The GC Observatory aims to enhance the role of the GC and its regional members in undertaking coordinated research initiatives and providing guidance and expert opinions in response to urgent human rights issues to a broad primary and secondary audience. It provides a virtual hub with the participation of a team of researchers who are alumni from GC regional programmes, for the production of a set of complementary policy analyses on selected topics.
In its new edition, the GC Policy Observatory will revolve around ‘Protecting, promoting and enjoying academic freedom: trends, challenges and impacts from a human rights-based approach’. (Please read the brief policy area outline annexed below).
The selected persons will be in charge of delivering the following outputs:
• a Regional Programme’s policy brief (max 5000 words; should include a set of data, analysis and policy recommendations) for digital publication;
• a short advocacy plan identifying the target audience (relevant stakeholders) to which address an advocacy message and policy recommendations;
• presentation of the key findings of the policy brief in online webinars and eventually an onsite Venice event.
They will work in close cooperation with the GC Policy Observatory Coordinator.
They will be hired under the terms and conditions of a service agreement with the GC.
Please notice that this is not to be considered a full-time job offer, but a part time consultancy remunerated with an honorarium of 800 Euros that will involve a limited number of working hours to be tentatively distributed from October-December 2025 to January-June 2026.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Proven experience in policy paper writing in one of the following topics:
• human rights education
• academic freedom and institutional autonomy
• academic freedom and freedom of opinion and expression
• academic freedom and right to education
• academic freedom and right to the benefits of science
• academic freedom in digital education
• academic freedom in higher education
• academic freedom and political interferences
• academic freedom and institutional leadership actions including censorship and personnel policies
• academic freedom and pressures within the internal academic community
• civil society attacks on academics, especially via social media
• academic freedom and potential private influences via funding relationships
• security-related restrictions in academic collaboration and publishing
2. Proven experience in policy advisory;
3. Proven experience in advocacy work;
4. Be an Alumna/us of one of the eight GC Regional Programmes;
Candidates holding these qualifications are strongly encouraged to express their interest by submitting to chiara.altafin@gchumanrights.org until 3 October 2025, an application comprised of:
- updated CV with list of publications, prioritising the policy papers authored;
- the abstract of the proposed policy brief.
The expressions of interest will be reviewed by a Selection Committee, composed of members from the Research Department, the E-learning Department and General Secretariat of the GC by mid-October 2025.
Read here the Brief Policy Area Outline.