Background:

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to an assignment at the Secretariat must be borne by their authorities.

Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered. Seconded staff members in the OSCE Secretariat and Institutions are not entitled to a Board and Lodging Allowance payable by the Organization.

The OSCE has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, combating human trafficking, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 57 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.

The OSCE Secretariat in Vienna assists the Chairpersonship in its activities, and provides operational and administrative support to the field operations, and, as appropriate, to other institutions.

The Office of the Secretary General (OSG) plays a key role in supporting the Secretary General in the effective implementation of his/her mandate and specific tasks given to him/her by the OSCE participating States. This includes primarily assisting the Secretary General in his/her activities, serving as a focal point for liaison and support to the Chairperson-in-Office, and co-ordinating tasks across the Secretariat. It groups horizontal services such as Executive Management, Communication and Media Relations, Legal Services, External Co-operation, Security Management, Gender Issues, Conference and Language Services, Central Records Management, and oversees the OSCE Documentation Centre in Prague (DCiP). The OSG ensures effective co-ordination of policy advice provided to the Secretary General and the Chairpersonship, and management decisions taken by the Secretary General.

The Communication and Media Relations Section (COMMS) supports and advises the Secretary General and the OSCE Chair on media and public relations activities, and informs external audiences about the work of the OSCE. COMMS also serves as the focal point for public statements and other communication material from OSCE Institutions and field operations. COMMS produces and disseminates press releases, information materials and regular publications, maintains the public website, the Organization’s social media presence and promotes the OSCE’s values, principles and work.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Associate Communications Officer works as part of a team to provide the full range of communication support, advice and products (digital, traditional and social media) to key stakeholders throughout the organization. The primary emphasis of the work will be digital communications. Additionally, the incumbent is responsible for supporting the OSCE public website. The incumbent will work in close cooperation and coordination with another Communications Officer to deliver on the full spectrum of communications objectives for improved OSCE visibility and recognition, as well as with the Web Developer to manage the OSCE public website.

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Digital Strategy and Communications, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

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  Maintaining content and structure of the OSCE public website on a day-to-day basis using the website’s content management system and liaising closely with the Web Developer to ensure the website is up-to-date and meets the needs of the organization and its multiple audience groups;

• Guiding the work of the network of internal website contributors including troubleshooting, training, and coaching where necessary, and ensuring content guidelines and policies are respected;

• Working closely with OSCE Secretariat programmes and departments to create and deliver communication products according to priorities, and ensuring communications support for events and conferences;

• Working closely with OSCE Institutions and Field Operations communications teams to ensure co-ordinated, streamlined and professional communication throughout the Organization;

• Developing texts, visuals and stories and distributing them across a broad range of communication channels;

• Performing other duties as required, including participating in a duty roster.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Secretariat, please see: https://www.osce.org/secretariat

Necessary Qualifications:

• A second-level university degree in journalism, communications, multimedia, political science, international affairs, or another related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;

• A minimum of two years (four with a first-level degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in communications (including social media, multimedia and website management), preferably in an international organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) or as a journalist, including several years of experience with writing, editing and production of communications material;

• Demonstrated experience using political judgement and analytical skills and established competence to convincingly present the activities and achievements of the Organization to external audiences;
• Experience with Drupal or similar content management systems (CMS) is highly desirable;

• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; knowledge of another OSCE official language is desirable;

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

• Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

• Computer literacy with practical experience using Microsoft applications.

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.

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.

Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation; therefore, the maximum period of service in this post is 10 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.

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.