Senior Legal Officer

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:

• Second-level university degree in law or significant work experience in criminal justice and/or law enforcement (the latter required for police corrections officer training)
• Experience in the practice of law, e.g. judges, prosecutors, lawyers, etc.
• Knowledge of courtroom proceedings and criminal law and procedure
• Knowledge of international legal procedure standards and instruments
• Demonstrable organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

Second-level university degree in a relevant field

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

• Second-level university degree in relevant field;
• Knowledge of courtroom proceedings, in the areas of criminal law and procedure; and civil or administrative law and procedures;
• Knowledge of international human rights law;
• Experience in working with courts or court monitoring;
• 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;
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and judgment to local conditions and communities;
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and within limited time frame;
• Professional fluency in English;
• Ability to operate windows applications, including word processing and e-mail.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the regional political situation and the legal system in the Mission area;
• Experience in judicial reform or transitional justice;
• Previous international experience in field missions, preferably in the South East Europe region;
• Project management experience;
• Knowledge of other local languages or most common lingua franca.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo, through its Law and Justice Section (LJS), proactively monitors the law and justice system and engages in a variety of advocacy and capacity building efforts to ensure its compliance with applicable human rights and legal standards in Kosovo. The Mission's work in this regard is focused on three portfolios: promoting access to justice for all communities; safeguarding fair trial rights, and improving the compliance of the Kosovo legal framework with international standards. In support of this work and under the direct supervision of the Director of the Regional Centre, and the thematic programmatic supervisor of the relevant Portfolio Manager in the LJS/ Human Rights & Communities Department, the Senior Legal Officer coordinates monitoring and capacity building efforts related to the justice sector in Kosovo by:

1. Monitoring criminal, civil or administrative law cases and the justice sector;
2. Reporting on a weekly basis on systematic human rights violations and other legal issues observed through monitoring the justice sector in the area of responsibility;
3. Assisting in drafting reports by providing statistical information and legal analysis of human rights violations in the areas of concern;
4. Maintaining professional contacts with legal professionals within the justice sector;
5. Serving as a liaison between the Mission and local and international stakeholders operating in the justice sector in the area of responsibility;
6. Designing and managing projects aimed at improving the justice sector in the area of responsibility;
7. Providing support to relevant Kosovo institutions aimed at training lawyers, prosecutors and judges working in Kosovo, including through training needs assessment, development of training plan and curricula, delivery of identified training packages;
8. Supervising five staff;
9. Performing other duties as required.

For more information on the work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see http://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.

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

Please apply to your relevant authorities several days prior to the deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of your application. Delayed nominations will not be considered.