Poland: Legal Officer

Background

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to assignment at OSCE/ODIHR 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 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. ODIHR's assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with ODIHR's mandate.

The Office's democratization activities include the following thematic areas: rule of law, democratic governance and gender, migration and freedom of movement, and legislative support. The ODIHR implements targeted assistance programmes facilitating and enhancing participating states’ compliance with OSCE commitments towards the development of democratic structures.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The incumbent works within the Legislative Support Unit comprising of six staff members placed in the Democratization Department, which, upon request, reviews legislation to assess compliance with international standards, particularly OSCE commitments.

Under the supervision of the Chief, Legislative Support Unit, the incumbent performs the following functions:

• Preparing opinions and comments on questions of conformity of domestic legislation with OSCE commitments and other relevant standards, and following up on recommendations in such opinions/comments;
• Responsible for further developing and updating the ODIHR legislative database (www.legislationline.org), including through the provision of legal analyses and abstracts;
• Gathering information and conducting research on accountability and transparency in law making; assisting in the preparation and conduct of assessments of the legislative process in individual OSCE participating States;
• Monitoring legal reform affecting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in the OSCE region;
• Performing other related duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, please see: http://www.osce.org/odihr

Necessary Qualifications

• First-level university degree in law;
• Minimum of four years of professional work experience in law and some years of international experience;
• Excellent knowledge of international human rights law;
• Knowledge of legislative processes would be an asset;
• Knowledge of computer applications, html language, word processing;
• Political intuition and tact; organizational and strong analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative and maturity of judgement;
• Ability to work with minimum supervision. Experience in working as part of a team is highly desirable;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Excellent working knowledge of English with particular knowledge of technical legal terminology in use in the field of rule of law and human rights (including strong drafting skills) is required;
• Knowledge of another OSCE working language would be an asset.

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.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

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

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.