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: 

• 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 law or significant work experience in criminal justice and/or law enforcement (the latter required for police corrections officer training)

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

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;
• Knowledge of justice and human rights institutions;
• Knowledge of civil, criminal and administrative law, and international human rights treaties, including those related to fair trial standards;
• Professional fluency in the English language;
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity to local conditions and communities;
• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames;
• Strong legal analytical and writing skills;
• Strong communication and negotiation skills;
• Staff management experience; 
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different genders, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Ability to operate Windows applications;
• Possession of a valid automobile driving license. New hires will be requested to pass an OMIK-administered driving test using a manual transmission vehicle within six months of assuming the post. 
  
   

Desirable:

• Knowledge of the regional political situation and legal system in the Mission area;
• Experience with trial monitoring;
• Experience with legal aid, legal education reform, human rights issues, and/or domestic violence;
• Knowledge of the local languages;
• Experience as an attorney, judge, or prosecutor;
• New hires will be requested to pass an OMIK-administered driving test using a manual transmission vehicle within six months of assuming the post.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The Senior Legal Officer (SLO) (Field) is supervised by the Director of the Regional Centre (RC) with programmatic supervision by the Chief of the Law and Justice Section (LJS) in Mission headquarters (HQ). The primary obligation of the SLO is to implement LJS’s core functions and programmatic activities in the field, but s/he is also expected to support the work of the Regional Centre. The successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Supervising local staff carrying out trial monitoring and other assigned functions in the field;

2. Directly monitoring court proceedings for compliance with fair trial and human rights standards;

3. Ensuring timely recording, analysis and communication of trial-monitoring data, including fair trial concerns, to LJS HQ;

4. Identifying and reporting on systemic justice-sector trends and human rights shortcomings to LJS HQ and to the RC Director based on monitoring work;

5. Ensuring the proper identification, design and implementation of LJS field activities, including through the supervision and guidance of local staff involved in their delivery, and ensuring accurate and timely reporting through the relevant reporting mechanisms;

6. Organizing roundtables, workshops and other targeted interventions to discuss and/or implement trial-monitoring reports and/or address legal or human rights concerns;

7. Organizing roundtables or workshops to support Access to Justice topics, including domestic violence, legal aid, legal education reform, and the Ombudsperson Institution;

8. Suggesting, supporting and/or drafting trial-monitoring and other reports, as requested by LJS HQ or the RC Director;

9. Timely responding to information requests from LJS HQ or the RC Director;

10. Providing legal advice and substantive input to the RC Director on current or emerging issues relevant to the work of the Regional Centre on matters falling within the mandate and priorities of LJS.

11. Contributing, at the request of the RC Director and within the scope of LJS functions and priorities, to identifying the legal, rule of law and human rights implications of regional developments, and supporting, as appropriate, coordinated analysis, reporting, planning and engagement with relevant counterparts;

12. Participating in the daily management of the RC and carrying out tasks as assigned by the RC Director;

13. Performing other duties as requested. 
     

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see: http://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 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.