Programme Manager in language education

Vacancy number

1084/2025

Recruitment type

Secondment

Posted date

17-Nov-2025

Deadline to apply

07-Jan-2026

Duty station

Graz

Entity

Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity (DGII)

Your Team

You will work within the team of the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe, which is based in Graz, Austria. The team of around fifteen people supports its 36 member states in enhancing the quality of plurilingual and intercultural education.

The Centre is an Enlarged Partial Agreement and forms part of the Education Department within the Directorate General II – Democracy and Human Dignity. The Centre is responsible for planning and implementing four-year programmes relating to language education. These programmes encompass multilateral development projects, resulting in the publication of online resources for language professionals. They also include bilateral in-country capacity building (ECML Training and Consultancy), as well as webinars, colloquia, and conferences.

The work in Graz brings the policy development work carried out by the Education Department's Language Policy Programme to life, and together they contribute to the implementation of the Education Strategy 2024–2030: Learners First: Education for Today's and Tomorrow's Democratic Societies', which was adopted at the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education in September 2023.

Your Role

As a Programme Manager with a professional background in language education, you will:

• Support the ECML in promoting the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec on plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture among member states in line with the Council of Europe's Education Strategy "Learners First" adopted by Ministers of Education in 2023;
• substantially contribute to the preparation of the next ECML programme , in close cooperation with the Language Policy Programme of the Education Department, for example via researching possible activity formats, carrying out background research and helping to identify priority themes for the Call for project proposals;
• promote the work of the ECML within its member states and contribute to the integration of new and returning member states, liaise and maintain regular contact with them, strengthening the Centre's work in quality language education as its membership grows;
• provide up-to-date content expertise for ECML activities and publications as well as for presentations, contributing fresh perspectives from member states;
• support the monitoring and quality assurance of in-country capacity-building (Training and Consultancy) activities, ensuring alignment with Council of Europe values and quality standards;
• provide content support for ECML cooperation actions and activities and contribute to the wider networking function of the Centre in close coordination with colleagues;
• work under the overall responsibility of the Executive Director.

Requirements to apply

You must:

• have the support of the member State seconding you to the Council of Europe;
• hold a higher education degree or qualification equivalent to a master's degree (2nd cycle of the Bologna process framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area) in language education or hold a language teacher diploma;
• have at least 8 years of relevant professional experience acquired in this field;
• have very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Council of Europe (English or French) and a good knowledge of the other (French or English);
• be a citizen of one of the member States of the Council of Europe.

Key competencies

• Operational - Planning and work organisation
• Operational - Concern for quality
• Interpersonal - Teamwork and co-operation

• Interpersonal - Communication

• Professional and technical expertise:

• good knowledge of the Council of Europe's work in education, including its intergovernmental and monitoring activities, and specifically its work on language education policy and practice;

• strong knowledge of, and ideally experience of working within, an international organisation and/or a national language education system;
• knowledge of the ECML, its resources and networks;
• knowledge of the wider work of the Council of Europe and its way of operating; specifically of the language policy work (e.g. Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)1, CEFR and its Companion Volume);
• experience in drafting and editing documents.

Desirable competencies

• Interpersonal - Resilience

• Interpersonal - Initiative

• Professional and technical expertise:

• experience preferably obtained within a national/international educational authority or other relevant organisation;

• experience of working in an international context;
• knowledge of national/ European policies and activities in the area of language education;
• experience in communication for professional audiences, international organisations, government or non-governmental organisations;
• knowledge and experience in the field of communication and information.

What we offer

This vacancy is for a secondment, ruled by Article 23 of Committee of Ministers' Resolution CM/Res You can consult the conditions of secondment to the Council of Europe (days of leave, allowances etc.) on the webpage What we offer. This secondment foresees the relocation allowance and the travel expenses from the Organisation as indicated in Article 23 of the Resolution.

This secondment should start as soon as possible.

Applications and selection procedure

For more information on how we recruit, you can consult the page Our recruitment process of our Career's website. The deadline for applications is indicated in the General information section of this vacancy notice (see above) and is fixed at 23:59:59 (CET/CEST). Only applicants who meet the conditions of the Committee of Ministers' Resolution CM/Res and who best meet the abovementioned criteria will be considered for selection and for the next stage.

Important information

As an equal opportunity employer, the Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief. Under its equal opportunity policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve gender parity in staff employed in each category and grade. At the time of appointment, preference between suitable people shall be given to the person of the gender which is under-represented in the relevant grades within the category to which the vacancy belongs.

Applicants with specific needs are encouraged to request reasonable accommodations at any stage during the recruitment process. Please contact us at , we will ensure that your request is handled.

The information published on the CoE's careers website regarding working conditions is correct at the time of publication of the vacancy notice. Any changes to these conditions during the recruitment process will be updated on our Portal and will apply at the time of the job offer. Our career's website is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have. Should you have remaining questions, please contact us