Strategic Outreach Officer (f/m/d)

Position: 
Staff
Location: 
Vienna
Status: 
Full-time
Unit: 
The Office of the Pro-Rector for External Relations
E-mail: 
advert064@ceu.edu
Open for Employee Referral
Application deadline: 
Open until filled
Starting date: 
As soon as possible

The Strategic Outreach Office at CEU helps to elevate CEU’s reputation and brand recognition, fosters cooperation and builds partnerships with civil society representatives, manages media relations in the DACH region, takes the global lead of public affairs projects globally, and in particular in the DACH region. 

The Strategic Outreach Officer is part of the Strategic Outreach Office and reports to its director. They ensure active stakeholder management to maintain collaborative and sustainable relations, and coordinate their work with the Rectorate, Members of the Senior Leadership Team and their respective units, the Academic Cooperation and Research Office, the Pro-Rectorate for External Relations, and others.

Main tasks: 

Managing media relations within DACH region (Germanophone media):

• Initiate, manage, and enable CEU coverage and nurturing good contacts with quality papers and other media formats. Maintain relationships and proactively pitch content of interest.
• Manage press events in support of CEU’s activities.
• Seek out newsworthy stories about faculty, students and alumni, develop and launch stories to appropriate media for publication.
• Lead efforts to increase the presence of CEU, its faculty, students, alumni, and events/conferences in DACH media.

 

Public Affairs related activities:

• Involvement in issue-oriented and strategic talks at the level of Federal Government, various ministries, parliament, and with the City of Vienna and various departments, local districts, key social partners (AK, IV).
• Initiate, prepare, and steer meetings with government bodies and other public stakeholders.
• Feeding back learnings into the key decision-making bodies such as our Senior Leadership Team.
• Co-develop and deliver the Public Affairs & Advocacy agenda.
• Support and secure effective alignment of Public Affairs & Outreach objectives and plans with CEU strategy.
• Evaluate and monitor geopolitical trends and relevant regulatory and non-regulatory developments that could impact CEU.
• Represent CEU at key industry events with a focus on deepening engagement to build the brand and secure strategic partnerships.
• Co-develop a media outreach and public affairs strategy, tailored to the DACH context.
• Surveillance of policy developments and keeping abreast of activities of interest groups related to the academic sector like ÖPUK, UNIKO, AQ Austria, ÖH, FHK, research institutions and funding bodies.
• Prepare the Director of Strategic Outreach or other senior CEU representatives for working groups of the Ministry of Science or discussions of strategic interest with other bodies.

Maintain a shared and updated VIP contact databases and guidelines and processes on how to use these contacts Supervise the Senior Events Coordinator and Strategic Outreach Officer. 

Support the Director of Strategic Outreach as the first point of contact for inquiries from Austrian authorities, e.g., governmental surveys, parliamentary requests.

 

Required skills – education, qualification, work experience, skills:

• Advanced training and education in strategic communication.
• 5+ years of working within public affairs and advocacy in the Austrian context.
• Managerial experience.
• Fluent in German and English.
• Proven knowledge and experience with contact management or CRM systems.
• Proven track record of developing successful strategic partnerships, with a strong focus on establishing connections with industry/workforce entities with focus on developing partnerships.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and coordinate multiple tasks while delivering the highest level of service to external partners and CEU peers.
• Ability to collaborate with faculty and staff across departments including Pro-Rectors, Heads of Departments and other colleagues.
• Demonstrated ability to build internal and external collaborations, finding solutions benefiting all parties and focusing on long-term success.

Competencies:

• Passionate about communication, public affairs, and advocacy.
• Able to lead, inspire, and influence people.
• Able to follow instructions and carefully review work for accuracy.
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Self-starter, creative and motivated with exceptional communication skills.
• Action-oriented, with the ability to adapt in a dynamic environment.
• Possesses superb interpersonal skills to develop close relationships with external partners and key influencers.
• Ability to serve as an ambassador for the university.

 

Compensation

We offer a competitive salary starting from a gross of 47,000 EUR/year. A higher salary is possible if warranted by the candidate’s working experience.

The contract is for the duration of a maternity cover (1 year or potentially more).

How to apply

Applicants need to submit:

• CV
• Cover letter
• Three references

Please send your complete application package to advert064@ceu.edu - including the job code in the subject line: 2023/064. 

CEU is an equal opportunity employer and values geographical and gender diversity, thus encouraging applications from women and/or other underrepresented groups. Since CEU strives to increase the share of women in professorial positions, given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female applicants. 

Previous training, work experience and/or engagement with matters of equality, diversity and inclusion at the organizational level will be an asset.

About CEU

One of the world’s most international universities, a unique founding mission positions Central European University  as both an acclaimed center for the study of economic, historical, social and political challenges, and a source of support for building open and democratic societies that respect human rights and human dignity. CEU is accredited in the United States and Austria, and offers English-language bachelor's , master's and doctoral  programs in the social sciences, the humanities, law, environmental sciences, management and public policy. CEU enrolls more than 1,400 students from over 100 countries, with faculty from over 50 countries.  

In 2019, CEU relocated from Hungary to Austria as the Hungarian government revoked its ability to issue US-accredited degrees in the country. As a result, CEU offers all of its degree programs in Vienna, Austria; and retains a non-degree, research and civic engagement presence in Budapest, Hungary, through its CEU Democracy Institute , the Institute for Advanced Study , the CEU Summer University  and The Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives (OSA) , and its Hungarian language public educational programs and public lectures.  

For more information, please visit https://www.ceu.edu/ .

CEU is an equal opportunity employer.

The privacy of your personal information is very important to us. We collect, use, and store your personal information in accordance with the requirements of the applicable data privacy rules, including specifically the General Data Protection Regulation. To learn more about how we manage your personal data during the recruitment process, please see our Privacy Notice at: https://www.ceu.edu/recruitment-privacy-notice  (Hungary: Közép-európai Egyetem, Central European University) or https://www.ceu.edu/recruitment-privacy-notice-austria  (Austria: Central European University, CEU Central European University Private University).