Adviser on Anti-Terrorism Issues

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to 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 Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit (TNTD/ATU) is the focal point for co-ordinating and facilitating OSCE counter-terrorism activities. The Unit contributes to the implementation of the OSCE's counter-terrorism commitments by providing support to the Chairmanship-in-Office, the Secretary General and the participating States on anti-terrorism matters and by enhancing co-ordination within the OSCE on counter-terrorism related issues. The Unit also assists participating States to implement their anti-terrorism commitments, as defined by relevant decisions, and acts on requests from participating States to assist in enhancing their capability to respond to current and emerging terrorist threats. TNTD/ATU supports the work of relevant UN bodies on counter-terrorism and enhances co-operation with external partners and other regional organizations in the fight against terrorism. The Unit currently comprises 10 staff members.

Under the guidance of the Head on Anti-Terrorism Issues, the incumbent will lead and supervise the work of the Unit on the implementation of the OSCE decisions in different programmatic areas related to counter-terrorism. More specifically, he/she will perform the following duties:

• Leading and co-ordinating research, analysing and presenting information on implementation of OSCE decisions and commitments; drawing conclusions and developing proposals for strategies and activities for the implementation of decisions;
• Leading, co-ordinating and directing the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes or projects; supervising programme/project development and implementation, including supervision of the organization of counter-terrorism conferences, workshops and other events; identify problems and issues to be addressed and proposing corrective actions; facilitating interaction between participating States and international organizations and agencies, including bilateral technical assistance and co-operation; identifying possible additional taskings by the Permanent Council for the OSCE field operations in close co-operation and agreement with host governments;
• Contributing to policy development, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of impact evaluation or equivalent studies; identifying, together with the interested OSCE states needs, requirements and resources for assistance in implementing counter-terrorism measures; developing and proposing new actions and activities;
• Identifying and exploring synergies and complementarities between the OSCE and possible project partners; collecting lessons learned from internal and external sources, analysing them, and on this basis drafting best practices, including replication of successful approaches, including such, developed by other international and regional organizations across the OSCE region; contributing to the co-ordination of OSCE activities in the three areas among OSCE Institutions and field operations, including drafting reports to the OSCE bodies and to other organizations as required;
• Assisting the Head on Anti-Terrorism Issues in providing guidance to project managers to facilitate the achievement of the established anti-terrorism goals; facilitating or initiating formulation and dissemination of guidelines and other mediums to set standards for anti-terrorism activities;
• Performing other related duties such as providing expert advice, this includes participating in different formal and informal working bodies, consultations with participating States and other international partners as required.

• Advanced university degree in international affairs, political science, security studies or a closely related field; expertise or formal training in anti-terrorism, especially in capacity-building would be an asset;
• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience in security affairs, and at least two years with international organisations; previous OSCE experience would be an asset;
• Experience in diplomatic affairs, policy or treaty formulation would be highly desirable; practical experience in working for or co-ordination with UN-system organisations and the EC would be an asset; experience in multi-lateral diplomacy would be an asset;
• Expertise in security and military affairs across three levels; experience in counter-terrorism issues or the four OSCE strategic areas (policing, trafficking, financing, border management) would be desirable;
• Professional fluency in English with good drafting and communication skills; knowledge of other OSCE working languages would be an asset;
• Knowledge of computer applications including word processing, spread sheets, databases, e-mail and Internet;
• Experience in public speaking;
• Political intuition and strong organizational skills;
• Awareness of international co-operation principles, concepts and techniques;
• Willingness to travel on short notice and to difficult areas;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Courtesy, tact and ability to establish and maintain effective and constructive working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds while maintaining impartiality and objectivity.

This post is open for secondment. Candidates are requested to apply through the OSCE desk of the respective Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Delayed nominations will not be considered.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment at a lower grade or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States, please see http://www.osce.org/who/83.

The OSCE is committed to achieving a better balance of women and men within the Organization. The nomination of female candidates is particularly encouraged.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation.

No application fees or information with respect to bank account details are required by OSCE for our recruitment process.