijarc.eu with the subject line “Application Communication & Advocacy Officer_Name”. We will review applications on a rolling basis and the last date for applications will be Friday 6th January 2023 at 23:59 CET.

Selected candidates will be invited for a second selection phase as an online or offline interview. The successful candidate will start at the earliest convenient date but no later than the 23rd January 2023. We reserve to close the call earlier if we find the right person for the position.

Call-for-Communication-and-Advocacy-Officer-2023.pdf (1817 downloads )

Call for a Communication and Policy Officer

MIJARC Europe is a non-governmental organisation for rural youth, by rural youth. We promote sustainable agricultural, rural and international development, European citizenship, youth policies, gender equality, environmental protection, interculturality and human rights. In line with our Christian values, we strive to implement and raise awareness about these issues and goals by facilitating inter-cultural non-formal learning opportunities and engaging in advocacy and partnership processes. Employing our methodology of ‘see-judge-act’, we encourage the participation of young people to build the Europe of tomorrow.

We are seeking to hire a resourceful person with strong communication and advocacy skills as well as a good understanding of the EU youth policy environment to fulfil the tasks of a Communication and Policy Officer. This is a critical role primarily accountable for a strong engagement with our member organisations, our political work and the visibility of MIJARC Europe. To be successful in this role you should be passionate about working for non-profit organisations, understanding their specificities and possess a flexible and proactive approach to work.

1. Job duration and conditions

Role: Communication and Policy Officer
Reports to: Report to the secretariat management team
Duration: One year contract (CDD) approximately from September 2022 to August 2023. There is a possibility for the contract to be extended.
Location: Office in Brussels (Rue de l’Industrie 10) with the possibility of occasional travels in Europe. This is not a remote position but there is the possibility of partially working remotely.
Working time: Full-time (38 hours per week).

Renumeration: 2300 EUR gross per month

Benefits: 7-euro lunch vouchers on full-working days.

2. Responsibilities

COMMUNICATION (70%)

Coordinate the creation of MIJARC’s annual Communication Action Plan in line with our Communication Strategy;
Ensure the communication (before-during-after) regarding MIJARC’s Europe events and activities;
Manage our social media channels and ensure regular posting, supported by our volunteer Communication Commission;
Develop European-wide communication campaigns in cooperation with our member organisations;
Monitor communication campaigns from partners in order to identify possible collaborations;
Support the volunteers in the Communication Commission, providing assistance and training and ensuring their well-being;
Manage our website mijarc.eu and engage in its development, creating contents and visuals.

ADVOCACY (30%)

Coordinate the implementation of our Advocacy Strategy;
Support the work of the volunteers in the Advocacy Commission, providing assistance and training and ensuring their well-being;
Monitor some key policy developments and networks (Farm to Fork, HREDD, ERDN, CoE, EU Youth Strategy);
Represent us in one of our umbrella organisation: the European Coordination la Via Campesina (ECVC);
Represent us in meetings with European Institutions or partners.

OTHER RESPONSABILITIES

Undertake any other related responsibilities commensurate with the evolving objectives of the post and the evolution of the organization, as may reasonably be requested by the Secretariat Management Team or the Executive Board.

3. Profile

A relevant degree in Communication, Politics or International Relations;
Experience with strategic planning of communication activities
Experience with designing social media campaigns and managing a WordPress-based website;
Experience in policy monitoring, especially with regards to agriculture, environmental or rural policies;
Experience in representation and networking at international conferences and events;
Very good knowledge of Office tools (Word, Excel, etc.);
Comfortable working with different IT and web management tools, and willingness to learn more tools;
Be a Team player, creative, proactive, and autonomous

Highly valued

Graphic design skills and/or Website design and management (WordPress);
A rural background;
An interest in agricultural issues and knowledge of peasant farming and agroecology would be an asset;
Previous experience with volunteers of different nationalities;
Knowledge of Dutch or French;

Other

All applicants must have the right to live and work in Belgium

4. Application procedure

To apply, send us a motivation letter (max 1 page) and your CV (max 2 pages) in a PDF file to recruitment@mijarc.eu with the subject line “Application Communication and Policy Officer_Name”.

We will review applications on a rolling basis and the last date for applications will be Wednesday 24^th August 2022 at 23:59 CET

Selected candidates will be invited for a second selection phase as an online or offline interview.

The successful candidate will start at the earliest convenient date but no later than the 18^th September 2022. We reserve to close the call earlier if we find the right person for the position.

SCHOOL OF INFLUENCERS – PARIS, June 2022

By Francesco Bottegal

Introduction

Advocating and campaigning for a fairer and more sustainable food supply chain in Europe and beyond: this is the essence of the OUR FOOD OUR FUTURE project.
In a society where technological progress has deeply changed the way we interact and communicate with one another, how can we use digital tools for campaigning, raising awareness and mobilising the public? What is the role of social media in advocacy, as they represent a space where information spreads instantly and on which everyone can have a say on any topic? Can we still fight effectively for what we believe in? How can we make our voices stand out in an ocean of opinions?
These are only a few questions we tackled during our last School of Influencers (SOI) activity that took place in Paris. After a first session held online at the beginning of May, we organized a presential event in Paris which lasted two days from 18th to 19th of June 2022, and turned out to be such an enriching and inspiring IN PERSON experience, as we were welcomed by our French member organisation, MRJC, in their office.
Together with 20 aspiring campaigners from all over Europe, we learnt and discussed about the EU “Farm to Fork” Strategy (or F2F) and we learnt what its current state of affairs is. After clarifying many thematic aspects of the policy at hand, the participants moved on by improving their understanding of social media campaigning, the opportunities associated with these digital spaces, with the help of our amazing trainers.

WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT THE F2F STRATEGY?

Drawing from the conclusions attained during the online session of our School of Influencers held in May, we focused our attention on the current debate happening both within and outside the EU institutions. At the time of writing, the main item on this European agenda, that impacts us all, is the discussion on the use of synthetic pesticides in agriculture and the introduction of legally binding reduction targets.
In such a critical moment for the European transition to sustainable food system, agribusiness lobbies and a number of national governments have instrumentally used the war in Ukraine to postpone and undermine EU environmental commitments. Furthermore, this ‘hostile’ front, consisting of several actors, is engaged in fierce lobbying activity sharing partial studies (some funded by the industry itself) and deliberately spreading misleading information against the “Farm to Fork” Strategy.
UPDATE
On 22nd of June 2022, the European Commission proposed a set of new rules, to be included in a Regulation, hence in a legislative tool directly binding for all the Member States, to reduce the use and risk of pesticides in the EU, delivering on the Farm to Fork Strategy.
The main points regard the introduction of legally binding targets to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030; a ban on the use of all pesticides in sensitive areas and an exceptional EU support for farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT Campaigning on social media?

The other focal point of our weekend revolved around the notion of campaigning and how our understanding of it has changed due to technological and digital progress.
Social media have revolutionised the way we interact with one another, and how we receive and elaborate information, allowing to each of us to share our opinions and messages with thousandth, millions of people with just one click (by a single click?). The potential reach that these digital spaces offer to their users is one of the most interesting features when it comes to talking about social media as valuable means in awareness-raising and advocating.
Led by our experts, we reviewed and took inspiration from some successful campaigning efforts, such as the Patagonia Sin Ripresas and the Perwez campaigns, aiming at improving our comprehension of social media campaign dynamics. Thanks to this exercise, we appreciated how the social media landscape has provided campaigners, lobbyists and activists with a plethora of platforms that can be key in the effort to raise awareness and advocate. Looking at each platform with its features, we learned what to think of when we start devising our own campaign. We began with the difference between strategy and tactics, to continue with the elements that help us defining our target audience/s and accordingly choosing the most suitable platform to pursue our goals.
These learnings fed in our final activity, that indeed consisted of crafting and preparing a series of social media posts to raise awareness on the matter of the F2F strategy and, more broadly, on the subject of sustainability in the food supply chain, in Europe and beyond.

Conclusion

We are still enthusiastic about this session that brought together so many engaged and inspiring young people. We are going to share soon the outcomes produced by our participants. So, stay tuned and do not miss them and you’ll discover more on what MIJARC Europe and OURFOODOURFUTURE have in store for you!

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of MIJARC Europe and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

SOURCES

Agribusiness lobby against EU Farm to Fork strategy amplified by Ukraine war | Corporate Europe Observatory
Leak: industrial farm lobbies’ coordinated attack on Farm to Fork targets | Corporate Europe Observatory
Nature and human health cannot afford policy delays | Corporate Europe Observatory
Farm to Fork (europa.eu)
What it is about – Our Food Our Future (ourfood-ourfuture.eu)