Head of Office of Political Affairs and Communications (P4)

Background:

OSCE Missions and its field activities are the front line of OSCE work in areas that require assistance and are the agent through which political decisions are translated into action. Each Mission has a specific mandate, but they generally work on early warning, preventive diplomacy, conflict management and post-conflict rehabilitation.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo promotes human rights, good governance and safety of all people living in Kosovo through monitoring, expert advice, advocacy and capacity building work with institutions and communities. The Mission, established in 1999, is the largest OSCE field operation.

The OSCE Gender Action Plan is committed to increasing the number of female staff in all areas of the OSCE’s work. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this management opportunity.
 

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Mission, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Informing the Head of Mission (HoM), Deputy Head of Mission (DHoM), and senior management, on key political developments and advising on policies and major issues affecting the implementation of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo mandate under Permanent Council Decisions. This includes leading the co-ordination and drafting process that underpins biannual Mission reporting to the Permanent Council in Vienna;
2. Supervising and managing all aspects of the Office’s political function and engagement, including clearance, external reporting, political and policy analysis, compilation, drafting or clearance of speeches and talking points, and reviewing and contributing to the drafting of Mission strategies, concepts and approaches to meet new challenges; Ensuring timely regularly scheduled reporting to the Secretariat and participating States;
3. Managing the implementation of specific tasks coming from the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and acting as the OSCE Mission in Kosovo Early Warning Focal Point. Liaising with the political offices of other international missions in Kosovo and with government and community representatives, at appropriate level;
4. Acting as the principal advisor to the Head of Mission and Mission Senior Management on the communications and media relations; acting as the principal Mission Spokesperson;
5. Preparing, co-ordinating and supervising the drafting and clearance of press lines, talking points, press releases and speeches on key topics to be used by Mission’s senior management and staff; developing communication policies and strategies for the Mission, aimed at increasing public understanding of the work of OSCE and generating maximum coverage of Mission activities in local, regional, and international media; ensuring implementation of the Mission’s Communication Strategy and delivery of annual communications action plans for the Mission;
6. Maintaining contacts with local, regional, and international journalists and editors to ensure fair coverage of OSCE activities and developments, as well as liaising with media offices of other international organizations and the diplomatic corps; maintaining co-operation and co-ordination with the OSCE Spokesperson and the Communications Office at the OSCE Secretariat;
7. Supervising and co-ordinating media events in key regional locations to present OSCE activities to the media and general public; participating in the design and supervising the implementation of the Mission’s programmatic public campaigns; supervising, and co-ordinating the work of the Mission’s Field Reporting Officers to ensure timely, informed, balanced and professional reporting from the Mission’s regional centres.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see: OSCE Mission in Kosovo

Necessary Qualifications:

• 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;
• Second-level university degree in political affairs, international relations, journalism/public Information or related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Holding a valid driving license;
• Minimum of seven years relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience in political affairs, international relations, political reporting, and strategic communications and media relations;
• At least five (5) years at a managerial level relevant to the position preferably in the region and/or in field missions;
• Demonstrated analytical and drafting ability to a high standard;
• Experience of managing and leading high performing, resilient teams;
• Experience in the OSCE and/or related international organisation(s) would be a considerable asset;
• Familiarity with Kosovo’s political environment, and knowledge of the broader region;
• Familiarity with OMiK’s mandate and programmatic priorities;
• Demonstrated commitment to OSCE values, including gender mainstreaming and respect for diversity;
• Established contacts among the government, international organizations, and media in OMIK’s area of responsibility, or in the region, would be an asset;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of local languages (Albanian, Serbian, etc.) would be an advantage;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Computer literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications.

Remuneration Package:

Monthly remuneration subject to social security deductions is about US$ 6,409 to which Board and Lodging Allowance (currently EUR 118 per day subject to change without prior notice) is added. Social benefits will include possibility of participation in the Cigna medical insurance scheme and the OSCE Provident Fund.

Appointments are normally made at Step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. In exceptional cases, an initial appointment at up to Step 3 may be considered. This depends on factors such as relevant experience exceeding minimum requirements or higher previous remuneration. Any such request by a candidate must be reviewed and approved by the OSCE before the appointment.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/. 

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment at a lower grade or 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, 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 qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

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.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation, therefore the maximum period of service in this post is 7 years.

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

The mandatory retirement age at the OSCE is 65 years for contracted positions at the general service, professional and director level. The Organization shall apply an age limit of 62 years at the time of appointment as the incumbent selected is normally expected to carry out the contractual obligation of two years. 

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