Chief, Policy and Programme Support Unit (STA)

Background:

OSCE field operations are the front line of the OSCE’s engagement on the ground, supporting host authorities in fulfilling OSCE commitments and implementing a comprehensive approach to security. The OSCE Mission to Skopje is the Organization's longest-serving field operation working on social cohesion, fundamental rights, gender equality, the rule of law, good governance, integrity and anticorruption, criminal justice and police reform.

This is a temporary position as a maternity leave replacement, with a start date in December 2025, duration not exceeding 5 months and 29 days. The incumbent shall only be entitled to the equivalent of the applicable Board and Lodging Allowance (BLA).
 

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Mission (HoM), the incumbent is responsible for:

1.  Supporting and advising the HoM, Deputy Head of Mission (DHoM) and other Senior Management on decision-making and policy and planning issues;

2. Providing recommendations to HoM, DHoM and other Senior Management on progress in the implementation of the Mission’s mandate, objectives and desired outcomes;

3. Co-ordinating and providing input for the preparatory work of the budgetary cycle programmatic documents: Programme Budget Performance Report, Programme Outline, and Unified Budget;

4. Ensuring, in close co-operation with the Programme Managers (Heads of Department) that departmental outcomes and outputs are timely, quality-checked, focused and value-added vis-à-vis Mission objectives and strategy;

5. Formulating, collating and/or providing relevant materials for HoM’s official presentations of the Mission’s activities, including those at high-level meetings. Upon request, accompanying HoM to meetings to provide assistance on programmatic and/or policy/planning issues;

6. Supporting Senior Management in developing management and organizational measures with the objective or systematically improving the productivity, efficiency and efficacy of the Mission;

7. Overseeing monitoring and evaluation within the Mission, including monitoring the progress of programme implementation and budget utilisation and ensuring implementation of the OSCE Evaluation Policy within the Mission;

8. Serving as the Mission’s focal point with the Programme Evaluation Support Unit (PESU) and the Policy Support Officer within the Secretariat’s Conflict Prevention Centre; liaising with representatives of the OSCE participating States and other international actors;

9. Providing strategic guidance, monitoring and overall co-ordination to the Mission’s extrabudgetary projects;

10. Supervising three to four staff within the Policy and Programme Support Unit;

11. Performing other duties as assigned by HoM.
       

     

For more detailed information on the work of OSCE Mission to Skopje, please see www.osce.org/skopje

Necessary Qualifications:

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 a 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:

• University education in international studies, public policy, political science, law or related field;

• Experience working with international organizations and governments;

• Experience in preparing analytical reports;

• Excellent communication and drafting skills;

• Diplomatic and negotiating skills;

• Some knowledge of OSCE principles and commitments.

   

   

  
  Furthermore, the candidates should fulfill the following specific requirements:

   

   

  Mandatory:

• 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 international studies, public policy, political science, law or related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with two years of additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;

• Minimum six years of relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience including at least 3 years at the management level relevant to the actual position;

• Knowledge of societal, political and historical context in Southeastern Europe;

• Experience in planning and co-ordination and in programme/project management, preferably in international organizations;

• Excellent analytical capability and profound knowledge of information collection and analytical methods;

• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills;

• Professional fluency in the English language, including experience editing English-language documents for substance and language;

• Computer literate with practical experience with Microsoft applications;

• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, gender diversity and varying political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;

• Excellent interpersonal skills;

• Ability to work in a dynamic environment as well as on own initiative in a methodical manner;

• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames;

   

  
   

  Desirable:

• Previous working experience in Southeastern Europe

• Previous experience in an international field operation in the area of strategy planning, policy and programme management

• Experience with Oracle and/or other Electronic Document Management System (EDMS)

• Knowledge of a local language or a lingua franca spoken in the Mission area
   

Remuneration Package:

The incumbent shall be entitled to receive Board and Lodging Allowance (BLA) at the current daily rate of 123.00 EUR, in accordance with applicable OSCE procedures.
Social benefits will include participation in the OSCE Group Insurance Scheme and the OSCE will cover 50% as the employer’s share of the monthly premium and the premiums for Cigna Life & Accident Disability.
 

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 short-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.

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

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