Chief Political, Public Affairs and Reporting Officer (S3)

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: 

- University education in international studies, public policy, political science or law or related fields
- Diplomatic experience or experience working in political affairs with international organizations or governments
- Experience in preparing analytical reports
- Excellent communication and drafting skills
- Knowledge of regional political history and developments
- Demonstrated diplomatic and negotiating skills
- Some knowledge of the OSCE principles and commitments

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

Advanced university degree; certified training course in a relevant field desirable

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience including at least 3 years at the management level relevant to the actual position

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has 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;
• Excellent spoken and written English;
• Excellent writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely;
• Strong, proven analytical and reporting skills;
• Ability to work with all Microsoft programmes;
• Several years of progressively responsible management experience;
• 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.

Desirable:

• Experience in a public affairs function;
• Familiarity with the OSCE organizational and diplomatic context;
• Familiarity with the regional/national context.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Head of Presence, and working directly with the Head of Presence, the incumbent  serves as the Head of Presence’s senior political advisor, briefer, scout, and staffer, also overseeing all political liaison work and responsible for the quality of all communication and public relation by the Presence.

In particular, the selected candidate will be responsible for the following duties;

1. Managing the Political and Public Affairs Unit, responsible for political liaison, reporting, public relations, and media monitoring;
2. Proactively monitoring political developments in Albania as well as in the region and timely appraising the Presence of relevant developments;
3. Assisting the Head of Presence/Deputy Head of Presence in defining Presence political approaches toward the mandated policy areas;
4. Writing or finalizing speeches for the Head and Deputy Head of Presence. Ensuring that the Head of Presence has all necessary political context and briefing material for meetings;
5. Advising and assisting in developing and disseminating public stances on issues of political importance for the Presence and for the OSCE at large;
6. Preparing and editing reports on Presence activities and other political and related issues to inform OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Participating States, Institutions, and the Secretariat, with a major drafting/quality-control role in all strategic documents;
7. Maintaining regular contact with Albanian political actors;
8. Liaising with Embassies and international organizations at the appropriate level;
9. Providing assistance to other members of the Presence, other OSCE Missions in the region and the Secretariat on political and other related matters;
10. Planning and organizing high-level visits;
11. Performing any other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Presence in Albania, please see: https://www.osce.org/presence-in-albania

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.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, 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 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.

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

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/. If your participating State does not provide the option to apply online for seconded positions, you are kindly requested to submit your offline application form available at https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/offline-application-form to the respective OSCE delegation whose address can be found at https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations.

Please apply to your relevant authorities well in advance of the deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of your application. Delayed nominations will not be considered. The OSCE can only process Secondment applications that have been nominated by participating States. For queries relating to your application, please refer to the respective delegation as listed here: https://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations. 

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.