Public Outreach and Participation Expert

Fixed term contract

Yerevan

18 October 2026

Employment term Temporary

Category Communications/Journalism/PR

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Job description:

Project: ETICA – Center for Ethics in Public Affairs (Project No. 101187166 — ETICA — HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-01)

Start and end dates: November 15, 2026 - November 14, 2027

Background

The position will support the European Commission Horizon Europe-funded ETICA – Center for Ethics in Public Affairs project being implemented at the American University of Armenia (AUA). ETICA has established the AUA Center for Ethics in Public Affairs, which aims to be a national and international hub for excellent research, training, and outreach in ethics in the public and professional arenas. To this end, the Center will hold regular international conferences and workshops, publish peer-reviewed articles, create teaching resources and opportunities in English and Armenian, and engage the Armenian public, including youth, in deliberations on key ethical issues. The project also aims to introduce measures to support researchers at AUA and other Armenian higher education institutions to achieve further success with Horizon Europe funding applications and project management.The Public Outreach and Participation Expert will support the implementation of WP5 and WP6 of the ETICA project. These work packages facilitate building national capacities toward informed citizen participation by engaging with the general public to establish multifaceted dialogues on topics that are central to ethics in the public realm. In line with ETICA's priorities, WP5 and WP6 bring science closer to society, organizing dialogues with local communities on key ethical issues in an accessible and meaningful way by organizing well-structured citizen-engaged discussions for both the adult general public and younger participants.The aim is to demonstrate and replicate citizens' and experts' engagements in informed exchange, public reflection, and deliberation on the central topics of the project, particularly focused on hope and trust in times of crises and deep transition. More specific topics may include: post-war political crisis and peacebuilding; minority rights and diversity; the triple environmental crisis of climate, pollution, and loss of biodiversity; digital media and trust; business ethics in the public realm; public health and societal obligations; and artificial intelligence (AI) and trust.

Job responsibilities

Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The Public Outreach and Participation Expert, under the supervision of the ETICA WP5 and WP6 Lead (the Director of the AUA Acopian Center for the Environment), hereafter Lead, and the Principal Investigator (PI) of the ETICA project, shall:

Develop and maintain a detailed WP5 and WP6 implementation plan, including timelines, milestones, responsibilities, dependencies, and required resources.
Support preparation in English and translate into Armenian all guidelines, instructions, and protocols related to youth competitions (YCs), town hall meetings (THMs), youth competitions, deliberative mini-publics (DMPs), and youth juries (YJs).
Lead and organize the implementation of the tasks of WP5 and WP6, such as holding youth competitions (YCs), town hall meetings (THMs), deliberative mini-publics (DMPs), and youth juries (YJs).
Assist the ETICA PI and WP leader to organise policy meetings with relevant NGOs.
Draft policy briefs and finalize them in cooperation with WP5 and WP6 Lead, ETICA PI, and other stakeholders as may be deemed necessary.
Regularly monitor progress against the ETICA task and deliverable schedule.
Coordinate with the project manager and other work packages to ensure appropriate flow of information, outputs, and expertise between work packages.
Identify implementation risks, delays, or resource gaps and propose corrective measures.
Organize and participate in relevant internal project meetings and coordination meetings.
Maintain appropriate records of WP5 and WP6 activities, participants, partners, outputs, and follow-up actions.
Support preparation of WP5 and WP6 contributions to project progress reports, meetings, reviews, and other reporting requirements.

Required qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

The successful candidate should have:

A university degree in a relevant field such as social sciences, public policy, environmental studies, communications, education, development studies, political science, or a related discipline;
Demonstrated experience in project or programme coordination;
Experience organizing public events, stakeholder consultations, workshops, or participatory processes;
Strong stakeholder engagement and partnership-building skills;
Ability to fully implement research ethics reviews and compliance for participants who are adults or minors; this shall include working to comply with data privacy aspects of research;
Experience working with NGOs, public institutions, schools, youth organizations, or community groups;
Strong organizational and logistical skills;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Armenian and English;
Strong public communications skills in Armenian and English;
Ability to work with multidisciplinary academic and non-academic stakeholders;
Experience preparing reports, briefing materials, event documentation, or policy-oriented outputs;
Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple activities simultaneously.

Preference may be given to candidates with experience in:

Deliberative democracy or citizen participation; citizen assemblies, deliberative mini publics, or citizen juries; and youth engagement;
Participation or management of Horizon Europe or other international research projects;policy engagement and knowledge transfer.

Additional information

Please submit your CV and Cover letter (with the names of three referees) via AUA career platform here.

AUA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an active non-discrimination program within the institution