EU Advocacy & Research Trainee in Brussels, Belgium. (38 hours per week, 6 months) At Terre des hommes

Terre des Hommes Netherlands is looking for one EU Advocacy and Research Trainee to support our work on Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, Brussels.

Are you passionate about children’s safety and rights? Would you like to learn new skills, while contributing to our work to stop child exploitation? Become a trainee at the Research, Expertise and Influencing Team of Terre des Hommes Netherlands!

Terre des Hommes Netherlands is part of the International Federation of Terre des Hommes organisations, a strategic partnership of member organisations sharing the same brand name and core values for joint lobby and advocacy around children’s rights. Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) protects children by preventing and stopping child exploitation, and by empowering children to make their voices count. Our work is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and seeks to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Under our new Global Strategy (2023 – 2030), TdH NL is redefining and refining our role as a child rights organisation, with the strategic ambition that “by 2030, Terre des Hommes Netherlands is a catalyst for systemic change to stop child exploitation. We do this by empowering children and their communities, connecting them with those who have power to enact change, and utilising our knowledge and expertise to co-create sustainable, evidence-based solutions.”

TdH Netherlands is led by a two-headed Executive Team: Executive Director and the CEO.

The values of TdH Netherlands are: Responsible, Bold, Human-Centred and Playful.

The organisation’s core principles are: (1)Children at the Centre, (2) Intersectionality and Power Awareness, (3) Safety and Wellbeing, (4) Sustainability, and (5) Meaningful and Strategic Partnerships.

In line with our new strategy, TdH NL is in the process of establishing three thematic programmes under which our portfolio of humanitarian and development projects and programmes will be managed. These are: 1. Child Labour, 2. Sexual Exploitation of Children, and 3. Humanitarian Action. Our programmatic work is supported by two cross-programmatic units: Programme Development and Quality (PDQ), and Research, Expertise and Influencing (REI). Aligned to our new strategy, and based on many years of experience as a child rights organisation, we aim to consolidate our expertise and programme management, informed by research, to bring about sustainable and systemic change in the lives of children, and to hold duty bearers accountable.

The focus of TdH NL regarding humanitarian action is on child protection in emergencies (CPiE), with a particular focus on the protection of children from exploitation.

What you will work on:

You will support our European Union (EU) advocacy work under our Down to Zero (DtZ) Stepping Up the Fight Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children (SUFASEC) programme. The DtZ Alliance is composed of Terre des Hommes Netherlands (lead), Plan International Nederland, Defence for Children – ECPAT, Free a Girl and ICCO Cooperation (part of Cordaid) work together aiming to end sexual exploitation of children in 12 countries in Asia and Latin America, together with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

You will support our ongoing EU advocacy work on online child sexual exploitation (OCSE) and you will be working on an international research project in Bangladesh, Bolivia and the Netherlands, exploring the intersectional dimension of OCSE (i.e. gender, SOGIESC, disability). The specific tasks and projects will be defined in agreement with the trainee. Your tasks may include:

• Monitoring policy initiatives and developments at EU level relevant to online child sexual exploitation;
• Events attendance and reporting (e.g. policy conferences and workshops);
• Supporting the development and carrying out of lobby and advocacy initiatives at the EU level;
• Supporting the literature review on the intersectional dimensions of OCSE;
• Supporting the data analysis;
• Translating research into accessible, creative and easy-to-read products.

We are looking for a motivated and hands-on trainee, who:

• Has good oral and written communication skills in English;
• Master’s Degree in social sciences, human rights, child rights, gender studies, European studies, psychology, criminology, sociology, anthropology, international development studies, or any other relevant degree;
• Has knowledge on European institutions and EU policy-making;
• Has experience (studies or work) with EU advocacy and/or research analysis, writing and editing, experience with qualitative research methods and analysis is appreciated;
• Has good analytical skills;
• Has good organisational skills;
• We appreciate special interests in and knowledge of especially marginalised groups, LGBTQI+ or disability rights;
• Work well independently and in teams, self-starter;
• Can legally work in the EU.

What do we have to offer?

Because Terre des Hommes Netherlands carries out programmes and projects itself, the difference is that the organisation, and therefore also your contribution, is visible and tangible every day. We offer:

• An traineeship where you can really make a difference for children;
• An organisation with enthusiastic and highly skilled colleagues;
• An easily accessible office in the middle of Brussels with hybrid working; preference of
  being in the office 1 or 2 times a week.
• A 6 month traineeship contract (‘convention d’immersion professionnelle’);
• The stipend is 997,1 EUR per month based on 38 hours a week;
• Possible start date 1st July or as soon as possible.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Integrity and Child Safeguarding

We are not looking for just one type of person – we want to recruit people who can add fresh perspectives, innovative ideas and challenge our thinking. We are especially interested in people whose lived experiences help us to see things we might otherwise miss, and enable us to do better work with and for children. Whether or not you meet 100% of the criteria, we want to hear from you, because we know that different voices, ideas, perspectives and knowledge, working together will enable us to better the lives of children around the world.

TdH NL is committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation. We continue to learn about intersectional considerations and power distribution within our organisation and our work. We are dedicated to preventing and eradicating any type of misconduct including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, any other type of misuse of power, lack of integrity or financial misconduct.

Note: We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us, this includes a commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of our work. All offers of employment will therefore be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which include a valid criminal record check, terrorism finance checks, and/or integrity screenings/references relating to misconduct and disciplinary actions in prior employment.

TdH NL is particularly committed to keeping children and vulnerable individuals safe, and has zero tolerance on (child) abuse. Every TdH NL employee is bound by the TdH NL Code of Conduct that describes the expected behaviour by staff, in particular with regards to Safeguarding children and (young) adults in our programmes. Child safeguarding measures are part of our selection and recruitment process. By submitting your application you accept that TdH NL will conduct such pre-employment screening for successful candidates. TdH NL participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

Terre des Hommes is unfortunately not able to provide a work / residence visa for applicants outside the EU.