Mediation and Dialogue Support Unit

The  Directorate-General for  External  Policies  (DG EXPO) is  made  up  of  four  directorates:  Committees,  Regions (covering interparliamentary delegations), Resources and Democracy Support. 

Staff of DG EXPO form a European team of advisers supporting the European Parliament's President, Members and political bodies in their work on the EU's external policies. Colleagues in DG EXPO provide advice on matters of substance and procedure and liaise with other EU institutions and manage resources. The focus is on legislation, parliamentary oversight of the European Commission and Council, and support for parliamentary democracy. Most of the work is done in Brussels. 

In line with an increasing international demand for mediation, dialogue and conflict prevention activities, the European Parliament (EP) Mediation and Dialogue Support Unit (MED) has developed a specific parliamentary mediation and dialogue methodologies and activities to complement the overall EU capacities.

These include the Jean Monnet Dialogue for Peace and Democracy, inter-party dialogue and consensus building, prevention of election-related violence, parliamentary support to conflict prevention and peace processes as well as support to young leaders and women in third countries through the Young Political Leaders Programme. All these activities are part of Parliament’s wider democracy support policy.

Acting as a focal point within the European Parliament, the MED provides expert policy advice and practical operational support for Members of the European Parliament active in the area of conflict prevention, mediation, facilitation and dialogue initiatives outside EU borders, Members of the Democracy Support & Election Coordination Group (DEG), and Lead Members for the DEG Priority Countries.

In the context of realising its activities the MED unit:

• Provides policy advice, conflict/context analysis & development of appropriate tools;
• Provides operational support and organisation of delegations related to conflict prevention, mediation and dialogue, such as Jean Monnet Dialogues or projects in the framework of the Young Political Leaders Programme;
• Provides expert mediation training/coaching for Chief Observers, MEPs acting as Mediators and Lead Members for the DEG Priority Countries;
• Acts as a mediation and political dialogue hub: convening and coordination of  internal EP services;
• Acts mediation interface: with the European External Action Service, European Commission, external mediation experts and civil society organisations (CSOs);
• Organises events related to the conflict prevention, mediation and dialogue.

The overall objective of the MED unit is to contribute to strengthening the EU's mediation and dialogue capacities and in particular to support Parliamentary initiatives in the area of conflict prevention, mediation and dialogue.

• Monitoring and providing background materials and research on mediation, peace processes, conflict prevention and democracy support relevant to the work of the European Parliament Mediation & Dialogue Unit;
• Participation and providing feedback on seminars, meetings (incl. European Parliament Committees and Standing Delegations) as well as conferences in the area of conflict prevention and mediation;
• Contributing to administrative work of the Unit including the organisation of meetings, roundtables, missions, Jean Monnet Dialogues, etc. (e.g. identifying experts, background documents and logistics for such events);
• Providing expertise and assistance to mediation-related activities for the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) and its priority countries;
• Providing assistance to the further development of the Young Political Leaders Programme (incl. website development, maintenance of alumni and practical support during visits of groups from third countries);
• Providing expertise and assistance to the further development of Parliament’s mediation methodology and capabilities.

The candidate should:

• Be strongly motivated to work on the activities developed by the European Parliament Mediation & Dialogue Support Unit as described in the information about the 'post' and 'tasks';
• Possess an academic background and/or previous work experience in the area of mediation, conflict prevention, dialogue, and democracy support;
• Have an excellent command of spoken and written English with French, in particular, and other languages being an advantage;
• Have a strong operational, analytical and interpersonal skills and be ready to work flexibly and to tight deadlines.