CONCORD is seeking to recruit a consultant to develop an online platform and tool(s) to be used by civil society organisations to evaluate consultations by the EU and gather recommendations for meaningful, safe and inclusive civil society participation in decision-making processes.

CONCORD is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, colour, religion and belief, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status. All employment decisions are made entirely on merit. All qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to apply regardless of their national origin,  race, colour, disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or age.

Background

For many years CONCORD has been working to improve the dialogue between civil society and the EU. In 2022 we published the paper “7 practices for civil society participation in EU decision-making” to detail what meaningful, safe and inclusive engagement of civil society should look like in practice, to encourage a shift of approach towards more cooperation and co-creation with civil society. It has been used by DG INTPA to conduct an assessment of EU Delegations’ engagement with civil society, and by various CONCORD groups to share recommendations for or to evaluate EU consultations. 

Based on this paper and feedback shared by CSOs from other regions of the world, we would like to develop tool(s), hosted on an online platform, that are useful for CSOs to monitor and evaluate consultations, both at HQ and EU Delegation level, and to give feedback to the EU. This would allow us to make evidence-based recommendations to support the EU’s engagement with CSOs and to advance our objective to advocate for more meaningful, safe and inclusive CSO participation in EU international cooperation processes. 

Objective

In collaboration with other CONCORD groups and civil society organisations, we will gather evidence on how the EU engages with CSOs at headquarters and delegation levels, to advocate for more meaningful, safe and inclusive CSO participation in decision-making processes in EU international cooperation. 

Deliverables

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: based on CONCORD’s 7 Practices paper and other content already gathered by CONCORD, develop a tool or set of tools for civil society organisations to evaluate consultations and other participation opportunities at EU Headquarters and EU Delegation levels. 
• Deliverable 2: in collaboration with our webmaster, design a platform on our website to host the tool(s).
• Deliverable 3: at least one call with CONCORD members and CSOs from other regions to test the tool(s) and platform to ensure they are accessible and user-friendly.
• Deliverable 4: ensure that the final tool(s) and platform integrate all the feedback received and successfully go live. 

Collaboration

The consultant will work closely with various stakeholders:

• CONCORD’s policy and communications team: the CONCORD team will share key resources with the consultant, support exchanges with members and CSO partners in other regions, and support the design of the deliverables in line with CONCORD’s visual identity. Regular check-ins will be decided together with the consultant. 
• CONCORD members and CSO partners: will test the tool and give feedback.
• CONCORD’s webmaster: will advise the consultant on possibilities for creating the online platform and other technical aspects. 

Key resource for this work: CONCORD’s 7 practices paper. 

Budget

The maximum budget available for this assignment is 5,000 EUR, including VAT. 

Indicative timeline

The work should be carried out between the end of April and end of June 2025, when the tool(s) and platform should be finalised.

Skills and qualifications

Successful candidates for this offer will respond as much as possible to the following profile:

• Knowledge of EU policies and mechanisms for engagement with civil society in external action at Headquarters and EU Delegation levels.
• Experience with knowledge management and developing knowledge management tools.
• Excellent English writing and editing skills; ability to write about complex issues in an engaging manner.
• Experience with inclusive and collaborative design.
• Experience with web design. 

Application procedure

To apply, please upload to our website, and in one single PDF, the following documents by Wednesday 2 April 2025, at noon (CET): 

• A CV outlining your relevant expertise for this assignment. 
• A proposal (max 2 pages) on how you will undertake the project (work plan, timeline), knowing that:
  • CONCORD will provide you with content on which to base the content of platform and its tool(s)
  • we will put you in touch with our webmaster to develop the online platform
  • you will be expected to exchange with CONCORD members and a few partners – CONCORD will support you for this.
• A quote (budget) with your daily rate.

After reviewing the applications, a round of interviews may be organised on the week of 7-11 April 2025.

For any additional information or questions, do not hesitate to contact Salomé (salome.guibreteau@concordeurope.org) before the deadline.