Call for the position of Coordinator for Human Rights and Organisational Development 

General information: 

The Executive Committee (EC) hereby issues the call for the position of Coordinator for Human Rights and Organisational Development at the European Students’ Union (ESU), which will be held for 12 months, from August 1st, 2025, to July 31st, 2026. 

The ESU Coordinators are expected to be experts in their respective areas of responsibility. They must report on their activities to the ESU board twice a year during the Board Meetings. Between the Board Meetings, they are accountable to the Executive Committee, which has to ensure that their activities follow the Plan of Work and the priorities set by ESU policy, the EC, and the coordinator.  

The Coordinator for Human Rights and organisational development shall mainly: 

• Provide support when answering solidarity requests in cooperation with the EC,
• Develop policy content and represent ESU in other topics pertaining to the field of Human rights, as mandated by the EC.
• Support the organisation of ESU’s statutory events (coordinate practicalities with the hosts and presidency, ensure the selection of the TPT, …)

According to the ESU’s Plan of Work 2025-2026, the Coordinator for Human Rights and Organisational Development shall also work, together with EC, on the following points:

• ESU will write and propose a resolution on Roma, Sinti and Travellers Community students and advocate towards the CoE initiative “Guidelines on Romani policy and pedagogy in line with CM/Rec(2022) on the importance of plurilingual and intercultural education for democratic culture”. 
• ESU will continue its work in GSF, strengthen global partnerships and look to expand its network further.
• ESU will support NUSs to defend student rights on national levels. We will support all student protests in line with ESU’s values in Europe, advocating their rights and spreading awareness of violations of student rights towards European decision-makers.
• ESU will continue its support and advocacy work for students and student organisations in Belarus and Ukraine. This includes supporting those who are facing challenges within Belarus and assisting the diaspora of Belarusian students and student activists in exile. At the same time, ESU will support Ukrainian students — both within the country and those who have fled — by advocating for their equal access to higher education in Ukraine and across Europe. ESU will also contribute to efforts aimed at the reconstruction and modernisation of the Ukrainian higher education sector.
• A plan for the statutory events will be made at the beginning of the mandate, and updated throughout the year. The plan will include relevant deadlines, a template structure for ESCs, and ideas for relevant capacity-building activities for the different events. ESU will also explore the possibility of changing the structure of the ESC to make it more policy-based and to allow Board members to contribute to policy-making from the very beginning, including the brainstorming phase.

For more information on the working areas as decided by ESU’s Board, candidates are welcome to take a reference to ESU Strategic Priorities and the Human Rights and Solidarity Strategy.

Selection criteria: 

Candidates are expected to have a genuine interest in contributing to the development of the European Students’ Union in this field and have the appropriate knowledge, experience and capacity in the area of Human Rights, Event organising and in the student movement for carrying out the mandate and tasks as outlined above. The candidate is also expected to be able to demonstrate ideas for developing the position and the work it entails. 

In addition to specific knowledge of the portfolio, the applicants are required to possess the following competencies required to perform successfully in this position: 

• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, 
• Ability to work as an active, reliable team member on multiple tasks simultaneously, 
• Ability to work and communicate effectively as part of a multicultural team, mainly working,
• Ability to deliver oral and written presentations on this policy area, 
• Ability to work independently and mostly through online channels, 
• Proficiency in spoken and written English. 

ESU Coordinators are entitled to receive a monthly allowance of 500 EUR. All expenses related to coordinators performing their duties (such as attending internal ESU events or representing ESU in external events, if mandated) will be covered by ESU in accordance with internal ESU rules (Financial Standing Orders, EC Rules of Procedure). 

Being a Coordinator in ESU entails a considerable commitment, both in terms of time and workload. This position requires a dedication of at least 20-25 hours per week on ESU related work, as well as responding to online communication regularly. The coordinator is expected to work from home, but be available for frequent travel. It is required that the written motivation of the applicant reflects the experience in response to the above-mentioned criteria.

In case of being selected, the coordinator must be available to attend the physical handover with the entire team. In extraordinary circumstances, online participation in the handover may be accepted. The physical handover will take place between the 12th of July to the 18th of July 2025 in Zadar, Croatia. Attendance at the sessions during those days is required. 

Selection procedure: 

According to the ESU Standing Orders, the Coordinators are selected by the Executive Committee. 

When composing a selection committee, the EC ensures regionally and gender-balanced composition, the expertise of the members, as well as avoidance of conflict of interest. The committees are agreed upon by the EC on the proposal of the Presidency. 

The committee will evaluate the applications according to the criteria described in this call and organise Zoom interviews with the candidates. Interviews will be conducted by the selection committee. After the interview, the notes of the interview will be made available to the Executive Committee. 

The whole procedure for selecting coordinators can be found here.

Application documents and deadline: 

Candidates are required to send: 

• Their Curriculum Vitae 
• Their Motivation Letter 

A reference or recommendation letter is also accepted, with a letter from an ESU member (full, associate, or candidate) being considered an asset. 

Applications must be submitted in writing to the ESU Executive Committee. Therefore, candidates shall send their full application by email to ec@esu-online.org. The deadline for submitting applications is the 13th of June 2025, 23:59 CEST. The applicants should be available for a Zoom interview in the week starting on the 16th of June 2025. 

Should any explanation or further details be needed, please feel free to contact us at hacks@esu-online.org.

Yours sincerely, 

ESU Executive Committee