Senior Consultant – EU Employment and Social Policy specialists - Policy and Programme Implementation

About ICF

ICF (www.icf.com) is a consultancy firm with offices in the UK, Belgium, US and worldwide. At ICF, we help governments, public agencies and international institutions solve complex problems and improve the quality of life of people around the world. We offer critical insight, rigorous analytical techniques and implementation support to deliver innovative solutions and thought-provoking analyses for our clients.

Today, ICF is a global consulting services company with over 9,000 full- and part-time employees, but we are not your typical consultants. Working at ICF means applying a passion for meaningful work with intellectual rigor to help solve the leading issues of our day. We believe in collaboration, mutual respect, open communication, and opportunity for growth.

About the role:

We are looking for two Senior Consultants to join our well-established Policy In Action practice, which manages a spectrum of large programmes. The practice provides technical assistance, insights, research, networking and other implementation services to EU institutions, particularly the European Commission, as well as organisations in the UK. Our current portfolio of projects supports the main Directorates-General of the Commission, spanning Mutual Learning Services for DG Employment and Social Inclusion, providing support services to the ESF + programme, supporting the European Platform Tackling Undeclared Work on behalf of the European Labour Authority, operating the European Centre of Expertise on labour market policy and labour law, supporting the EQAVET Network, designing and delivering training services, working within the framework of DG REFORM and managing the Erasmus+ Alumni Network Services – to name a few.

Your work will be hands-on and varied, ranging from overseeing the preparation of thematic and analytical papers, identifying good practices in European countries and developing content for communication and dissemination purposes, through to supporting practical learning and networking in the form of working groups, workshops, study visits, seminars, etc. This is grounded in a solid understanding and application of the policy subject-matter, as well as an ability to interact with many stakeholders, such as national ministries, international organisations, non-governmental bodies, independent experts.

For these specific roles, we are looking for Senior Consultants who can work on employment and social policy-related subjects such as undeclared work, employment services delivery, labour law, labour mobility, social security coordination or other employment and social policy related issues. We are looking for experienced writers who can communicate well in a multi-national environment.

Depending on your experience, you would support the management of large programmes and deliver specific activities or strands of work within programmes, reporting to Programme and Contract Managers. You could work across more than one project and be expected to:

• Contribute to / lead the organisation and support of programme-related activities with the aim of building capacity, such as working groups, secretariats, helpdesk or advisory services, communities of practice and expert networks and more.
• Prepare reports, presentations and other written deliverables for a range of audiences, from technical annual reports through to website content.
• Research, analyse and produce policy content in different forms, and/or oversee junior team members carrying out written work. Examples include thematic or analytical papers, case studies, good practice fiches, mapping and comparative exercises, monitoring and evaluation surveys, stakeholder interviews, etc.
• Contribute to the design and organisation of face-to-face, virtual and hybrid workshops and events, supported by a dedicated event logistics and technical team. With a strong focus on content development for our senior consultants, this includes developing elements of the agenda, writing summaries, and facilitating event discussions.
• Contribute to proposal-writing and preparations, including writing sections of the technical offer, and identifying and coordinating with relevant experts.
• Undertake other consultancy tasks, as required.

At Senior Consultant level, in particular, you will typically take forward and coordinate packages of activities and deliverables, as well as be more involved in project and line management and more complex proposal-writing, where opportunities arise.

Required experience:

• University degree or equivalent in a related discipline, for example law, public policy, politics, economics
• 7+ years professional experience in consultancy, public policy and/or government affairs in the EU and/or UK
• Knowledge and interest in employment policy, labour mobility, areas linked to the European employment strategy.
• Strong organisational and coordination skills, including time management, multi-tasking and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including interacting with multi-national and multi-disciplinary stakeholders.
• Solid foundation in research and analysis, including basic qualitative and quantitative methods. 
• Knowledge of communications methods and tools in the context of disseminating outputs

Personal Qualities:

• Ability to self-organise, prioritise and manage/ work with multiple work strands and teams in parallel under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• High level of ability and confidence to perform tasks with minimum supervision
• Ability to work flexibly to meet client and organisational priorities and needs
• Sound research and business ethics, including the protection of proprietary and confidential information
• Excellent verbal, written, analytical and communication skills in English - additional European languages an advantage
• Commitment to the progression and development of junior research / other staff
• Ability to work with all levels of internal staff, as well as clients and sub-contractors
• Ability to work within multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary teams spread across several countries
• Willingness to travel within Europe, as required
• Entrepreneurial talent to identify and realise new opportunities, as well as new innovations / approaches that will improve efficiency

Ready to apply?

Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter and a CV.