Head, Office of Legal Affairs (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 law or significant work experience in criminal justice
• Experience in the practice of law, e.g. judges, prosecutors, lawyers, etc.
• Knowledge of courtroom proceedings and criminal law and procedure
• Knowledge of international legal procedure standards and instruments
• Demonstrable organisational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

Advanced university degree in the relevant field; 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.

Experience:

Minimum six (6) years of diversified and progressively responsible professional experience including at least 3 years at the management level relevant to the actual post.

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;
• Progressively responsible and relevant professional legal experience in constitutional matters, public law, rule of law, human rights or international law;
• Experience in development/reforms and political analysis, including in the production of reports, verbal and written briefings, preferably in international organizations, field missions or non-governmental organizations in transitional or developing countries;
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the BiH constitutional and legal system, in particular its institutions and bodies (at all levels of government), and the overall political situation; Sound knowledge of international legal procedure standards and instruments;
• Experience in a programmatic/strategic planning role using a results-based management approach;
• Good understanding of the mandate and work of the OSCE;
• Leadership qualities including ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender and political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Flexibility, excellent organizational skills, with ability to work under pressure of deadline, manage multiple tasks and process large amounts of information;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Computer literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Possession of a valid driving license and ability to drive using manual transmission.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the local language or most common lingua franca.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Head of Mission (HOM) and in close co-operation and co-ordination with the Deputy Head of Mission, Chief of Policy and Planning Section and Chief of Fund Administration the incumbent is responsible for:

1. Providing legal advice on all issues pertaining to the Mission’s mandate and its programs and ExB projects including general legal counsel to the Head of Mission

2. Advising on matters pertaining to the overall justice system and Rule of Law reform, legislative aspects pertaining to the rule of law and justice system reform; public law, functioning of institutions, functioning of the governance system; matters pertaining to Human Rights, Fundamental Freedoms, anti-discrimination, media freedom, gender equality, and social rights, the electoral system and electoral reform, the education system, the environmental governance, and on all other thematic areas as they pertain to the mandate of the Mission and/or are related to the diplomatic status of the Mission;

3. Overseeing, or participating in, the local legislative review and revision processes, as well as monitoring and reporting on effective implementation of the country’s legal commitments as an OSCE participating state, where appliable and/or requested by the HoM;

4. Ensuring close contacts are maintained with relevant local actors and institutions, international organizations, and civil society groups engaged in the involved thematic areas;

5. Ensuring compliance and providing legal counsel for administrative matters, risk management, human resources and ethical issues as well as crisis management. Providing legal support needed for the administrative implementation of Unified Budget (UB) and Extra Budgetary (ExB) Projects in line with established rules and procedures.

6. Standardizing legal drafting and clearance procedures;

7. Leading the development and implementation of the Office of Legal Affairs annual budget.

8. Supervising and managing the staff of the unit;

9. Performing other duties as assigned.

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

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.

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

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.