National Programme Officer, Human Rights (NP1)

Background:

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Mission) continues to play a vital role in strengthening the country’s ability to foster a sustainable and stable security environment, to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 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.

Should you be selected for the position, you will protect and promote human rights in your geographic area of responsibility (AOR). You will actively monitor, investigate and report on the human rights situation, with a focus on fair and equal access to essential services, which include social protection and social housing as well as issues regarding the right to return and the sustainability of return. You will actively monitor and report on the state of fundamental freedoms in your AOR, with a special focus on freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of media and the position of human rights defenders.  You will identify structural issues and advocate with the public authorities to create policies and legislation that would enhance the economic and social development in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a manner compliant with the international standards. You will monitor and promote the rights of national minorities, with a particular focus on Roma. You will also support and promote activities aimed at helping the prevention of and combating gender based violence and discrimination. In relation to discrimination, you will monitor the implementation of civil legislation and access to remedies as well as bias related incidents/hate crimes in the AoR.
 

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Monitoring systematic human rights concerns, especially in the areas of economic and social rights, equality and non-discrimination, minority rights, returns, fundamental freedoms, domestic violence as well as bias related incidents and preparing respective advocacy strategies as to how appropriate levels of government may be more ‘human rights compliant’;

2. Analysing legislation, policies and practice to ensure domestic compliance with international human rights law and standards and identifying gaps between international human rights standards and domestic law and practice;

3. Undertaking specific research and collecting data to determine the extent to which a right is realized in relation to the international standard and to identify the most important obstacle to its realization;  

4. Providing recommendations as to how ineffective administrative or judicial remedies may be improved in order to make them accessible to all persons whose rights may have been violated;

5. Producing reliable regular and focus reports on human rights situation and trends in her/his AOR;

6. Co-ordinating activities with other Sections of the Human Dimension Department at the field office level as well as with international and national human rights organizations throughout the AOR;

7. Performing other duties as assigned.

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

Necessary Qualifications:

• First-levle University degree in Law, social sciences or other human rights related field;
• Minimum 2 years of professional experience including human rights field;
• Experience applying knowledge of European and international human rights conventions and their practical implementation;
• Computer literate with practical experience with Microsoft applications;
• Excellent written and spokn communication skills in English and local languages;
• Holding a valid driving license and willingness to drive both automatic and manual transmission official vehicles.

Remuneration Package:

Monthly remuneration, subject to social security deductions is 3,228.92 BAM/month. Social benefits will include participation in the Cigna health insurance scheme and the OSCE Provident Fund.

Appointments are normally made at step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. At the discretion of the appointing authority a higher step may be approved up to a maximum of step 3 subject to specific conditions.
 

This position is open to citizens and permanent residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina only. 

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://jobs.osce.org/vacancies. Please note that offline applications submitted via email, fax, or mail will not be considered.

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

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. 

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.

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