Senior Legal Officer (S2)

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: 

• First-level university degree in law or significant work experience in criminal justice and/or law enforcement (the latter required for police corrections officer training)
• 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 organizational, analytical, communication and interpersonal skills

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

First-level university degree in a relevant field

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

• Degree in law (first-level or second-level university degree)
• Six years (four years with a second-level university degree) of relevant professional experience in human rights, law or a related field;
• Experience in the practice of law, such as lawyer, legal officer, judge, or prosecutor;
• Two years of experience working in an international environment; 
• Strong English legal research and writing skills;
• Professional fluency in the English language;
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Cultural sensitivity and judgment;
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; 
• Ability to operate Windows applications, including word processing and e-mail.

Desirable:

• Previous work experience with legislative review, drafting of legislation and rule of law reports;
• Political knowledge/experience in the region and the legal system of the Mission area;
• Knowledge of local languages;
• Good knowledge of international law, international human rights mechanisms as well as good governance standards and principles;

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Law and Justice Section (LJS), the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Coordinating the law & policy portfolio within the Law & Justice Section;
2. Legislative review and assessment: taking a leading role in the review of draft primary and secondary legislation as well as Kosovo policies for compliance with rule of law principles and human rights standards;
3. Drafting comments analysing Kosovo primary and secondary legislation, policy documents, and administrative instructions for compliance with international rule of law standards and technical accuracy;
4. Presenting comments to relevant Kosovo counterparts when requested and advocates for inclusion in the draft legislation;
5. Implementing various activities with Kosovo counterparts in support of improving Kosovo legislation and legislative drafting techniques, rule of law or good governance;
6. As requested by Chief of LJS, conducting legal research on Kosovo or international law, and drafts summaries on various rule of law topics;
7. Assisting in formulating LJS policy on issues pertaining to rule of law;
8. When requested, serving as deputy to the Chief of Section in the co-ordination of section activities and staff management; 
9. Monitoring, analysing and reporting on a broad range of rule of law and human rights issues, including implementation of primary legislation;
10. Maintaining close co-operation with all relevant stakeholders on issues pertaining to rule of law and human rights; 
11. Organising meetings to follow up recommendations internally or with relevant institutions;
12. Informing and advising the Chief of LJS and Department about rule of law;
13. Maintaining knowledge of all areas of legislation in the Mission area;
14. Providing relevant advice on rule of law and good governance issues to other units within the Mission; 
15. Supporting the Chief of LJS in responding to various taskings (administrative, budget and programmatic) to other Departments or Vienna; and 
16. Performing other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see: https://www.osce.org/mission-in-kosovo

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 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.