Job Description

Your responsibilities

Are you a creative thinker with excellent communication skills, keen to work in one of the world’s largest scientific organisations?

Join the CERN Press Office team!

CERN has an opening for an Early Career (Origin) Graduate in the Press Office team, part of the Media and Digital Communications (PRD) section in the Education, Communication and Outreach (ECO) group in the International Relations (IR) sector. The Media and Digital Communications section includes the Press Office, the CERN Digital team (Social Media and the Digital Editor), and the Web team.

The CERN Press Office is the focal point for media worldwide interested in CERN. Its mission is to deliver CERN’s key messages to media and manage the image and reputation of the Laboratory. The Press Office develops and implements media engagement, welcomes journalists and media representatives, prepares and distributes press releases, monitors and analyses the media coverage of the Organisation, oversees media trainings for CERN members, and deals with crisis communication within CERN.

As a junior press officer you will:

• Contribute to the different stages of external communication projects and campaigns, mainly press releases and media kits.

• Contribute to the evaluation and monitoring activities related to media and external communication projects and activities, including weekly, monthly, quarterly, and project reports.

• Address journalists’ requests and update the existing media database.

• Organise press visits (individual and in groups, on-site or online) and take part in the organisation of press events and media training courses for CERN members.

• Update the Press Office’s website and provide organisational support for the Press Office activities.

• Share resources and assist with other activities related to media and digital communication as requested.

More information here: https://home.cern/press

Your profile

Skills

• Previous experience in communication related to science, technology, industry, and knowledge or technology transfer.
• Good knowledge of the media landscape and media relations
• Some experience in several of the following fields: event organisation; social media; preparing talking points and fact sheets; newsletter editing; content creation (writing, presentations, audio-visual material); evaluation and monitoring of communications plans; report writing; public relations; public understanding of science; science communications; web development
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with diplomacy
• Ability to collaborate with a great diversity of interlocutors. Teamwork skills.
• Organisational and planning skills
• Proficiency in French and/or English. An additional language will be an asset.

Further details for the required skills and experience: https://international-relations.web.cern.ch/opportunities/2024/early-career-graduate-junior-press-officer

Eligibility criteria:

• You are a national of a CERN Member or Associate Member State.
• By the application deadline, you have a maximum of two years of professional experience since graduation in Communication, Social Sciences or STEM (or a related field) and your highest educational qualification is either a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Applicants without University degree are not eligible.
• Applicants with a PhD are not eligible.

Additional Information

Job closing date: 6 January at 23h59 CET.

Contract duration: 24 months, with a possible extension up to 36 months maximum.

Target start date: 01-April-2025

This position involves:

• Interventions in underground installations.
• A valid driving licence.
• Work during nights, Sundays and official holidays, when required by the needs of the Organization.

Job reference: IR-ECO-PRD-2024-226-GRAE

Field of work: International Relations

What we offer

• A monthly stipend ranging between 5134 and 5647 Swiss Francs (net of tax).
• Coverage by CERN’s comprehensive health scheme (for yourself, your spouse and children), and membership of the CERN Pension Fund.
• Depending on your individual circumstances: installation grant; family, child and infant allowances; payment of travel expenses at the beginning and end of contract.
• 30 days of paid leave per year.
• On-the-job and formal training at CERN as well as in-house language courses for English and/or French.

About us

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. Using the world’s largest and most complex scientific instruments, they study the basic constituents of matter – fundamental particles that are made to collide together at close to the speed of light. The process gives physicists clues about how particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature. Find out more on http://home.cern.

Diversity has been an integral part of CERN’s mission since its foundation and is an established value of the Organization. Employing a diverse workforce is central to our success.