Political and Reporting Officer (S1)

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: 

• 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
• 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: 

First-level university education in international studies, public policy, political science or law or related fields

Experience: 

Minimum 2 years of relevant professional experience including minimum 1 year in a relevant field strongly preferred
 

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;

• Experience in the political field, including political analysis and reporting;

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with proven ability to draft reports, briefing materials and other written outputs in a clear and structured manner;

• Ability to analyse information and present findings clearly and concisely;

• Sound analytical, organizational, interpersonal and problem-solving skills;

• Ability to maintain effective working-level relations with political party representatives and other relevant political stakeholders;

• Ability to work as part of a team in a multicultural environment while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines;

• Demonstrated gender awareness and ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;

• Professional fluency in English, both oral and written;

• Computer literacy, including practical experience with Microsoft applications and basic digital communication tools.

Desirable:

• Previous experience in South East Europe;

• Experience in international organisations or field missions;

• Ability to understand and speak at least one of the local languages;

• Experience in supporting communication or outreach activities.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Political Affairs and Communications Unit (PACU), the incumbent is responsible for: 

1. Monitoring developments in the political landscape relevant to the Mission’s mandate and drafting analytical inputs, updates and summaries;
2. Contributing to the drafting of key political reporting outputs, including weekly political overviews, Monthly Activity Reports, and other analytical reports;
3. Supporting the preparation of briefing materials, talking points, background notes, speeches, and other materials;
4. Assisting in the collection and consolidation of inputs from other programmatic units, ensuring coherence in political analysis, reporting and messaging;
5. Supporting coordination within PACU by following up on inputs and deadlines;
6. Maintaining working-level contacts with political party representatives, government institutions, civil society organizations and other relevant political interlocutors to support political monitoring, information gathering and reporting;
7. Conducting research on political, governance and electoral issues relevant to the Mission’s work and providing analytical inputs as required;
8. Participating in meetings, conferences and other events relevant to the Mission’s mandate and preparing analytical notes as required;
9. Ensuring the accuracy, consistency and quality of political reporting products through fact-checking, source verification and adherence to reporting standards;
10. Performing other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, please see: OSCE Mission to Skopje.

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 interviewed and found suitable in the recruitment process for this vacancy notice will be placed on a roster of suitable candidates (valid for three years) for fixed-term posts open for secondment, should a suitable opportunity arise. The placement on a roster does not guarantee a future appointment or assignment.

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.