Are you a professional in administrative and financial management, bilingual in French and English, and would like to put your skills to good use in an organisation working to defend civic space and civil liberties? Then this offer may be for you!
We’re hiring for a Finance and Administration Officer. This role will help create the conditions for a thriving organisation by building and maintaining the operational backbone of the organisation (ensuring strong systems for finance, administration, and human resources), while fostering a culture of care, learning, and inclusion.
The ECF secretariat is composed of a small but dynamic and multi-task team, responsible for the implementation of our annual work programme and the day-to-day management of the network. Team spirit, empathy and care, mutual respect, and trust are values at the core of our work with others, within the secretariat, the governance team, and the wider network!
The Finance and Administration Officer works in support of the core management team (composed of the Secretary General; the Deputy Secretary General and Director of Advocacy and Programme Management; the Communications and Campaigns Officer; and the Director of Administration and Network Development — line manager) to strengthen a healthy, values-driven, and resilient organisation.
ECF’s HR policies need further development to ensure full alignment with European labour standards and evolving best practices. This process is closely linked to the development of ECF’s Charter of Values, which will embed a strong commitment to wellbeing, inclusion, and accountability across all areas of the organisation’s work, ensuring that HR policies not only regulate procedures but also actively shape a caring, inclusive, and accountable organisational culture that reflects ECF’s mission and values.
Main responsibilities
1.Key financial operations tasks
- Budgetary control and monitoring of expenses and accounting process, including ordering, processing and payments, and preparation of invoices.
- Carrying out budget monitoring and steady reporting; assisting in the preparation of financial reports, reconciliations and audits, and liaising with external accountant and auditors.
- Preparing the financial reporting of projects and grants, including collection of timesheets, invoices, and receipts, calculation of hourly rates, in line with EU standards and requirements, in collaboration with the line manager and the core management team.
- Monitoring of calls for projects and other fundraising opportunities.
2. Administration
- General administration and office management: organisation of office operations and procedures; managing logistics for events, such as travel, accommodation, venue and catering bookings and the refunding of participants.
- Maintaining office efficiency by planning and implementing office systems, supplies and equipment procurement.
- Supporting the administration of new contracts for employees, consultants, and interns, and ensure the efficient and timely management of ongoing contracts, including the payment of payrolls, and staff and contractors’ reimbursements.
- Events management, administrative and logistical support to ECF membership management, and preparation of reports of internal meetings.
- Overseeing the filing and archiving of financial and administrative documents; preparing and distributing memos and reports; establishing standards and procedures, measuring results and making necessary adjustments.
- Training staff members in administrative procedures to ensure compliance with Belgian law and grant management and reporting requirements. Work with the management team to organise staff training on issues of common interest.
- Support the development and implementation of Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) processes and spaces.
- Help create spaces for team learning, reflection, team bonding and feedback, contributing to the evaluation and support of individual development, organisational impact and staff satisfaction.
- Support the management team in creating space to promote reflection and shared understanding of impact.
- Support the management team in developing mitigating strategies for operational and organisational risks.
3. People, Culture and Talent Development
- Manage HR administration and compliance (contracts, payroll, benefits, leave, health & safety, wellbeing at work).
- Liaising with social secretariat for monthly payrolls, leave requests, meal vouchers orders, Prevention and Protection at Work reports, well-being at work policies; supporting the core management team in drafting contracts and in the design and implementation of HR strategy.
- Support the ongoing review and implementation of ECF’s HR policies, ensuring alignment with Belgian law and the ECF’s mission and values (HR, diversity and inclusion, sustainability, safeguarding, burnout prevention).
- Contribute to embedding wellbeing, inclusion, and accountability in ECF’s everyday work.
- Support managers and team members in understanding and applying HR policies as living instruments that foster collaboration, trust, and shared learning.
- Coordinate recruitment, onboarding, and staff development processes, ensuring a supportive and transparent experience for all.
Requirements for the position
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in French (mandatory) and English.
- 3-5 years’ experience in a similar position, managing day-to-day administration and financial planning and analysis — ideally in a multicultural, NGO environment.
- Experience with EU grants financial management and reporting.
- Experience with employment policies and laws.
- Residence in Belgium or willingness to relocate to Brussels (mandatory)
Skills
- Excellent IT skills: proficiency in Excel and experience with office management, HR and bookkeeping software.
- Ability to balance attention to operational detail with a people-centred approach that values collaboration, wellbeing, and inclusion.
- Organisational skills to set up and manage processes, deadlines and prioritise workload.
- Excellent team player skills including commitment and flexibility.
- Ability to work independently and propose new actions when appropriate.
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment.
- Interest in the civil society sector and advancing civil and human rights within a European membership-based organisation.
What we offer
The ECF is an equal opportunities employer, committed to workplace diversity and the inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. We strongly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply!
Location: Hybrid – Brussels office (Rue du Congrès 13) and remote.
Duration: Permanent (Contrat a durée inderminée), full-time position.
Reporting to: Director of Administration and Network Development
Remuneration (gross):
- €3,803.07
Benefits package:
- As we are very keen on ensuring a good work–life balance, we ensure flexibility in the organisation of working hours both timewise and remote/office presence.
- Every worker can work one full month online from anywhere in the world.
- Homeworking weekly allowance: 2 homeworking days per week
- Working hours: You are officially employed on a 38 hours/week contract. An effective 35-hour work week is achieved through the allocation of 18 compensatory paid rest days per year, to be taken by the whole staff team every second Friday (except August and weeks without bank holidays).
- Representation fee: €40/month net.
- Teleworking fee: €50/month net.
- 100% coverage of Brussels public transportation season ticket: €56/month net.
- Meal vouchers: €10 per effective workday.
- Holiday bonus (“pécule de vacances”): around 60% of the monthly salary, in May.
- End of the year bonus: around 40% of the monthly salary, in December.
- Portable laptop, mouse, keyboard, screen.
- Home office kit: €200 (reimbursement of equipment purchase), one time.
- Holidays: 20 days of legal annual paid leave, plus 5 days of paid extra-legal holidays. New staff that are not entitled to paid holidays under Belgian law are offered 25 extra-legal paid holidays by ECF. Bank holidays that fall on Saturdays or Sundays are recovered on the following Monday.
- Personal-life-friendly job: flexibility for activism (5 days/year paid leave), family, health, and other reasons; flexible remote working days.
How to apply
To apply for this position, please send us your resume and motivation letter structured around the job requirements (precise examples of relevant experience will be welcome) at recruitment@civic-forum.eu. Deadline for applications is 15 February. Position to start as soon as possible (ideally 1 March, maximum 1 April). Interviews to be held ideally until 20 February. Only selected candidates will be contacted.