ABOUT US

The International Civil Society Centre was set up in 2007 to support international civil society organisations (ICSOs) maximise their impact for a sustainable and more equitable world. The Centre is owned and supported by more than 20 of the largest international civil society organisations such as Amnesty International, Oxfam International, World YWCA or Islamic Relief Worldwide, working across human rights, social justice, environmental and humanitarian themes. Our mission is to strengthen the impact and resilience of international civil society organisations to support people to change their world for the better. We do this through a range of activities, meetings and event formats, documenting and developing insights. We are a not-for-profit organisation and are passionate about building and sustaining an inclusive and equitable environment for staff, partners and everybody who interacts with us through various fora. Read more about our work and role on our website.

YOUR MISSION

We are currently looking for an Executive Assistant to support our Director’s day to day management, and to steer the Governance processes of the Centre. The position is currently planned at 80% FTE. The post holder must be registered in Germany.

The Executive Assistant has a wide range of responsibilities and supports the Centre’s Executive Director in all organisational matters, coordinates the Centre’s governance processes, supports the Centre’s office management and provides backup to the Centre’s financial team in day-today financial tasks as absence cover.

The position provides a unique opportunity to get to know the civil society sector and to work with the leaders of the largest International Civil Society Organisations. It is an ideal entry position for an ambitious, detail-oriented and committed young professional to support one of the leading think tanks and convenors of International Civil Society Organisations (ICSOs).

This is a fixed-term two year contract with option for extension. Rotation into other roles is also a desired option.

Core Responsibilities

The Executive Assistant coordinates all governance in close cooperation with the Centre’s notary public and acts as an important communicator between the leadership team and the wider Centre team.

This includes the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Providing support to the Executive Director on all organisational matters and communicating relevant issues to the Centre team;
• Coordinating the Centre’s governance processes, including preparation and follow up for Board of Trustees’ and Shareholders’ meetings, overseeing shareholder matters such as ownership transfer processes and being the point of contact for the Centre’s notary public;
• Providing support in financial administration matters, including overseeing budgets related to governance and assisting in day-to-day financial tasks as part of absence coverage for the finance team members;
• Contributing to the smooth running of office management matters, including serving as a point of contact for external service providers;
• Providing logistical and technical backup to Centre events, in close cooperation with the events manager;
• Managing specific projects as assigned by the Executive Director, including support to project content creation and implementation and overseeing financial, administrative and logistical aspects of specific projects.

YOUR PROFILE

We are looking for a young and highly motivated professional with a strong interest in contributing to the work of international civil society organisations. Specifically, the following qualifications will make you a successful candidate:

• At least one year administration and/or project management experience and a relevant university degree – a great opportunity for a young professional to start their career and gain relevant working-experience;
• Self-starter, ambitious and well organised individual, reliable and discreet;
• Strong interest in the management, administration and governance of ICSOs;
• Basic understanding of common public interest and legal matters, and willingness to learn about NGO legal context;
• Excellent organisational and coordination skills, ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines;
• Diligent and focused way of operating with strong attention to detail;
• A positive attitude, enthusiasm for joint problem solving and learning from mistakes;
• Strong communication skills, fluent in English and German;
• Excellent MS Office skills, first experience with Office365 cloud services; virtual conferencing tools and an accounting tool (e.g. DATEV) an asset;
• German work permit.

We are looking for you if you are a strong team player who seeks to work with their colleagues beyond formalised processes, values diversity and wants to contribute to an inclusive working and learning environment. You should identify with the Centre’s mission and vision and be willing to grow with your tasks, inspire others, and seek to make a difference for the people you work with.

We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

WHY US?

We offer

• Key assistant role in the work of an impactful and ambitious international organisation;
• The opportunity to be part of a small international and ambitious organisation with enthusiastic colleagues supporting the world’s largest ICSOs;
• A team-oriented, diverse and international work environment that enjoys challenges and encourages forward thinking;
• Highly motivated and pleasant colleagues and a strong team culture;
• Family friendly and flexible home working arrangements including working from abroad for agreed periods of time;
• Full salary compensation for up to 5 child sick days;
• Flexible working hours around a core time (10 am – 3 pm);
• 28 annual holidays;
• Professional development opportunities, including up to three days off per year for personal development;
• Regular team events on- and offline.

Job Title:                                 Executive Assistant

Member of:                              Executive & Administration

Working hours:                        32 hours per week (80% part time)

Location:                                 Berlin, Germany. Please note that we cannot support a working arrangement from outside of Germany.

Term:                                      2-year fixed-term contract with option for extension

Salary:                                    from 2,160 EUR to 2,400 EUR for 80% FTE depending on experience.

Starting date:                          01 November 2023

Application deadline:           30 September 2023

Job interviews will take place in the first two weeks of October.

Application

Your application should:

• consist of a CV, a cover letter expressing your motivation, and references (all in English). We want to learn what motivates you to apply and why you are a suitable candidate for the role. Also, include the suggested amount of hours/week and the earliest possible starting date. Please do not send a photograph.
• be submitted through our online application form. Please submit your application in one PDF-document, stating your name and the job reference “Executive Assistant” in the document title. 

If you need any accomodation regarding a disability, please do not hesitate to ask us. We explicitly encourage persons of colour, with a migration background or LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities to apply.

We look forward to receiving your application!