George Plevris

Young professional in the fields of Law, Politics and Strategic Communications. Significant experience in legal and policy research -client oriented-, with emphasis on human rights and international law. Strong knowledge and skills in project support, legal drafting, stakeholder representation and managing strategic communications. Professionally familiar with NGO, governmental and International Organisations work environments. Persistent, dedicated team player, with ability to learn fast and produce quality work. 

International Law & Security Politics Professional 
Brussels, BE
[email protected]

+30 6942860430

Professional Experience

Trainee, March 2018 - Present

European Defence Agency

Part of the Cooperation and Planning Support Unit, I am involved in project support, meeting coordination and support preparation. Received training in technical aspects, such as Portfolio and Project Management (PPM), Information Asset Management and Digital Continuity. Major projects I have supported so far include Single European Sky, Research on Cyber Applications to Security, Remote Piloted Aircrafts. Duties include among others calendar planning, meeting planning, minute taking, report and summary drafting, stakeholder management, and activities coordination. I have also attended EU Commission seminars, including one in the role of Artificial Intelligence.

Legal Expert, August 2016 - March 2017

Centre for European Constitutional Law

Hired as an expert to conduct independently a legal study on the compatibility of EU Directives and national Member States legislation in the field of victims' rights in the criminal procedure, in the Netherlands. This was an outsourced study, part of the EU Commission project "Developing Directive-compatible practices for the identification, assessment and referral of victims". I carried out interviews with front-line institutions, conducted legislative research and analysis, and compiled a 'National Report', published as part of the final project. In addition, at a later stage, I participated in transnational workshops for the dissemination of practice standards. 




Stakeholder Representative, October 2015 - Dec 2015

Tilburg University / Awake International 

During my tenure as President of Awake International, and in collaboration with the Tilburg Academia, I represented both organisation in the World Summit on Information Society, +10 Review Process, at the UN General Assembly in New York. I participated in consultation meetings and negotiations, expressed the position of Dutch Academia, on the issue of privacy, data protection and human rights in the digital environment. Following each Consultation meeting at the UN, I held de-briefing sessions at Tilburg University for PhD and Master students. 




Intern, June 2015 - August 2015

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Placed at the Public Administration and Development Management. I was particularly involved in the World Summit on Information Society Review Process, for which my Branch was serving as a Secretariat. To that regard, I provided project support, managed and organised stakeholder consultations, planned meetings, created consolidated matrixes and reports based on submitted position papers, and actively assisted in the drafting of the 'Zero UN Resolution'. In addition, provided administrative, and policy support in other projects, such as Internet Governance Forum, Citizens Engagement and e-Governance. 




Soldier/ Secretariat Assistant, May 2013 - Feb 2014

General Staff of Hellenic Army, Greek Ministry of National Defence

During my mandatory military service, I was placed at the Recruited Soldiers Division, Ministry of Defence. I received significant military and security training, and tasked with secretariat support. Among others, I was entrusted with the supervision and training of the rest of the soldiers in the Division, managing and improving the workflow systems of the Division, liaising with other departments of the Ministry, and providing executive support to the Director, a Brigadier-General. 




Intern/Projects Associate, November 2011 - January 2014

Centre for European Constitutional Law (CECL)

Initially started out as a three months intern, then remained part-time as a projects associate. Conducted extensive legal research, including building online surveys, policy research on many international and transnational projects. I contributed 3 chapters to a major CECL publication, on the issue of self-advocacy for people with mental disabilities, provided support reviewing funding proposals for a project on "Mental Health Support Unit", and represented the CECL in a public-private partnership with the Greek Ministry of Health and Welfare. More duties included seminar and conference management, supervising interns, and tender proposal drafting. 

Pro-bono Experience

Senior Research Associate- Head of StratCom Team, September 2016 - Present

Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG)- Netherlands Office
Started out as a Research Associate, and after 10 months, I was promoted to Senior Associate. My main tasks at the moment include reviewing the legal memos prepared by the Associates, coordinating in legal cases that touching upon issues of crimes against humanity, human rights violations, and peace negotiations. I have gained skills in client-case management, focused significantly in the UN Human Rights Environment and International Criminal Law. I have additionally represented PILPG in diplomatic events, such as the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC. Finally, I took up the role of StratCom team member, and within a couple of months I became Head of the StratCom Team of the Office. I manage and design digital communication strategies, managing social media accounts, creating video material for dissemination. I also contribute articles and op-eds to the Legal blog of the Organisation. In total, I manage and supervise a team of 6 people, providing them with training, Professional Development workshops on Communications, and Legal- Political Research. 

President, July 2015 - July 2016

Awake International, student non-profit

Elected President of Awake International, a student non-profit Organisation, registered with tax authorities, in Tilburg, Netherlands. Awake raises awareness for issues of world affairs, human rights and politics.  I chaired the Board, directed a team of 5 Board members. Some achievements include the partnership with Tilburg University in participating at the UN Summit on World Information Society, creating sub-committees on Information and Communication Technologies, creating partnerships with Red Cross Netherlands, and Tilburg municipality. The experience sharpen my team and leadership skills, emerged me in a position of responsibility and authority, while furnishing me with knowledge in the non-profit management. 

Consultant, October 2015 - December 2015

Greek Mission to the United Nations

During the final stages of the World Summit on Information Society, I offered my expertise pro-bono to the Greek Mission at the UN. I followed and monitored the consultation and negotiation processes, provided them with notes and position papers, attended coordination meetings with other missions, and provided advice and policy recommendation on issues such as human rights online, internet governance, cyber security, ICT development. 

Education

LLM., Law & Politics of International Security , September 2016 - August 2017

Free University of Amsterdam

MSc. Crisis & Security Management, February 2016 - June 2017

Leiden University- Hague Campus

Pre-Master, Public Administration September 2015  - January  2016

Leiden University - Hague Campus

LLB. Global Law August 2014 - July 2016

Tilburg University 

B.A. International & European Studies September 2008 - October 2013

Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens

Skills


Languages

Greek: Mother Tongue

English: Fluent 

French: Fluent 


IT- Computer

OSINT Research skills, PPM, MS Sharepoint, MS Office Applications (Excel, Word, PPT, Outlook), Video editing/producing (short), Legal - Policy Research skills, Calendar management, Executive Support.

Other

Presentation & communications skills, negotiation skills, legal research, legal drafting, delivering workshops and seminars, project support, project coordination, time management, multitasking, administrative support. 

Certifications

- UN Integrity Awareness Initiative

- UN Prevention on Harassment, Sexual Harassment & Abuse in the Work Place

- EPLO Global Law & Governance

- US Embassy, American Studies Seminar 

- French Diploma in Language and Literature- Sorbonne University 

References

References can be provided upon request, to certify both professional and academic experience.