Chief of Public Participation Section (S3)

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: 

• Work experience in either public administration, relevant international organisations, civic associations (including NGOs), political parties/affairs, or economic and political development
• Demonstrable organizational, communication, analytical and interpersonal skills

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

Second-level university degree in political sciences, social sciences, international relations, public policy, law or other related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two years of additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree.

Experience:

Minimum 6 years (8 years with a relevant first-level university degree) of relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience including at least 3 years at the management level relevant to the actual position.

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;

• Previous progressively responsible experience in democratic governance, local governance, women's political participation, youth engagement, civil society development, dialogue facilitation or institutional reform, preferably in international environment and/or experience in field missions;

• Demonstrated experience in managing staff, budgets, donor-funded projects and complex partnerships;

• Professional fluency in English, including excellent oral and written communication skills;

• Proven technical experience in gender-responsive governance, policy development, participatory decision-making and capacity development;

• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

• Cultural sensitivity and judgement;

• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and with limited time frames;

• Ability to operate windows applications, including word processing and e-mail;

• Possession of a valid automobile driving license and the ability to drive using manual transmission is a requirement for this post. New hires will be required to pass an OSCE Mission in Kosovo administered driving test using a manual transmission vehicle within six months of assuming the post and be able to confidently self drive.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the political environment of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, including mandate and structure of the international community present in Kosovo;
• Previous experience in field missions;
• Experience facilitating politically sensitive, multi-stakeholder or cross-community dialogue processes;
• Knowledge of the local language or most common lingua franca spoken in the mission area.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Director of the Democratization Department, the incumbent is responsible for:

1. Providing strategic direction for the Public Participation Section;
2. Supervising all professional and support staff of the Public Participation Section;
3. Overseeing and managing the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all of the Section's projects, in accordance with departmental and Mission strategies, OSCE rules and regulations;
4. Providing analysis, expertise and advice to the Department's senior management and other Mission’s units on issues related to civil society, women, youth and non-majority community participation as a component of democratic governance and Mission’s cross-cutting themes;
5. Co-ordinating and overseeing contextual, political-economy, gender and inclusion analysis provided by the Section and the field to identify formal and informal barriers to the participation of women, youth and civil society actors;
6. Co-ordinating and liaising with relevant public authorities, other international organizations, and civil society experts and partners;
7. Participating in the Department's and Section's policy making process;
8. Representing the Section in meetings, seminars and/or conferences;
9. Performing other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see: https://www.osce.org/mission-in-kosovo
 

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.

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

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.

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.