Senior Project Officer (S2)

General Minimum Requirements

The general minimum requirements for working with the OSCE are:

• Excellent physical condition
• Possession of a valid automobile driving license and ability to drive using manual transmission
• Ability to cope with physical hardship and willingness to work extra hours and in an environment with limited infrastructure 

Field of Expertise Requirements

The general minimum requirements for working in this field of expertise are: 

• Demonstrable organizational skills
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Demonstrable interpersonal skills and documented experience in negotiations
• Depending on the field activity's mandate, significant prior experience in relevant fields such as international customs practices and procedures, law enforcement, and military observations and arms control may also be required
• Negotiating experience, preferably in the area of monitoring operations and/or related activities 

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

First-level university degree. 

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience.

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

• International mission members in the OSCE are internationally recruited. For the purposes of OSCE Missions (Field Operations) this means that they are hired to work in a duty station outside of their home country or country of permanent residence. As a result, nationals and permanent residents of the duty station are not eligible for international mission member positions. In the case of individuals with multiple nationalities, candidates are still ineligible for consideration even if using another citizenship for application while simultaneously maintaining the citizenship or permanent residence status of the country where the duty station is located;
• First-level university degree in international relations, political science, human rights, communication or other related field;
• Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience, including minimum 1 year in a relevant field strongly preferred;
• Knowledge of project management terms and practices, namely, results-based planning and the logical framework matrix, as well as proven experience in project proposal writing;
• Excellent drafting and communication (spoken, written and presentation) skills, including ability to tailor language, tone, style and format to match varying audiences and purposes, as well as attention to detail;
• Demonstrated capacity to produce and/or conduct high quality substantive editing of, reports, letters, publications and other information materials, including under pressure and on tight deadlines;
• Good understanding of the mandate and work of the OSCE, especially within the broad fields of rule of law, human rights, education and democratic governance, as well as of the institutional landscape in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the overall political situation;
• Good interpersonal skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relations both internally and externally;
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, gender and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Ability and readiness to work in a dynamic environment;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills;
• Professional proficiency using Microsoft Office computer applications.

Desirable:

• Experience in project implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
• People or team management experience;
• Knowledge of local languages;
• Knowledge of the political and legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Working experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina or in the region.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the overall authority of the Head of Human Dimension Department and direct supervision of the Deputy Head of Human Dimension Department (hereinafter HDD Management), the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Co-ordinating internal departmental matters as well as engagements with other parts of the Mission, including but not limited to planning, e.g., strategic, project and field office level; monitoring, implementation and evaluation processes, including through direct technical assistance and centralized oversight mechanisms; and development of relevant guidelines, tool, and templates for HDD planning and implementation processes;

2. Providing assistance to the HDD Management in collecting, synthesizing, proofreading and editing inputs obtained from relevant programmatic focal points in order to produce regular internal and external reports, briefing notes, talking points, letters and other various departmental documents. Maintaining a tracking system for cleared documents follow-up on deadlines and timely submission of programmatic inputs;

3. Leading on the quality assurance of internal and external departmental documents and other products;

4. Supporting HDD Management in overseeing the implementation of HDD programmatic activities, including providing expert support to staff in designing and co-ordinating related activities and liaising with relevant staff to ensure coherence and consistency in their timely planning, implementation, and evaluation;

5. Providing expert assistance to HDD Management and other HDD staff members in the development and review of project proposals and project reporting documents on various programmatic topics, ensuring their coherence with Departmental and Mission objectives and priorities and compliance with the OSCE Project Management methodology;

6. Analyzing HDD project implementation based on results-based and indicator-based reporting, identifying trends within the Department in regards to project management and developing appropriate recommendations to strengthen project implementation and overall Department impact;

7. Identifying and advocating for necessary improvements to further promote and improve internal work practices, including by collecting relevant information, analysing data, and helping to conduct necessary assessments; ensuring knowledge management and the sharing of good practices and lessons learned;

8. Assuming the role of note-taker during strategic, co-ordination, planning, and other relevant meetings. Compiling concise and comprehensive summary reports that outline actionable steps derived from the discussions and outcomes of the meetings. Additionally, preparing and delivering presentations on behalf of the HDD Management and represent the HDD Management in internal and external meetings as required.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the work of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, please see: https://www.osce.org/mission-to-bosnia-and-herzegovina

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds. Please note that nationals or permanent residents of the country of the duty station are not eligible to apply.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered. 

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/. If your participating State does not provide the option to apply online for seconded positions, you are kindly requested to submit your offline application form available at https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offline-application-form to the respective OSCE delegation whose address can be found at https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations.

Please apply to your relevant authorities well in advance of the deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of your application. Delayed nominations will not be considered. The OSCE can only process Secondment applications that have been nominated by participating States. For queries relating to your application, please refer to the respective delegation as listed here: https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations.

Please be aware that OSCE appointments are subject to medical clearance.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.