The Council of Europe is hiring a Senior IT Developer for the Register of Damage for Ukraine at its headquarters in The Hague, on a fixed term contract to 31 December 2027, with applications closing on 21 September 2026. At Youth Works Hub, we worked through the vacancy notice in full so you can check the stack, the seniority bar and the local conditions before applying.
Two Posts, Two Cities: Which One Is This?
The Register is filling the same job title in two locations at the same time, and confusing them costs you an application.
🇳🇱 This page covers vacancy 1483/2026, where the duty station is The Hague and you must be currently present in the Netherlands.
🇺🇦 The other post is vacancy 1482/2026, based in Kyiv, which requires you to be currently present in Ukraine.
📆 Both close on 21 September 2026, and both are Grade B5 with the same technical brief, so choose by location and eligibility rather than by content.
The Register of Damage for Ukraine
The Register of Damage for Ukraine was established in May 2023 through an Enlarged Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe. It is based in The Hague, the Netherlands, with an office in Kyiv, Ukraine. It serves as a documentary record of claims and evidence on damage, loss or injury caused by the Russian Federation's internationally wrongful acts in or against Ukraine, and it receives claims from individuals, businesses and state and municipal entities in Ukraine.
The post sits in the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI).
Inside the Information Technology Section
The Information Technology Section manages the Register's systems and data, implementing digital solutions described as innovative and cost effective, built around user focused, data driven and streamlined business processes and platforms. The same section is responsible for data management and information security, which is why security requirements run through every line of this job description. This post is based in The Hague.
Your Responsibilities as Senior IT Developer
🧱 Designing, developing, testing and maintaining secure, high performance ASP.NET Core 8.0 LTS components and RESTful APIs that integrate with MongoDB and Azure Storage to form the backend foundation of RCMS.
⚡ Building and integrating serverless, event driven components in Microsoft Azure with Azure Functions and related services, enabling scalable automation and asynchronous workflows.
🎨 Developing and maintaining React frontend components with responsive design, accessibility and intuitive interaction.
🚀 Configuring and maintaining Redis caching so high volume data operations stay responsive.
🐳 Containerising and deploying components with Docker for consistency across development, staging and production.
🔁 Contributing to CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps, covering continuous integration, automated testing and reliable deployment.
📉 Troubleshooting, optimising and monitoring performance across backend, frontend and database layers.
🤝 Working with cross functional colleagues and external DevOps teams on secure Azure configuration and on the quality, security and usability of delivered features.
📚 Documenting code, application logic, APIs and deployment processes for maintainability, traceability and knowledge transfer.
📈 Contributing technical insight to continuous improvement of RCMS functionality, performance and security.
Security and Authentication Expectations
🛡️ Azure cloud security and networking best practice is expected, so that applications interact securely with resources such as Functions, Storage and Key Vault.
🔑 Authentication and authorisation are implemented with OpenID Connect, aligned to the Register's and the Council of Europe's information security standards.
🔒 The expertise list also asks for knowledge of OAuth 2.0 alongside OpenID Connect, so secure standards are treated as core rather than optional.
What You Must Have to Apply
🎓 A completed full course of general secondary education plus appropriate professional qualifications, such as a diploma in software development, computer science or a related field. A bachelor's degree in those fields is highly desirable.
🕔 A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience, including at least two years in software development roles using modern backend and frontend frameworks.
🗣️ A very good knowledge of English.
The Presence and Citizenship Conditions
🛂 Citizenship of the host country or of a Council of Europe member state, with the conditions fulfilled for appointment to the civil service of that state.
📍 Being currently present in the Netherlands. This is a local recruitment, so the requirement is about where you are now, not where you are willing to move.
🎖️ Having discharged any national service obligation, military, civil or comparable.
👪 Not being the parent, child, stepchild or grandchild of a serving Council of Europe staff member.
🔞 Being under the age of 65.
Desirable Certifications and Technical Depth
📜 Azure certification, for example Azure Database Administrator Associate, Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Developer Associate.
🗄️ Data modelling and query optimisation experience with MongoDB.
⏱️ Redis caching strategy experience.
🖼️ React component optimisation and API integration.
⚙️ Practical CI/CD knowledge in Azure DevOps or an equivalent toolchain.
🕸️ Understanding of microservices, distributed systems and API driven architectures.
🔎 Debugging and optimisation across backend, frontend and integration layers.
The scored competencies are planning and work organisation, analysis and problem solving, learning and development, and service orientation, with communication and adaptability as desirable additions.
Employment Terms
📑 Local external recruitment on a fixed term contract.
⌛ Employment is limited to 31 December 2027 and may be extended.
🏷️ Grade B5, vacancy number 1483/2026, posted on 24 August 2026.
💼 No salary figure appears in the notice. Salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance are published on the Council of Europe's conditions of employment page.
According to Youth Works Hub's review of both notices, the only material differences between the Kyiv and The Hague posts are the duty station and the presence requirement, so the pay grade and the technical bar are identical.
Applying: Process, Rules and Timing
📅 Applications close on 21 September 2026 at 23:59:59 CET or CEST.
📘 The recruitment runs under Rule No. 2/2025 on locally recruited staff members in duty stations outside France.
✍️ The notice asks you to make your motivation show how your competencies make your profile the best for the role, which is a direct instruction to structure the letter around the competency list.
🧾 The application itself is filed through the Council of Europe recruitment portal against the vacancy number, and questions are handled by the recruitment team by email.
Equal Opportunity Commitments
⚖️ Applications are welcomed from all suitably qualified people, irrespective of sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or social origin, disability, religion or belief.
👥 The organisation aims for gender parity in each category and grade, and at appointment gives preference between suitable candidates to the person of the under represented gender in the relevant grades.
♿ Applicants with specific needs can request reasonable accommodations at any stage of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the Kyiv vacancy?
The duty station and the presence requirement. This post is in The Hague and requires you to be currently present in the Netherlands, while the Kyiv post requires presence in Ukraine. The grade, the closing date and the technical brief are the same.
Do I need to speak Dutch?
No. A very good knowledge of English is the language requirement in this notice.
Is Azure certification mandatory?
No. It appears in the professional and technical expertise list rather than in the minimum requirements, so it strengthens an application without being a gate.
What is RCMS?
It is the Register's claims management platform, the system whose backend foundation is built from the ASP.NET Core components, MongoDB integration and Azure Storage described in the role.
How secure does the work need to be?
Security is central: the section owns data management and information security, and the role includes Azure security and networking best practice plus OpenID Connect based authentication aligned with Council of Europe standards.
Can the contract go beyond 2027?
Employment is limited to 31 December 2027 and may be extended, but no extension is guaranteed in the notice.
Deadline
⏳ 21 September 2026
The portal closes at 23:59:59 CET or CEST on the day. Find more opportunities like this, explained in plain language, on Youth Works Hub.
