Spokesperson's Unit - Press Officer

The European Parliament stands for European democracy. We help connect it to people.

We work to provide complete and impartial information to citizens and media about the European Parliament and assist our Members in their communication activities.

The Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) strives to reach and engage the right audience with the right message at the right time and in doing so, deliver world-class communication. We are committed communication professionals coming from various professional and academic backgrounds.

The Spokesperson’s and Information Integrity Unit is directly attached to the Director-General for Communication. It assists DG COMM and the Spokesperson by managing reputational and institutional media requests affecting the European Parliament.

The Unit is led by the Spokesperson, delivering on-the-record information to media and assisted by deputies; it works closely with the Directorate for Media and all other parliamentary services. It supports the work of the Director-General for Communication.

The Unit supports the EP President, the Secretary-General, the Directorate-General for Communication as well as other EP Directorates-General and services by:

Reputation and crisis communication:

• Relaying EP positions in support of the President, the Secretary-General, governing bodies, and MEPs;
• Ensuring consistency of EP institutional messages (LTTs, narratives, key messages, defensives, FAQs, fact-checking);
• Managing crisis communication and reputational issues, in coordination with national and EU counterparts;
• Aligning and coordinating EP institutional messages for press officers and communicators (through a dedicated internal platform);
• Liaising with relevant DGs to prevent reputational damage;
• Fact-checking and responding to false and erroneous information regarding the EP.

Strategic Communication and outreach:

• Joining efforts of thematic teams liaising closely with DGs BUDG, CASP, ECTI, IUST, EXPO, PART and the Directorate for Media to prepare and anticipate narratives that support strategic communication. Supporting the definition of narratives (e.g. non-defensive LTTs // EC by policy) in support of external communication;
• Coordination of enhanced myth-busting and fact-checking with relevant DG COMM services.
   

Information Integrity:

In response to several EP resolutions and requests from the Working Party of the Bureau, particular attention is given to the fight against disinformation, including the development of counter-measures and narratives addressing efforts to damage the European Parliament and, more generally, the European Union.  

The Spokesperson's Unit in this regard:

• Provides ad hoc risk assessments and ad hoc support to Members and dedicated resources to counter FIMI and disinformation;
• Coordinates  an expertise hub for DG COMM and EP services’ actions on disinformation and manipulated information targeting the Parliament and parliamentary democracy – from prevention to detection and response (Inter-DG Task Force, 2019, to be revised);
• Supports outreach units in their activities in the area (dedicated trainings, development of materials and presentations);
• Detects and prevents information manipulation attempts affecting the EP and its office holders - in cooperation with other DG COMM services, Institutions and Member States;
• Analyses information integrity-related risks in close coordination with DGs ITEC and SAFE;
• Contributes to a more resilient and prepared institution, via trainings, guides and awareness-raising activities for Members and staff;
• Implements pre-bunking and resilience building measures (media literacy tools in cooperation with institutional partners (EC, EEAS);
• Cooperation with EEAS information integrity unit, strategic communication, EC Task Forces and relevant services and other Interinstitutional meeting formats (such as the EEAS-led Rapid Alert System against disinformation, European Cooperation Network on Elections, Cybercom, EC-led Network against Disinformation, Horizontal Council Working Party on Enhancing Resilience and Countering Hybrid Threats).

• Contribute to the daily core tasks of the unit: drafting answers to non-legislative media queries and on reputational issues;
• Contribute to the unit's products: drafting the weekly newsletter, emails, short notes, social media posts, digests of press conferences, monitoring of media alerts, etc;
• Contribute to organising the unit's events;
• Summarise and digest complex topics in few paragraphs while keeping their essence;
• Provide support to the team members;
• Respond to short deadlines, prioritise and organise tasks.

• You have excellent drafting skills and information skills as well as social media techniques;
• Able to summarise and digest complex topics in few paragraphs while keeping the core elements;
• You have a good understanding of the EU;
• You have general knowledge of European affairs;
• You have the capacity to respond to short deadlines, prioritising and organising tasks;
• Proactive and ready to support different tasks in the team.

The European Parliament is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We welcome all candidates, regardless of their geographical, racial or ethnic origin, political or religious beliefs, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, civil status, or family situation.