ENIL is Looking for 2 ESC Volunteers 

The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) is looking for two 6 months European Solidarity Corps volunteers, from 1 April 2025 to 31 October 2025 and 2 June 2025 to 30 November 2025. The start and end dates can be discussed. ENIL is an NGO run by and for disabled people. Our main goals are to promote the right of all disabled people to live independently and to be included in the community.  

As a European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteer, you will work in the ENIL Brussels office and gain experience in advocating for changes in European laws and policies, as part of a small international team. While volunteering for ENIL, you will also learn more about disability rights and Independent Living. 

As an ESC volunteer, you will be expected to work 35 hours a week, from Monday to Friday from 09:00h – 17:00h. These hours are flexible and can be adjusted depending on the access needs of the volunteer. If ENIL organises an event or the volunteer has to attend a meeting, there can be occasional need for work to be carried out during the late afternoon or during the weekend. The hours worked during the weekends or evenings can be recuperated as free hours during the weeks following the event. 

General tasks will include participating in ENIL (staff) meetings and the daily running of the office.  

Within the first 2 weeks of the ESC programme, ENIL will give you the chance to learn more about all aspects of its work. After this introductory period, staff will together with you identify how you can best contribute to ENIL’s work, based on your interests and preferences. For example, if you have excellent writing skills, you may be given responsibility to develop articles for the Newsletter or website, new publications or policy statements.  

Depending on your skills and interests, your day-to-day tasks may include: 

• Contributing to ENIL’s advocacy work (by supporting ENIL’s work on the EU Disability Rights Strategy, for example); 
• Planning and organising events, such as online meetings, webinars and trainings; 
• Attending and reporting on external meetings/events; 
• Desk based research and drafting of texts to contribute to written materials, such as position papers, submissions to the UN treaty bodies, fact sheets, toolkits, manuals; 
• Contributing to the work of the ENIL Youth Network; 
• Writing articles for the monthly Newsletter and ENIL’s Website. 
• Posting on the ENIL Soc. Media accounts, Facebook pages and Twitter. 

You will always be working together with a responsible member of the ENIL staff and will not have sole responsibility for your work. 

• You have to be older than 18 and younger than 31 on the first day of your placement.
• You cannot be in paid employment or have other work or study commitments during your volunteering period to be accepted in the ESC program. 
• As this program is aimed at young people with fewer opportunities, you must identify as a disabled person in order to apply.
• We expect you to have a positive can-do attitude and basic computer skills.
• As the working language at ENIL is English, a good knowledge of the English language is essential.
• This is a mobility program, so you must be willing to move to Brussels, Belgium for the duration of the volunteering. Online volunteering is not possible.
• You must be committed to the mission and principles of the European Network on Independent Living (see: https://enil.eu/about-enil/) and the European Solidarity Corps (see: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/mission_en) 
• Young people from countries within and outside the European Union can take part in the ESC programme (for a list of eligible countries, please see the Solidarity Corps website).

Place of the European Solidarity Corps volunteer period:  Brussels, Belgium 

Start of the European Solidarity Corps volunteer period: volunteer no. 1: 1^st April 2025, duration: 6 months, volunteer no. 2: 2 June 2025; duration: 6 months (please note that the starting date is negotiable, but both volunteer periods must be completed until the end of 2025)

Expenses and access needs information:

*PLEASE READ THIS INFORMATION VERY CAREFULLY*

• The volunteer selected will not, in principle, need to use their own money to participate in the European Solidarity Corps programme. Travel, accommodation and modest pocket money are covered by the programme, as well as extra costs for reasonable accommodation/personal assistance for disabled people.
• The pocket money should not be used for food and travel costs. These will be covered separately (for more information on the different European Solidarity Corps responsibilities see https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/faq_en). 
• If you are shortlisted for the programme, it is important to be clear about all your access needs, and your need for personal assistance and any other requirements, so we can make sure that they can be covered from ENIL’s Solidarity Corps budget.
• ENIL will provide support in making the practical arrangements to meet volunteers’ access needs e.g. finding accessible accommodation and hiring personal assistants. Volunteers are expected to play an active role in this process.
• Brussels is a very inaccessible city and it is difficult for some disabled people to use the public transport to get around. ENIL will do everything possible to make sure the volunteer can travel to the ENIL office comfortably. Because it is impossible to make an inaccessible system completely accessible, this will also require some commitment, flexibility, and active involvement of the volunteer.

How to apply:

Please send your CV and a short motivation letter before 1 February 2025 to: secretariat@enil.eu.

• Please use the following subject line: Application for ENIL-ESC 2025
• Based on the experience from the last year, we expect a high number of applications, so please take into account that competition for the ESC position will be high. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by 7 February 2025 and the interviews will take place online the week of 10 February 2025. Please do not apply if you don’t fulfill the eligibility criteria.
• This position is for two persons.
• If you have any questions, please contact the ESC Coordinator Vita Vaisnyte at vita.vaisnyte@enil.eu