Freemuse monitors and documents violations of artistic freedom, and expose laws and policies that enable and sustain these violations. We leverage evidence-based advocacy for systemic structural changes at the international, regional and national levels working with partners, artists, and activists in the global south and north. Freemuse campaigns for and supports individual artists, focusing on women artists at the international and national levels. We facilitate and grow locally-owned national coalitions to defend artistic freedom and support their campaign and capacity building.
Job Purpose
The Project Manager will be responsible for the effective day-to-day management of Freemuse’s Artistic Freedom in Europe project, including developing, implementing, monitoring, and reporting. They will be responsible for the delivery of programme intended results, and ensure the smooth management of work plans, budgets, reporting, and external partnerships.
Report to: Executive Director
Main relationships: Programme Manager, the European team consisting of a Programme Officer, a Regional Programme Officer for Research, European consultant(s), a Policy Advisor, and the research and communication teams at the Secretariat; and Freemuse partners in Brussels and Europe.
Main Responsibilities include:
- Manage and coordinate high-quality research, monitoring, and documenting developments of related laws, policy, practices, and violations of artistic freedom in Europe, working with professional staff members, partners, and consultants. Ensure a high standard of research and publications of Freemuse’s work, including reports and briefings on artistic freedom in Europe, thematic and country reports, working closely with the research team at the Secretariat.
- Manage advocacy strategy and plan and ensure focused and impactful interventions, including engaging with the European Commission, MEP, OSCE and European national governments. Manage the coordination of international advocacy including UN Special Rapporteurs, UPRs, treaty bodies, UNESCO, and other relevant intergovernmental organisations. Identify and arrange advocacy opportunities and meetings with key decision and policy makers.
- Regional campaign design and delivery: Ensuring that research findings and policy solutions are turned into practices through strategic and tactical campaigns and actions for individual artists, law and policy changes at the European level, working with our partners, artistic communities, and other actors. Support and facilitate support for artists at risk in an effective and timely manner, using Freemuse’s emergency fund for artists at risk and resources from partner organisations.
- Financial management and reporting: Tracking and coordinating financial information of the project, managing quarterly expenditure tracking and invoicing to donor deadlines, and ensuring compliance with the donor’s Financial Principles, value for money, and key performance indicators.
- Designing and managing the reporting process: Responsible for ensuring on time and on quality reporting on project delivery against plan and other related performance as agreed with the donor and the secretariat. Ensure compliance to the donor.
- Planning and performance support: Providing guidance and support to project teams for planning, delivery, and reporting; co-ordinating with key internal support teams; maintaining an overview of output delivery and flagging any risks to the Executive Director and Programme Manager.
- Manage all business development processes: Identification of new opportunities/donors, securing additional funding, leading the process of the preparation of bids and proposals, developing budgets and tailoring technical documentation.
- Strategic communications and knowledge management: Coordinating the development and functioning of internal and external communications systems, networks, website, etc. to ensure strong internal and external relationships; managing activities and supporting teams to promote project output dissemination and uptake, with input from colleagues in the communications team.
- Partnerships and external relations: Working with the project team and other secretariat staff on developing and formalising key partnerships and relationships for project implementation; facilitating external relations with relevant stakeholders; convening high-level project and stakeholder meetings as required.
- Communication and engagement with the artistic freedom community, including donors, academics, intergovernmental organisations, governments, and civil society organisations to ensure and strengthen programme learning, relevance, and impact.
- Act as Programme Manager as required, as well as taking on other unplanned responsibilities and tasks.
Skills and Experience
A. Project management
- Significant project management experience and proven ability to manage human rights and/or arts and culture projects with substantial research, advocacy and campaign components at the European level especially in Brussels or other relevant European cities.
- A strong track record of reporting on donor-funded projects, monitoring performance standards through task-management structures, and delivering convincing and quality reports.
- Extensive budget administration and reporting experience. Ability to manage and develop financial information systems to support timely donor reporting and business planning.
- Proven track record of effective co-ordination with key internal support functions, in support of project/programme output planning, delivery, reporting, and dissemination.
- Excellent time management skills and proven ability to organise inputs from other individuals and teams in order to meet key project or programme deadlines.
- Experience working on international policy, advocacy, and campaign programmes on similar or related context.
B. Relationship management
- Well connected and has a good network with decision and policy makers at the EU and key national governments; good network with campaign and advocacy organisations in the field of freedom of expression and/or arts and culture, preferably in Brussels, Strasbourg and other relevant European cities.
- Experience managing effective long-distance relationship, collaboration and communications with teams working in different countries.
- Strong soft skills, people relationship management and a high level of emotional intelligence.
- Proven sound judgement and ability to make decisions and work well under pressure, ambiguity, and conflicting priorities and situations.
- Demonstrable ability to form strong and productive working relationships with external stakeholders and partners for learning and knowledge sharing.
- Proven ability to influence and negotiate with staff and stakeholders in relation to the project, management, and delivery, often without direct authority.
- Ability to anticipate and manage risk and take active steps to mitigate them, and act quickly to deal with emerging challenges.
C. General management
- Ability to maintain a high-level overview of programme performance and progress, and provide more hands-on support to project teams as necessary.
- Excellent attention to detail, especially in ensuring consistency across multiple reports and project documents.
- Proven experience in workload management for own self and team members.
- Ability to work on own initiative with minimum supervision.
- Advanced IT skills including Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and databases. Experience with website content management systems a plus.
Desirable
- Knowledge and understanding of freedom of artistic expression and creativity.
Qualified candidates are invited to submit their application (CV and a motivation letter addressing your fitness against the required qualifications) to Freemuse at [email protected] by 1 pm on 12 March 2019.
Please write the subject on email as “Europe PM – your first and surname”
No phone calls please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
Closing date: 12 March 2019
Interview dates: 20 March 2019
Starting date: as soon as possible
Contract: 17 months
Salary: Competitive in international NGO setting
Location: Preferably Brussels
