Economic and Environmental Officer (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.

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.

Within this context, the OCEEA's Economic and Environmental Forum/Planning and Co-ordination team is responsible for planning and organizing the OSCE’s Economic and Environmental Forum (EEF), the Economic and Environmental Dimension Implementation Meeting (EEDIM) and the meetings of the Economic and Environmental Committee (EEC) in co-operation with the Chairpersonship and the EEC Chair. The unit provides policy advice and operational support to the Chairpersonship, the EEC Chair and the OSCE management with regard to the planning and organization of these meetings. This includes drafting a wide range of documents, including OCEEA Activity Reports.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

As Economic and Environmental Officer, you will support the balanced implementation of the mandate of the Office with regard to economic and environmental issues which have an impact on security. In this context the OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum and its follow-up processes represent an important tool. In this regard, you will support the preparation and contribute to the co-ordination of OSCE activities in relation to economic and environmental aspects of security, in particular with regard to the preparation and follow-up of the EEF and the EEDIM process, organized each year by the OCEEA in close co-operation with the Chairpersonship. 

You will report directly to the Senior Economic and Environmental Officer while the Deputy Co-ordinator/Head, Economic Activities act as your second level supervisor.

More specifically, you will be tasked with the following:

1.    Supporting and co-ordinating the preparatory process for the annual OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum:
a) Draft initial proposals for the preparatory meetings, prepares the draft agenda, identifies and contact potential speakers;
b) Prepare briefing papers and reports, draft speeches or sections of speeches on Economic and Environmental Forum related topics to be delivered by the Co-ordinator, the Secretary-General and the Chairpersonship, as required;
c) Perform sectoral or regional analyses as background information for the preparatory meetings and the annual Economic and Environmental Forum;
d) Provide information related to the preparatory/follow-up process of the Forum to various stakeholders, in particular OSCE Delegations and OSCE field presences, as well as partner organizations;
e) Prepare inputs to meetings of the Permanent Council and of the Economic and Environmental Committee discussing Forum related issues;
f) Establish and maintain regular contacts with international organizations, sub-regional initiatives and NGOs invited to the Forum, in particular with invited speakers, to streamline and co-ordinate their contribution

2.    Initiating and supporting the follow-up process to the Economic and Environmental Forum:
a) Compile consolidated summaries of Meetings; assess the recommendations of conferences/Forum and support the related discussions in the Economic and Environmental Committee;
b) Follow up on the conclusions of previous Fora, particularly in connection with the organization of follow-up seminars, workshops aimed at various audiences sensitive to these conclusions;
c) Maintain contacts with partner organizations, discuss, initiate and conduct joint follow-up activities;
d) Provide guidance and support local or regional activities, create synergies, consider and initiate together with OSCE field presences joint follow-up activities.

3.    Supporting the work of the OSCE field presences:
a) Function as the focal point of co-ordination for the counterparts on projects and activities in the field on Economic and Environmental Forum related issues;
b) Provide information about recent developments or the activities of other international organizations, NGOs, sub-regional initiatives and business organizations active in their areas, on issues related to the Forum topics;
c) Utilise information obtained from the field presences as input to the preparatory/follow-up process

4.    Carrying out other related tasks 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 economics, political science and/or international relations. Focus on development and/or transition economies, as well as on environmental security issues would be an asset. First-level university degree in combination with two additional years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;
• Minimum of five years (seven years with a relevant first-level degree) of professional experience, including two to three years' work at the international level;
• Work in diplomatic service and/or an international organization would be an important asset;
• Familiarity with a broad spectrum of global and regional economic and environmental issues allowing to adjust to varied themes and topics of the annual EEF process;
• Analytical skills and experience in performing research;
• Professional fluency in English, with excellent communication and drafting skills; knowledge of another OSCE language, in particular Russian, would be an important asset;
• Demonstrated gender and diversity awareness and sensitivity, and ability to integrate a gender and diversity perspective in the workplace;
• Ability to establish and maintain external partnerships as well as effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds whilst remaining impartial and objective;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft applications.

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.