The Junior Professionals Programme of the Council of Europe offers recent graduates at the beginning of their career the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in an international institution and contribute to protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible, applicants:

  • must have completed a higher education degree or qualification (i.e. a University Degree or equivalent)
  • must have the nationality of one of our 46 member states
  • must be under 35 years of age at the closing date of the vacancy notice
  • not be the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving staff member of the Council of Europe.

Additional criteria may also be specified in the vacancy notice.

Roles under the this programme are offered at the B3 level, and are limited in duration (not more than 4 years – the exact duration is specified in the vacancy notice). Junior Professional Officers and Assistant Lawyers employed under the programme are not eligible for any internal transfers or promotions, and cannot be re-employed under the same scheme.
 

Assistant Lawyers (European Court of Human Rights)

The assistant lawyers’ scheme is open to law graduates and gives legal professionals at the start of their career, who are nationals of one of the member States of the Council of Europe, the opportunity to work at the Court for a fixed period of four years, processing individual applications relating to their own country’s legal system.
 

All Junior Professional Programme opportunities, including those for the Assistant Lawyer scheme, are advertised under Current Vacancies.