Background:

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to an assignment at the Secretariat must be borne by their authorities.

Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered. Seconded staff members in the OSCE Secretariat and Institutions are not entitled to a Board and Lodging Allowance payable by the Organization.

The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.  

The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna assists the Chairpersonship in its activities, and provides operational and administrative support to the field operations, and, as appropriate, to other institutions. 

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is located within the Department of Human Resources (DHR) of the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna. The DHR is responsible for human resources management policies and support across the Organization. The Occupational Safety and Health Unit, led by the CMO, functions as the principal body for providing medical expertise and oversight on all occupational health and medical matters OSCE-wide, encompassing the Secretariat, Institutions and Field Operations.

Tasks and Responsibilities:
 

The Chief Medical Officer serves as the Organization’s leading medical authority, holding responsibility for designing, implementing and monitoring medical and occupational health policies and procedures across the OSCE. The CMO ensures appropriate medical risk management, supports staff wellbeing, advises management and oversees OSCE-wide medical personnel. The incumbent acts independently while engaging with colleagues across departments, institutions and missions.

The Chief Medical Officer operates with a high degree of professional independence and is empowered to make authoritative medical decisions affecting policy, staff health status and organizational risk. The CMO’s work directly impacts staff welfare and organizational compliance with duty of care obligations under OSCE Staff Regulations and Staff Rules and other relevant administrative issuances.

The Chief Medical Officer reports administratively to the Director of Human Resources and supervises directly a Senior Psychologist and a Senior Medical Associate. While not holding formal line-management responsibilities over other professional staff, the incumbent provides policy direction and guidance to medical personnel OSCE-wide.

The Chief Medical Officer works closely with senior OSCE managers, medical staff in institutions and missions, Security Management and Office of Legal Affairs, as well as providers of OSCE social security services and external medical providers. Relationships involve exchanging sensitive information, providing expert medical advice, resolving complex cases, co-ordinating medical evacuations and contributing to emergency planning. The role requires discretion, sound judgment and the ability to advise on high-stakes medical decisions.

The incumbent serves as the Organization’s chief medical authority and principal adviser to the Secretary General and senior management on all medical, occupational health and related duty-of-care matters across the OSCE. More specifically, the Chief Medical Officer is tasked with the following:

1. Medical clearance and fitness to work: Defining and facilitating the enforcement of Organization-wide medical standards and conducting evaluations for staff deployment and travel to specific duty stations, as well as during active service, when required to ascertain the fitness for work or health and physical conditions of staff, in line with established OSCE policy. Clearing withdrawals from the Provident Fund due to medical reasons. Providing technical input into updates of medical guidelines and ensuring proper application of clearance protocols. Recommending reasonable accommodations when medical standards are not fully met and are justified by operational needs and risk assessment. Providing on-site medical advice and, where required, first-line medical response for Vienna-based staff during office hours. Confirming the medical condition of dependents for the purpose of administering disability-related benefits and entitlements to eligible OSCE officials;
2. Sick leave and health monitoring: Providing expert advice and input on the development and revision of sick leave and health-related organizational policies and procedures. Carrying out return-to-work evaluations in line with OSCE Staff Regulations and Staff Rules and other applicable administrative issuances; monitoring long-term sick leave cases, providing advice in sensitive or complex individual cases, and reviewing and co-ordinating external medical assessments when needed; supporting the development of return-to-work plans for staff members after long-term sick leave; identifying systemic health trends and institutional risk factors, defining preventive strategies to reduce absenteeism and strengthen workforce sustainability and duty of care;
3. Medical evacuation and emergency response: Exercising decision-making authority and co-ordinating medical evacuations; leading the Organization's preparedness and response to medical crises, epidemics and public health emergencies, establishing crisis protocols and ensuring operational readiness across field operations. Serving as senior medical authority during emergencies, co-ordinating with security management, host authorities and external providers to safeguard staff welfare and operational continuity;
4. Advisory role and risk assessment: Acting as principal medical risk and technical advisor to the Secretary General, heads of institutions/mission, HR and legal offices and security management services on medical issues affecting staff safety, duty of care and compliance; assessing the occupational and environmental health risks in duty stations and advising on mitigation measures, including recommendations affecting deployment models and risk acceptance;
5. Policy leadership and organizational health: Defining the strategic direction of the OSCE's occupational health, resilience and wellbeing agenda. Developing, approving and promulgating medical policies, standard operating procedures and standards, including on vaccinations, disability management, health promotion and mental health; initiating and overseeing cross-cutting health promotion and resilience programmes designed to enhance staff wellbeing, duty-of-care compliance and long-term organizational effectiveness;
6. Resource management: Determining strategic resource priorities and budgetary requirements related to medical services and planning for adequate resourcing of OSCE-wide Occupational Safety and Health initiatives, including through development of strategic projects and resource mobilization efforts to advance occupational health priorities, maximizing external and internal funding opportunities;
7. Co-ordination of medical services across the OSCE: Exercising functional authority over medical personnel across the Secretariat, Institutions and Field Operations to ensure compliance with established standards and professional practice. Establishing quality assurance mechanisms by facilitating policy and procedure harmonization and compliance among OSCE medical personnel; organizing professional development and best practice exchange; overseeing collection of health-related data for reporting, forecasting and policy review purposes, ensuring confidentiality. Overseeing assessment of local medical infrastructure in OSCE duty stations, including identification and evaluation of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and emergency facilities to ensure adequate treatment and evacuation readiness.
    

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Secretariat, please see https://www.osce.org/secretariat

Necessary Qualifications:

• A university degree in Medicine (MD) and licence to practice; specialization in occupational medicine, emergency medicine or healthcare management is highly desirable;
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible medical experience, preferably including international occupational health settings;
• Experience in development of health policies or procedures, strategic planning or emergency medical co-ordination;
• Strong analytical, interpersonal and communication skills; integrity, discretion and cultural sensitivity;
• Familiarity with international civil service settings and inter-agency co-ordination is desirable;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Knowledge of other OSCE working languages (e.g. Russian or German) is desirable;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and medical IT systems; knowledge of electronic health data management systems is desirable.

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-formto the respective OSCE delegation whose address can be found at https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations.

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 interviewed and found suitable in the recruitment process for this vacancy notice will be placed on a roster of suitable candidates (valid for three years) for fixed-term posts open for secondment, should a suitable opportunity arise. The placement on a roster does not guarantee a future appointment or assignment. 

Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States, please see https://www.osce.org/participating-states.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation; therefore, the maximum period of service in this post is 10 years.

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.

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.