Survivor Engagement and Case Management Coordinator (gn)

Who we are

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) is an independent, non-profit human rights organization based in Berlin that works primarily through legal means. We initiate, develop and support legal interventions to hold state and non-state actors accountable for human rights abuses.

Who we seek

We are seeking a Survivor Engagement and Case Management Coordinator to strengthen our Central Mediterranean project in the International Crimes and Accountability team.

Together with survivors, survivor-led organizations and partner lawyers, the project advances accountability for international crimes against people on the move (migrants, refugees and asylum seekers) in the Central Mediterranean and North Africa, including crimes committed in Libya and at sea. Through complementary legal interventions, we address the responsibility of direct perpetrators and European state, agency and corporate actors, challenge border externalization and racialized violence, and strengthen survivors’ access to justice and ability to shape accountability processes.

You will proactively and independently coordinate survivor engagement and case management across the project, providing a consistent point of contact for survivors and supporting their informed participation in accountability processes. You will maintain up-to-date case management and outreach tools to facilitate secure and streamlined legal case work. Your initial priority will be supporting survivors’ engagement with the International Criminal Court’s Libya situation, particularly the El Hishri proceedings. You will also potentially support engagement in legal proceedings at the national level, before the European Court of Human Rights, and other relevant accountability forums. You will proactively identify emerging challenges and develop practical solutions to ensure continuity, effective coordination and timely follow-up with a survivor-centered approach across the project's legal interventions.

The position combines relationship building, trauma-informed interviewing, case coordination and practical support for access to justice. Relevant experience in these areas is more important than a legal qualification. You should bring a basic understanding of legal processes and survivors’ opportunities to participate in them, together with the ability to learn specific procedures and explain them accessibly.

• Survivor outreach, support, and sustained communication: Identify, build and maintain relationships with survivors, in close cooperation with survivor-led organizations and trusted partner networks. Support ongoing dialogue about survivors’ priorities, legal options and opportunities for participation, and provide accessible updates throughout proceedings. Identify support needs together with survivors and coordinate referrals, with their consent, to appropriate legal, psychosocial and other services. Develop and maintain referral arrangements and follow up within the agreed remit of the position.
• Case management and coordination: Take primary responsibility for coordinating survivor contact and follow-up across the project’s cases. Maintain accurate, systematic and secure case records, including sensitive personal information, interview documentation and potentially relevant evidence, while ensuring ongoing informed consent, tracking agreed actions and deadlines, and respecting individual communication preferences, language requirements and security needs.
• Survivor-centred, trauma-informed interviewing: Conduct initial screening conversations and tailored interviews to support survivors’ engagement in relevant legal proceedings, including assisting those who wish to apply for victim registration before the ICC. Work with colleagues and partner lawyers to document relevant experiences, respecting survivors’ choices and ongoing consent while minimizing avoidable distress and repeated recounting.
• Coordination with lawyers and justice mechanisms: Coordinate exchanges between survivors and partner lawyers, including briefings and calls, and support procedural follow-up. Communicate with partner lawyers, the ICC’s Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) and other relevant court sections and authorities, as appropriate, in coordination with the Central Mediterranean project lead.
• Interpreter and interview team coordination: Maintain and further develop a network of interpreters and translators in relevant languages. Help establish and coordinate a roster of trained interviewers from among ECCHR’s trusted partners.
• Practical and administrative support for participation: Help coordinate survivors’ participation in hearings, meetings and other relevant activities, including interpretation, travel and accessibility arrangements.
• Shared working methods: Strengthen procedures for survivor engagement and secure case management, working with colleagues across programs to ensure continuity and avoid unnecessary duplication of requests to survivors.

• Relevant practical experience working directly with people on the move, including those at risk or in insecure environments, and/or survivors of serious human rights violations, including sustained responsibility for individual cases and follow-up
• Demonstrated experience conducting trauma-informed interviews and documenting sensitive accounts for legal proceedings, human rights investigations or comparable purposes
• A basic understanding of legal procedures and avenues for survivors’ access to justice and participation, together with the ability to acquire detailed procedural knowledge and explain complex information clearly
• Strong case management and organizational skills, including reliable documentation, coordination of multiple cases and consistent follow-through
• Practical understanding of survivor-centred approaches, including respect for individual autonomy, informed and ongoing consent, confidentiality and the right to decline participation
• Sound judgment concerning communication and security risks, including when working remotely with people in precarious or changing circumstances
• Experience communicating across languages and working effectively with interpreters, including through telephone calls and messaging applications
• A commitment to working in partnership with survivor-led organizations and recognizing survivors’ expertise and role in shaping accountability efforts
• An intersectional, power-critical approach: an understanding of how racism, gender, nationality, migration status, class, disability and other intersecting structures of discrimination shape experiences of violence and barriers to justice
• Strong interpersonal skills, a collaborative approach while also able to work independently, and the ability to build trusting relationships, maintain professional boundaries and seek specialist input when needed
• Excellent spoken and written English
• Willingness to travel occasionally within and outside Europe

A law degree or professional legal qualification is an asset but not required. We welcome relevant experience gained through professional, community-based and survivor-led work, alongside different educational and professional pathways.

The following would be particularly valuable:

• Arabic language skills, particularly familiarity with Sudanese Arabic, would be a significant asset. Other languages relevant to the communities we work with, including French, Tigrinya, Amharic, Somali and Mandinka, are also welcome.
• Experience supporting survivor participation before the ICC, national criminal courts or regional and international human rights mechanisms
• Familiarity with the Central Mediterranean context, Libya, European border externalization or related accountability work
• Experience coordinating interpreters, interview teams or referral networks
• We welcome applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds and experiences. We create the necessary conditions to enable colleagues with disabilities to work independently. 

You will undertake challenging and meaningful work in an internationally active human rights organization with a global network and an appreciative working environment. We offer flexible working time models, home office arrangements and consideration for the needs of parents and other people with care responsibilities. Other benefits include central office space in Berlin, team activities, a contribution to a public transport pass (Deutschlandticket) and an egalitarian salary model (FairPay) that takes structural disadvantages into account.

The position sits within the International Crimes and Accountability program and is supervised by the Central Mediterranean project lead. You will work closely with the Border Justice and Business and Human Rights teams, contributing to casework that connects expertise across ECCHR’s four programs.

We recognize the emotional demands of working closely with survivors of serious violence and prioritize staff psychosocial well-being. ECCHR offers psychosocial supervision facilitated by a trained psychosocial professional for staff undertaking this work.

When & Duration

The position is based in Berlin. We would like you to start as soon as possible, preferably by January 2027. This is an 80-100% position (32-40 hours per week), initially for 12 months. An extension may be possible, subject to funding and organizational approval.

Salary

We operate with a transparent and egalitarian salary model (FairPay), the basis of which is a monthly gross salary of € 4.400 full-time (40 hours per week). FairPay also takes qualifications, professional experience and personal circumstances, including structural disadvantages and care responsibilities, into account when calculating individual salaries. Staff may therefore be entitled to additional allowances where the relevant criteria are met.