Under the authority of the President of the Section and the Registrar of the Court, the Section Registrar has responsibility for the effective functioning of a Section of the Court and the management of the Legal Divisions attached to the Section, and contributes, as part of a collective upper management team, to devising and providing coherent management of the Court’s Registry in compliance with the working methods, practices and procedures of the Court, notably as laid down in the Rules of Court, and the values of the Council of Europe. 

The incumbent performs all or a combination of the following duties: 

·       To advise and assist the President of the Section in all matters relating to the Section’s work.

·       To ensure the effective functioning of a Section of the Court and the management of the Legal Divisions attached to the Section and to contribute, as part of a collective upper management team, to devising and providing a coherent management of the Court’s Registry:

- ensures an effective and efficient organisation of the Section’s activities;

- manages and evaluates its activities and the human resources attached to the Section;

- supervises the schedule, organisation and convening of the meetings of the different formations of the Section (Chambers and Committees);

- verifies all documentation for Section work (including decisions, judgments, reports and correspondence with the parties); quality checks draft judgments, decisions and reports before submission to a Judge-Rapporteur for approval;

- sits with the Section during its deliberations, and advises the Section’s judges on case-law and procedural issues;

- supervises the organisation of fact-finding missions where necessary;

- conducts friendly settlement negotiations with the parties;

- carries out case-management and case-planning at the Section level;

- in co-operation with the other Registrars, monitors the consistency of case-law between the Sections and facilitates case-law reporting;

- ensures consistency of practice and procedure between the Sections in co-operation with the other Registrars;

- participates in the Registry’s collective upper management and in the Court’s various working parties and standing committees.

·        To provide leadership and direction to staff members:

- coaches and motivates staff members in co-operation with subordinates;

- sets objectives, allocates roles and responsibilities; motivates, assesses and evaluates the performance of those directly responsible to him/her;

- facilitates internal communication, fosters co-operation, team spirit and a harmonious and efficient working environment;

- encourages the Section team to achieve its objectives.

·       To advise and report to the Registrar and Deputy Registrar:

- reports, on a regular basis, on the results achieved, further requirements and risks and opportunities for developments or events.

·        To communicate and represent the Court:

- organises the information flow and ensures the regular provision of information to all those concerned;

- establishes and maintains co-operation with other Council of Europe bodies and sectors operating in related fields;

- represents the Court and promotes Council of Europe values internally and externally.

Please note that the incumbent may be required to perform other duties not listed in the vacancy notice.

Council of Europe staff members adhere to the values Professionalism, Integrity and Respect.

The following competencies have been identified as important for the role:

Essential

›          Leadership

›          Management of teams

›          Vision and Strategic Insight

›          Communication

›          Results orientation

›          Professional and technical expertise

›          Analysis and problem solving

›          Decision Making

Desirable

›          Planning and work organisation

›          Learning and development

›          Organisational and contextual awareness

For more information, please refer to the Competency Framework of the Council of Europe.

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system.  By connecting to our website www.coe.int/jobs you can create and submit your on-line application.  Applications must be submitted at the latest  16 November 2015  (midnight Central European Time).  

Only those candidates who are considered to best match the requirements of the job vacancy will be selected for the next stage of the recruitment procedure.

After the preliminary selection has been made, candidates for senior management posts (grades A6 and A7) at the Council of Europe will be subject to a competency assessment.

Candidates may be invited to attend interviews.

The appointed candidate must be a national of a Council of Europe member State. In accordance with the Staff Regulations of the Council of Europe, staff shall retire on reaching the age of 65.

If an external candidate is selected, he/she will be appointed on an initial two-year contract, constituting a probationary period. If successful the appointment will be extended for one or more periods varying in length between one and five years.

If an internal candidate is selected, he/she will be initially appointed for a trial period of two years. If the staff member is confirmed in his/her post at the end of the trial period, he/she shall be re-appointed for three years. At the end of the period of five years, he/she shall be either kept in post, or assigned to another post at the same grade.

Further details on conditions of employment including salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance can be consulted on our recruitment website. 

Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed in each category and grade. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex.

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.

The Organisation

The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading organisation in the protection of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It was founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members  and  now includes 47 member states, all having signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights.

By Statute, the Council of Europe has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member states’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member states. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial institution within the Council of Europe mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in member states.

The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. Individuals can bring complaints of human rights violations to the Strasbourg Court once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member state concerned.

The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France) and in addition it maintains external presence in more than twenty countries. More information about Council of Europe external presence.