Civil Rights Defenders is strengthening its long-term engagement in the Eurasia region and is now seeking a Programme Officer. Are you an expert on the political and human rights situation in Eurasia? Do you want to use your strategical skills to contribute to the advocacy work of Civil Rights Defenders? Then you might be the one we are looking for.

About the role

As Programme Officer you will work directly with the Department Director and the team to manage and follow up on the programme and long-term partnerships with human rights organisations in the Eastern Partnership countries and Central Asia. The role combines programme management, political analysis, partner engagement, reporting and advocacy-related work.

The Eurasia Programme Officer reports to the Eurasia Department Director.

The role offers great variety, including work tasks such as:

Programme Management and Partnerships

• Manage long-term partnerships with human rights organisations.

• Oversee the full project cycle, including monitoring, evaluation, reporting and compliance.

• Act as the main point of contact for partners and maintain regular, secure communication.

Monitoring and Analysis

• Monitor and analyse human rights and socio-political developments in the Eurasia region.

• Contribute analysis and contextual updates to team discussions and across the organisation.

• Support programme and internal adaptations when needed.

Fundraising, Reporting and Coordination

• Contribute to project proposals, budgets and donor reporting.

• Coordinate deadlines, documentation and financial processes in close collaboration with relevant colleagues.

Advocacy, Representation and Communication

• Contribute to advocacy and communication outputs related to the region.

• Represent Civil Rights Defenders in relevant coordination forums and maintain key networks.

About you

You are proactive, take initiative and collaborate well with others. While the role requires a high degree of independence, you understand that delivering impact is a team effort and you actively contribute to shared goals.

You are able to see the long-term significance of your work and approach complex and demanding tasks with flexibility, sound judgement and commitment to shared mission and vision.

You are comfortable working under pressure and with a high level of responsibility, including handling sensitive information and maintaining confidentiality over time. You communicate clearly and are able to make well-reasoned decisions, even in complex and challenging contexts.

You are attentive to how background, culture and context shape perspectives and decision-making, and you take this into account in your work with partners and colleagues.

We assume that you share our values.

To be suitable for this role you have:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Law, Political Science, International Relations or similar, including education on international human rights mechanisms.

• At least 3 years of relevant working experience.

• Documented experience of Project management.

• Document experience of NGO-work and advocacy in restrictive environments.

• Fluency in English (orally and written) and have working proficiency in Russian

• Working experience from Eurasia region within human rights, democracy or civil society organisations.

• Strong IT skills, including good knowledge of Microsoft 365 (Teams, Outlook, Excel, PPT, Word).

• It is a merit if you are know additions Eurasian language.

It is a Stockholm-based position and a valid work permit for Sweden is required.

About the employment

This is a full-time permanent employment with 6 months probationary employment, start date is February or according to agreement. As an organisation, we strive for diversity and we see your background, experience and personality as a contribution to the organisation.

You will be based in Stockholm at our headquarters. We offer you a pleasant and modern workplace that values flexibility when it comes to working hours and hybrid work set-up, combining office-based and remote work. We apply Collective Agreement with Fremia.

Please apply as soon as possible, as we recruit on an ongoing basis. Last day of application is January 31, 2026. 

For more information about the position, please contact recruiting manager Zinaida Muradova: Zinaida.Muradova@crd.org.

Local union representative: joanna.hellstrom@crd.org (Unionen).

About us

Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent international human rights organisation. We defend people’s civil and political rights in some of the world’s most repressive regions. We partner with and support human rights defenders in more than 300 organisations in 50 countries on four continents. Together with our partners, we hold those in power accountable when people’s civil or political rights are violated. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog.

Civil Rights Defenders has around 70 staff members working in various functions towards our vision - a world of democratic societies in which we all enjoy our civil and political rights. Our headquarter is located in Stockholm, and we have eight branch offices around the world. Learn more about our work at crd.org.