Senior Information Officer (P-4)

The OPCW’s mission is to implement the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention to achieve our vision of a world free of chemical weapons in which chemistry is used for peace, progress, and prosperity, and to contribute to international security and stability, general and complete disarmament, and global economic development.

The OPCW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.

• Contract Type
  Fixed-term Professional
• Grade
  P4
• Total Estimated monthly remuneration depending on post adjustment and family status: USD
  10,094
• Closing Date
  15/01/2026

Job Summary

The duty station for this post is The Hague, with the requirement to deploy in support of Office of Special Missions (OSM) activities, including the current OPCW Mission in Syria (OMS) and future OSM missions. OSM conducts sensitive, technically complex, and politically significant missions requiring rigorous investigative methodology, impartial analytical assessments, and high standards of verification and compliance evaluation under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The Senior Information Officer serves as OSM’s lead expert in information management and integration, ensuring that the OSM’s information is processed, protected and made available to end-users in timely manner and in line with the OPCW procedures and quality standards.

The Senior Information Officer provides expert-level, mission-critical support to the OSM by coordinating, integrating, and managing information essential to the planning, execution, and analysis of OPCW special missions. The incumbent ensures that all information relevant to the work of the OSM is captured, structured, assessed, and disseminated securely and effectively, in accordance with OPCW confidentiality regimes and operational requirements. The post requires extensive experience in CWC implementation, strong understanding of chemical weapons and chemical weapons-related issues, and in-depth familiarity with the operational methodologies of OPCW’s special missions.

Main Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Director, Office of Special Missions, the incumbent performs the following duties:

1.       Mission Information Coordination

• Lead the coordination of information flows supporting OSM mandates, ensuring that operational, investigative, technical, and contextual information is collected, organised, and made accessible to authorised personnel;
• Develop and maintain information-management frameworks that support the full mission cycle—planning, deployment, execution, and reporting—for OSM;
• Ensure timely provision of mission information packages, operational updates, briefings, and cross-mission summaries.

2.       Information Governance and Security

• Oversee the secure handling, classification, storage, and dissemination of sensitive mission information within OSM in full compliance with OPCW confidentiality rules and applicable security policies;

• Coordinates information-security controls, including access management, audit readiness, and coordination with Office of Confidentiality and Security and Information Services Branch.

3.       Information Integration and Analytical Support

• Integrate multiple sources of information—field reports, technical data, interviews, OSINT, partner inputs, mission records—into coherent structures that support investigative and analytical activities;
• Ensure structured mission repositories and databases ensuring traceability, consistency, and reliability of all mission-related material;
• Produce situation summaries, cross-cutting analysis-support materials, and information products contributing to mission assessments and reporting.

4.       Quality Assurance

• Ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency of mission information through established quality assurance processes;
• Support source evaluation, data verification, and internal cross-checking consistent with OSM methodologies;
• Promote adherence to information-management standards and best practices.

5.       Institutional Knowledge and Lessons Learned

• Develop and maintain knowledge-management tools to capture methodologies, lessons learned, and mission-specific insights;
• Contribute to institutional memory and continuity across OSM missions, investigative cycles, and staff rotations.

6.       Coordination and Liaison

• Coordinate information-related matters with other OPCW units, ensuring coherent and compliant information exchange;
• Support authorised interactions with States Parties, UN entities, technical partners, and other stakeholders on mission-relevant information issues.

Education

 Essential:

• Advanced university degree in a relevant field such as international security, chemical engineering, information management, military studies, political science, or a related discipline;
• A first-level university degree with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.

Knowledge and Experience

  Essential:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible and relevant experience, including work with information evaluation and coordination, information mission support, operations, or related fields;
• Extensive experience in CWC implementation and strong familiarity with chemical weapons–related issues;
• Demonstrated operational experience with OPCW non-routine missions, or related investigative/operational activities;
• Experience handling and managing sensitive information under strict confidentiality and security requirements.

  Desirable:

• Military operational background, particularly in CBRN, mission support, or planning functions.

Skills and Competencies

• In-depth knowledge of the CWC, OPCW declaration and verification processes, chemical weapons issues, and the operational methodologies of OPCW non-routine missions;
• Strong analytical and integrative capabilities with the ability to synthesise multi-source information into coherent operational or analytical products;
• Strong understanding of secure information systems, classification regimes, and structured information repositories;
• Excellent organisational skills; ability to manage complex information flows and competing deadlines;
• Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, including investigators, analysts, inspectors, chemists, and operational planners;
• Strong interpersonal and coordination skills for working with internal and external stakeholders.

Mental and physical requirements:

• Physical: Primarily office-based work in The Hague with travel, including to high-risk or conflict-affected areas;
• Mental: High resilience, focus, and capacity to handle sensitive, high-scrutiny compliance work.

Languages

Fluency in English is essential. Knowledge of another OPCW official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is an asset.

This fixed-term appointment is for a duration of two years with a six-month probationary period, and is subject to the relevant OPCW Staff Regulations, Interim Staff Rules and other internal legislation as applicable, as well as the decision EC-108/DEC.4 of the Executive Council.

The OPCW is a non-career organisation with limited staff tenure. The total length of service for Professional staff shall not exceed 7 years.

The mandatory age of separation at the OPCW is 65 years.

The Director-General retains the discretion to not make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade, or to make an appointment with a modified job description. Several vacancies may be filled.

Only fully completed applications submitted before the closing date and through OPCW CandidateSpace will be considered. Only applicants under serious consideration for a post will be contacted.

According to article 8 paragraph 44 of the Chemical Weapons Convention the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.

OPCW is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. OPCW recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.

OPCW General Terms and Conditions

Important notice for applicants who are currently insured under the Dutch Social Security system

Although headquartered in the Netherlands, the OPCW is not a regular Dutch employer but a public international organisation with its own special status. Please be advised that if you are currently insured under the Dutch Social Security system, you will be excluded from this system as a staff member of the OPCW. You will consequently be insured under the organisation’s system. The above also applies to your dependents unless they are employed by a regular Dutch employer, they are self-employed in the Netherlands, or are receiving Dutch social security payments.

Please refer to the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment for more information about the possible consequences for you and your dependents, such as exclusion from ‘AWBZ’ and ‘Zorgverzekeringswet’ coverage: ‘Werken bij een internationale organisatie’.