Media Freedom Project Officer

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to assignment at the Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media 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, 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.

Free expression and free media are basic human rights. To ensure compliance with media-freedom commitments agreed upon by participating States, the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) was established in  December 1997. The function of the Representative is to observe relevant media developments in OSCE participating States with a view to providing early warning on violations of freedom of expression. The Representative concentrates on  rapid response to serious non-compliance with OSCE principles and commitments by participating States. In case of serious problems caused, for instance, by obstruction of media activities and unfavourable working conditions for  journalists, the Representative seeks direct contacts with the participating State and other parties involved, assesses the facts and contributes to the resolution of the issue. Another task is to assist participating States by  advocating and promoting full compliance with OSCE principles and commitments regarding freedom of expression and free media. Assistance is typically provided in the form of legal analyses of legislation, organizing conferences and roundtables during which best practices are shared and promoted, preparing topical publications and guidebooks on media freedom matters and providing training seminars for media and government officials.

Within a team of 16 staff members and under the supervision of the Senior Adviser, the incumbent will act as the principle contact point for proposing follow-up activities, identifying, formulating and implementing urgent project requirements in response to political developments in the field of media governance and based on monitoring of media freedom related developments which affect all OSCE participating States. More specifically the incumbent will be:

1. Identifying urgent project requirements, designing project proposals, contributing to fundraising efforts; negotiating with potential partners and donors on project activities;
2. Implementing and co-ordinating ongoing projects and other programme activities relating to media freedom, such as supervising consultants and implementing partners; maintaining regular contacts with experts, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) networks, academia, the legal community and other international organizations and bodies for research and information purposes;
3. Monitoring and analysing media governance and media developments by checking incoming information, identifying problems, keeping other members of the Office informed and submitting recommendations for action to the Representative in accordance with the early warning mandate of the Office;
4. Maintaining an overview of a wide range of issues and understand the legal, technical and political implications of developments;
5. Providing advice, conducting research and preparing written analyses for the Representative;
6. Contributing to and monitoring the general media freedom and developments in approximately five countries; analysing developments, submitting proposals for action, drafting interventions and compiling general and country specific information; Organizing and preparing the agenda for meetings as well as background documents for visits of the Representative and other senior members of the Office to participating States and conference focusing on media governance and media development;
7. Drafting and editing texts for publication by the Institution;
8. Performing other related duties such as contributing to publications such as the Yearbook, the OSCE Newsletter and feature stories, to promote key messages on the web-site and participate in trainings/briefings of OSCE mission members, for universities and other institutions.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, please see https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media.

• First level university degree in political science, media studies, history, law, journalism or another related field;
• Six years of professional experience in the media field or related experience within the OSCE or another international organization;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and spoken;
• Demonstrated knowledge of project management techniques;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft packages; knowledge or ERP systems such as Oracle would be an asset;
• Professional fluency in English and excellent drafting and writing skills in the English language; knowledge of another official OSCE language would be an asset;
• Ability to work with people of different nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.

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

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

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

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

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.