Climate Affairs Adviser (S)

Background:

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to an assignment at the Secretariat 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.

Please note that this position is funded under an Extra-Budgetary (ExB) Project which runs until 31 December 2026.

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, combating human trafficking, 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.  

The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna assists the Chairpersonship in its activities, and provides operational and administrative support to the field operations, and, as appropriate, to other institutions. 

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) deals with economic and environmental issues, operating under the premise that promoting economic prosperity and co-operation on environmental problems can contribute to international security and stability. The OSCE's role is twofold: a) to monitor economic and environmental developments among participating States, and alert them to any threat of instability, and b) to facilitate the formulation of economic and environmental policies and initiatives among participating States, to promote security.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

This position is established under the Extra-Budgetary (ExB) project on “Strengthening Responses to Security Risks from Climate Change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia” (hereinafter the project), which is expected to run until 31 December 2026. In addition to this post, the project also comprises the following ExB posts: Senior Climate Change and Security Adviser and a Project Assistant.

As Climate Affairs Adviser, you will work under the direct supervision of the Senior Climate Change and Security Advisor, and under the overall supervision of the Deputy Co-ordinator, Head/Environmental Activities.

You will be tasked with the following:

1. Contributing to the implementation of the project and related activities, including the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of project activities, identification of potential programmatic activities; definition of implementation modalities; forecasting and monitoring of expenditures; contribution to visibility and promotion of project activities; providing progress reports to donors; and fundraising;
2. Appraising, reviewing, adjusting and adapting the project and/or project outputs and activities to ensure consistency with national, regional and sectoral priorities and programmes, and with available resources; formulating and presenting such proposals on the basis of technical and substantive input in accordance with required format for final review and approval; developing schedules, arrangements and methods for the management of the implementation of project activities, in consultation with the supervisor, technical, substantive and administrative service units;
3. Organizing meetings, workshops, capacity building and advocacy activities related to project implementation. This includes conducting research and drafting background papers for such events and activities as well as identifying potential partners and liaising with them; and contributing to analysis and assessments of potential security risks stemming from climate change in the OSCE region, and their implications for the OCEEA’s work in the economic and environmental fields;
4. Exchanging information and negotiating on project formulation and implementation with government officials in planning, finance, donor input co-ordination and sectoral functions, as well as with representatives of multilateral and bilateral donor agencies;
5. Providing advice and inputs to the Co-ordinator of the Office of the Economic and Environmental Activities and OCEEA Senior Management as appropriate and contributing to relevant policy processes of the OCEEA in the field of climate change and security. That includes the drafting of talking points and concepts upon requests, articulated responses to queries from OSCE Field Operations, and contributions to the Economic and Environmental Forum, the Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting and the Economic and Environmental Committee meetings in relevant areas, e.g., by drafting agendas, identifying and proposing speakers, preparing discussion sessions; and talking points and speeches;
6. Establishing and maintaining working relations with key stakeholders and partners including with representatives of beneficiary countries, officials of OSCE Delegations, OSCE Partners for Co-operation, OSCE Field Operations, relevant international and regional organizations, CSOs, and academic institutions/think tanks for ensuring synergies, for developing partnership and implementing joint activities and projects, sharing lessons and good practices on addressing challenges caused by climate change;
7. Performing other duties as assigned. 

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Secretariat and the OCEEA, please see https://www.osce.org/secretariat and https://www.osce.org/oceea 

Necessary Qualifications:

• Second-level university degree in international relations, political science, economics, climate, environment, international relations, conflict studies, social sciences 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;
• Recognized project management certification would be an asset;
• A minimum of five years (seven years with a relevant first-level degree) of progressively responsible professional-level experience in the areas of climate security, climate change, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding, preferably in an international environment;
• Demonstrated experience in planning, implementing and managing donor-funded projects;
• Proven knowledge of climate security, climate change, conflict prevention and/or peacebuilding;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English; 
• Experience in working with/for the OSCE would be an asset;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity; 
• Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), internet.

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.

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.

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 the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation; therefore, the maximum period of service in this post is 10 years.

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 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.