Junior Protocol Officer

Are you a rigorous and dynamic graduate, who thrives in fast-paced international environments?

Ready to turn your passion for International Relations into action at the world’s leading particle-physics laboratory?

Are you eager to contribute to Protocol activities and to navigate diplomacy, logistics, and high-level stakeholders all at once?

Come and join the Protocol Office in the Stakeholder Relations sector at CERN!

TheCERN Protocol Office(SR-SE-PRT) is a small team of three professionals responsible for ensuring compliance with protocol and etiquette standards at official events organised at CERN, hosted by the Director-General or members of the CERN Management. These engagements include technical visits, institutional meetings and exchanges with CERN scientists.

The Protocol Office plays a key role in the preparation and coordination of these visits, working closely with high-level governmental and international scientific leaders. In 2025, the Protocol Office organised 132 official visits, including those of 4 Heads of State and 35 Ministers.

The upcoming Long Shutdown 3 (LS3) of the CERN accelerators will begin in mid-2026 to enable the major upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), paving the way for the High-Luminosity LHC to come into operation in 2030. Based on experience from previous Long Shutdown periods, LS3 is expected to significantly increase the level of institutional interest in CERN. As a result, the number of Protocol visits is anticipated to rise by almost 50%, along with an increase in the seniority and ranking of visiting delegations.

With the European Strategy for Particle Physics expected to be approved shortly, the FCC project, CERN’s flagship initiative, will play a central role in the Laboratory’s institutional relations with its Host States, Switzerland and France. The successful candidate will therefore also be closely involved in the organisation and management of FCC-related protocol visits at the local level.

As a Junior Protocol Officer, you will gain hands-on experience in a highly visible, international and multicultural environment at the interface between science, diplomacy and international relations.

• You are a national of aCERN Member State or Associate Member State . Currently, we cannot consider applications from Pakistani and Lithuanian nationals for positions with a 2026 start date, as the ceiling defined under Article II.5 of the Associate Membership Agreement has been reached.
• By the Final date to receive applications, you have a maximum of 2 years of professional experience since graduation in the respective field and your highest educational qualification is either a bachelor’s or master’s degree. You must have a university degree and can’t hold a PhD.
• You have never had a CERN fellow or graduate contract before.
• Please pay attention to the additional criteria and requirements for this specific position and mentioned above.