The Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) is a pan-European platform uniting small-scale fishers (SSF) to achieve fair fisheries, healthy seas and vibrant communities. As an organisation of organisations from across Europe, LIFE strives to provide a dedicated voice for its members, supporting them to organise regionally, and building their capacity at national and local level both as small producers and as agents of change.

LIFE is registered in Belgium as a not-for-profit association (asbl).

LIFE is seeking administrative and bookkeeping support to build its bookkeeping and financial reporting capacity, and to organise the administrative tasks of its Brussels Office and regional coordination.

The need has arisen due to LIFE’s increasing role in EU-level projects, with increasing requirements to coordinate a widening diversity of activities and to provide detailed financial and administrative reports in a timely fashion following strict guidelines. Over the coming period, the number of projects we engage in is likely to increase, with the requirement for administrative and financial support becoming increasingly important.

The post could be filled either by an outside agency providing the requisite services, or through the recruitment of an Administrative and Financial Officer as part of LIFE’s Brussels Office Team. We would like to explore both options.

Working environment and scope of work

LIFE Brussels Office is responsible for maintaining relations with the European institutions (Commission, Parliament etc), with LIFE’s members (associations of small-scale fishers), for coordinating activities, for project administration, bookkeeping and accounting, and for maintaining records. LIFE must comply with Belgian legislation governing not for profit associations (asbls), with the annual submission of financial and other reports to the Belgian authorities.

Since the Covid pandemic, LIFE has adopted a flexible approach to homeworking/ teletravail. Our headquarters is registered at an address in Brussels where we have co-working arrangements, as well as access to meeting rooms and other facilities as and when required.

The Administrative and Financial Officer/ external agency will work as part of a team helping to ensure the smooth running of LIFE’s activities. In particular he/she/they will provide administrative support to LIFE’s on-going work and to several new projects in which LIFE will be increasingly engaged in the coming period.

Fluency in English and French is essential; competence in other European languages is an asset.

An important part of the job will be to develop an efficient but simple system of bookkeeping and to monitor income and expenditure effectively against budgets. A good working knowledge of bookkeeping systems in general is essential. Familiarity with EU funded projects (Horizon, Interreg, EMFAF etc.) and the Belgian financial reporting requirements (Moniteur Belge/ MinFin) will be a distinct advantage.

Diversity information: LIFE is a relatively small organization, run by fishers for fishers. The small team of male and female staff includes LIFE’s two Brussels based staff (Policy Adviser and Senior Communications Officer), Baltic and North Sea Coordinator based in Sweden and Executive Secretary based in Barcelona.

Staff recruitment is based on experience, motivation, qualifications and proven ability.

LIFE does not discriminate by age, gender, race, religion, sexuality or socio-economic class.

More information about LIFE can be found on our website www.lifeplatform.eu .

MAIN AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

The post holder reports to the Executive Secretary, with the main areas of responsibility outlined below

Administration/Secretarial

(a) Develop a system/s to process orders and invoices, organise the payroll, maintain records of expenditure and monitor income and expenditure against budgets

(b) Maintain and develop LIFE’s bookkeeping, accounting and financial reporting systems to meet requirements of a multiplicity of donor/ project requirements

(c) Select appropriate accounting software packages, e.g. WinBooks, Odoo, etc., to monitor income and expenditure and to generate financial reports and a management dashboard

(d) Generate project reports as required according to specific deadlines of donors and grant bodies.

(e) Generate annual financial reports in line with the requirements of Belgium law (reporting to MinFin/ Moniteur Belge) from 2025.

(f) Support for daily administration, travel logistics, and event organisation

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Listed below are the requirements needed to undertake this job. Selection of candidates will be based on the extent to which these requirements are met.

Administration/Secretarial/Accounts/Financials

∙ Proven experience in a related role

∙ Experience of working with minimal supervision

∙ Experience of and familiarity with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, etc) packages, bookkeeping software (Winbooks, Odoo etc), and video conferencing systems (Zoom, Teams etc)

∙ Experience of administering meetings, including minute taking

∙ Experience of the administrative and reporting needs of EU projects (Horizon, Interreg, EMFAF etc.)

∙ Experience/ knowledge of Belgian official account coding and bookkeeping requirements (Moniteur Belge/ MinFin)

∙ Experience of working with a similar organisation

Communication

∙ A high standard of written and oral communication skills

∙ Fluency in English and French (both written and oral)

∙ Fluency/ competence (written and oral) in other EU languages an asset

Personal Qualities

∙ A high degree of motivation and professionalism

∙ Excellent interpersonal and team working skills

∙ Respect for confidentiality at all times

∙ Attention to detail, especially when it comes to the bookkeeping tasks

∙ Ability to develop effective working relationships at all levels, and to take on leadership roles

∙ Ability to work unsupervised and with a high level of initiative

∙ Proactive, creative and flexible in finding solutions to problems

∙ Ability to remain calm and deliver to tight deadlines under pressure

∙ Absorb information and learn new skills quickly

Flexibility and reliability

∙ Willingness to work unsocial hours occasionally if required

∙ Willingness to travel within Europe if required

PAY AND CONDITIONS

Based in Brussels, eligible to work under Belgian law and immediately available.

Salary package commensurate with qualifications, skills and experience:

Around Euros 2.500/ month (including holiday pay; allowances for: travel; meal vouchers; GSM + abonnement; use of laptop computer).

Remuneration to outside contractor according to services provided.

We offer flexible work options, allowing you to work from home or the office as best suits you.

For further information and applications contact: Brian O’Riordan, deputy@lifeplatform.eu

Please submit a cover letter and CV to deputy@lifeplatform.eu by the closing date for applications: October 3, 2025