Legal Adviser, Anti-Discrimination

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

The general minimum requirements for working in this field of expertise are:

• First-level university degree in political sciences, international relations, public policy, law, international human rights law or other human rights related fields
• Experience working with human rights, minority or gender issues
• Demonstrable organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience in drafting reports

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

First-level university degree in a relevant field

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

• Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

• First-level university degree in law. Second-level university degree in law or human rights desirable;
• Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience;
• Excellent writing and reporting skills;
• Sound knowledge of European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and other international standards regarding discrimination;
• Knowledge of the BiH legal system, its Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, and understanding of the political environment in which the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina operates;
• Experience working on discrimination or human rights issues;
• Experience of building contacts and working effectively with a wide range of government officials, civil society advocates and organizations;
• Demonstrable public speaking and negotiation skills;
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English;
• Ability to operate windows applications, including word processing and e-mail;
• Ability and readiness to work in a stressful environment, ability to work under time constraints;
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds and diverse political views while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Knowledge of the political and legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the conflict and its consequences;

Desirable:

• Some knowledge of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian would be an asset.

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to play a vital role in strengthening the countrys ability to foster a sustainable and stable security environment, to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovinas governance, and to encourage its consolidation as a democratic society. The Mission supports political and education reform and works to promote and protect human rights of all citizens of BiH.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Human Rights, should you be selected for the position, you will be responsible for implementing key aspects of the Human Dimension Departments work in identifying endemic discrimination against vulnerable groups throughout the country. You will focus on co-ordinating intervention strategies with human rights officers in the field and in the head office, and in maintaining close and effective contact with relevant State and entity-level bodies.

As the Legal Adviser, Anti-Discrimination, should you be selected for the position, you will perform the following duties:

1.  Reviewing policies and plans related to discrimination against vulnerable groups in order to identify gaps or overlaps and devise effective strategies;

2.  Drafting or contributing to the drafting of the Missions reports addressing discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH);

3.  Identifying and advocating for necessary improvements to the institutional, legal and policy framework applicable to discrimination issues across BiH through legal research and analysis, drafting of policy documents, submissions and organization of activities;

4.  Delivering trainings, presentations and lectures on international anti-discrimination standards;

5.  Analyzing information provided by field officers through regular reports and field surveys, co-operating with the human rights officers and advisers in the Human Rights Section to devise concrete recommendations, and working closely with field officers to translate these recommendations into effective intervention strategies at the local level;

6.  Advising field officers on how to evaluate the impact of their local interventions, drawing field evaluations together and ensuring that examples of good practice are communicated throughout the field;

7.  Developing contacts with State-level institutions responsible for combating discrimination to ensure that human rights standards are mainstreamed into the work of these institutions;

8.  Working closely with the Human Rights Officers and National Programme Officers, Human Rights in the field to keep track of policy developments at the entity, cantonal and municipal levels, assessing the impact of these developments on overall policy, and advising on appropriate strategies to address any issues that arise;

9.  Working with international actors to co-ordinate strategies to combat discrimination and improve respect for the rights of vulnerable groups;

10. Developing strategic partnerships within the Bosnia and Herzegovina legal community and civil society to ensure open avenues for advocacy and information-gathering;

11. Representing the Mission in meetings with relevant counterparts and stakeholders;

12. Performing any other duties as required.

For more information on the work of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, please see: https://www.osce.org/mission-to-bosnia-and-Herzegovina

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.

Only those applicants who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.