Project Manager — EU-Funded Projects

Your mission

There’s a European Capital for – almost! – everything. But why not Democracy? This idea gave birth to our ambitious initiative. It has since become a reality: Every year a European City is designated as European Capital of Democracy (ECoD) – acting as a global stage for strengthening democracy. Now, we need a Project Manager to work with our young and motivated team to manage and implement ECoD's obligations across a portfolio of EU-funded projects under Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and CERV. The role covers milestone delivery, budget and resource tracking, funder and consortium reporting, compliance, and the design and delivery of ECoD-hosted events. Your profile

Key Responsibilities Grant and consortium administration• Monitor deliverables, milestones and submission deadlines across multiple

• project work plans
• Monitor person-month allocation and resource burn-rate
• Prepare periodic progress and implementation reports for project
• coordinators and European Commission project officers
• Represent ECoD in consortium meetings and coordinate follow-up actions
• Ensure compliance with grant and partnership agreements and the
• requirements of different EU funding programmes

Financial management• Manage and monitor expenditure against ECoD's project budgets

• Monitor deviations from project plans and budgets and coordinate corrective actions
• Prepare financial documentation for EU grant reporting, including documentation of eligible costs and in-kind contributions
• Apply the appropriate reporting requirements for lump-sum and actual-cost grants

Event design and delivery• Plan and deliver project events, including kick-off and closing conferences, international partner meetings, public events, festivals and youth formats such as hackathons

• Coordinate online, hybrid and in-person events
• Manage event logistics, including venues, programmes, travel, accommodation, technical requirements and participant coordination
• Organise and facilitate workshops and focus groups, including on sensitive or polarising topics

Stakeholder and partnership coordination• Coordinate cooperation with local and municipal project partners

• Develop agreements and partnerships that support the continuation of project activities beyond the funding period
• Recruit project participants and work with civil society organisations and other relevant networks

Compliance and risk• Ensure GDPR-compliant handling of project data, including consent procedures for minors and vulnerable groups

• Support the implementation of data management and ethics requirements and coordinate with relevant ethics bodies where necessary
• Implement safeguarding requirements in coordination with the Compliance & Safeguarding Officer
• Monitor project KPIs and ensure accessibility requirements are taken into account

Required Skills Essential• Good understanding of democracy, democratic innovation, migration, disinformation and EU institutional processes

• Experience managing EU-funded projects, ideally across more than one

programme, such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ or CERV

• Experience with Project Cycle Management
• Experience with budget administration and EU financial reporting
• Good knowledge of GDPR and data protection requirements
• Experience coordinating multi-partner, international consortia
• Experience managing events and conferences, including international and

public-facing formats

• Experience facilitating workshops and focus groups
• Working proficiency in English

Desirable• Familiarity with the EU Funding & Tenders Portal

• Experience with participatory and co-creation methodologies
• Working proficiency in German
• Proficiency in another European language is an advantage

Out of scope• Designing and conducting field research

• Producing communications materials or managing press relations
• Final approval or signature of contractual agreements
• Writing funding proposals or developing budgets for new project applications

Why us?

Our benefits:• A meaningful role in a growing organisation working to change politics and society for the better

• A supportive team
• A full-time position (38.5 hours per week), starting ASAP
• An annual professional development budget for each employee
• The option to work from home up to two days per week
• 25 days of annual leave and two additional days per year for volunteering
• A spacious office, regular team events, and as much coffee or tea as you
• like :)

For this full-time position (38.5 hours per week), we offer an annual gross salary of EUR 48,000. The position is based in Vienna.

The European Capital of Democracy NPO is an equal opportunity employer. We believe that a team with diverse backgrounds and perspectives strengthens our ability to fulfil our mission of making political innovation accessible to all. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of background.

Please send your application until 31 August 2026. About us

ECoD gemeinnützige GmbH (ECoD NPO) was founded in 2021 by the Innovation in Politics Institute, an independent and non-partisan organisation that identifies, develops and implements innovations in the private and public sector in order to strengthen democracy in Europe.

As a non-profit organisation, ECoD NPO’s mission is to promote democratic governance and to strengthen social cohesion by fostering and expanding participation and awareness across the Council of Europe member states. 

For this purpose, a European Capital of Democracy is designated every year - Barcelona in 2023/24 and Vienna in 2024/25. In cooperation with civil society and citizens, the title-holding city organises and implements a Democracy Year, featuring a wide range of activities and events.