Local Consultant, Handling Electronic Evidence

Background

The vacancy is open only for the applicants with the citizenship of or permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia.

In 2023, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) underwent a new systematization that resulted in the High-Tech Crime Department and National Criminal Forensic Centre being removed from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and moved to the newly-formed Directorate for Technology. As a result, it has become challenging to establish effective co-ordination in investigations between these units and units within the CID since they no longer fall under the same organizational structure. One of the organisational units within the CID that continues to grow and plays a critical role in combating corruption, boasting 233 police investigators across more than 30 offices nationwide, is the Anti-Corruption Department (ACD). Additionally, the ACD is working towards enhancing its operational independence, reducing its reliance to other organisational units. This shift is particularly significant as it expands to include a broader range of special investigative measures, encompassing techniques like criminal analysis, and intelligence gathering. This aspiration aligns with a recommendation from the OSCE Mission to Serbia to the MoI in 2017. 

Bearing in mind the above, in 2024, the Mission supported MoI’s experts’ group to develop a Guidebook for managing electronic devices and electronic evidence and their carriers (Guidebook). The Guidebook will further enhance the capabilities of the ACD to manage the risks associated with virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, in the context of money laundering and corruption cases. 

To continue enhancing ACD capacities to deal with electronic devices, evidence and their carriers, the Mission foresees in 2025 to organize four training courses on the practical use of the Guidebook for managing electronic devices and electronic evidence and their carriers for representatives of the specialised anti-corruption departments of courts, prosecution and police.

The Mission’s Organized Crime Unit of the Security Co-operation Department therefore requires the services of three (3) local consultants/experts in handling electronic evidence, with a police background, to develop a comprehensive and practical training curriculum for a two-day training course on managing electronic devices and electronic evidence. The curriculum should be designed to equip first responders and law enforcement personnel with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively handle electronic evidence, ensuring proper procedures for seizure, handling, and analysis in compliance with legal and technical standards.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the National Programme Officer, the consultants will be jointly responsible for:

1. Developing training curricula for two-day training course on managing electronic devices and electronic evidence and their carriers covering following topics:

• Legal bases for first responders to electronic evidence: understanding and explaining the legal framework, standards, and best practices for handling electronic evidence. This includes laws related to privacy, chain of custody, admissibility, and data protection;
• Handling computers and computer equipment: providing detailed guidance on how to secure, seize, and handle computer systems and associated equipment (e.g. servers, hard drives, laptops), including technical considerations for data preservation and integrity;
• Handling mobile communication devices: addressing best practices for handling and securing mobile phones, tablets, and other mobile devices, including procedures for data extraction, preservation, and analysis;
• Handling other devices that store electronic data: including guidance on handling various devices such as USB drives, external hard drives, digital cameras, and other devices that store electronic data, covering identification, seizure, and preservation protocols;
• Technical information and advice on digital forensic approaches when seizing and analysing different kinds of devices: providing in-depth technical guidance on the digital forensic techniques used for analysing and extracting data from various devices, including strategies for dealing with encrypted data, cloud storage and data recovery techniques;

2. Delivering four 2-day training courses on managing electronic devices and electronic evidence and their carriers covering all the above-mentioned topics through practical exercises; 
3. Developing evaluation methods for assessing the effectiveness of the training, including pre- and post-training assessments, participant feedback surveys, and knowledge checks.

The consultants will work in the Mission area. Travel and accommodation costs for training courses outside of the place of residence will be covered through OTAs.

Necessary Qualifications

• Citizenship of or permanent residence in the Republic of Serbia; 
• University degree in relevant field such as Law, Police and Security studies, Engineering, Information Technology (IT) or related disciplines;
• Minimum 8 (eight) years of professional experience in the field of high-tech crime investigation, digital forensics and/or related forensic investigations with practical experience in the management of electronic evidence; 
• In-depth knowledge and practical experience in digital forensics, including the technical processes involving seizure, analysis and preservation of digital evidence from various devices (e.g. computers, mobile devices, storage media); 
• Extensive knowledge of the Serbian criminal justice system, with a particular focus on high-tech crime and forensic legislation and its practical implementation in investigations and court proceedings;
• Familiarity with international best practices, standards and guidelines in digital forensics, electronic evidence handling, and cybercrime investigations, ensuring alignment with global trends and technological advancements;
• Proven experience in developing and designing training programmes or curricula for law enforcement or judiciary personnel, focusing on practical, real-case scenarios;
• Proven ability to facilitate training sessions, promoting active learning and ensuring that participants can apply the knowledge and skills gained in real-life situations;
• Professional knowledge of Serbian; working knowledge of English;
• Computer literate with practical experience in Microsoft packages;
• Excellent facilitation, communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage participants, foster collaboration and encourage interactive learning;
• Ability and willingness to work with people of different cultural, national and religious backgrounds;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, as well as the ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.

Candidates are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the OSCE Competency Model available at:  https://jobs.osce.org/osce-competency-model.

Remuneration Package

The consultant will be employed on a Special Service Agreement in the period from 14 April 2025 to 28 November 2025, and will be paid a total amount not exceeding 120,000 RSD in total, commensurate to individual qualifications and experience. The payment will be effected in two equal instalments. 

How to Apply

Please apply online through this website (https://jobs.osce.org) no later than 24 March 2025. Only applications received through this website will be considered; applications received by email, post etc. will not be accepted.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Candidates who have not been contacted by 7 April 2025 should consider there will be no follow up to their application.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise the vacancy, cancel the recruitment, or offer a consultancy at a different level or with modified terms of reference or for a different duration.