Country: Poland
Closing date: 15 Mar 2016
Rule of Law Officer
ISSUED BY: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
FIELD OF EXPERTISE: Rule of Law
DUTY STATION: Warsaw
DATE OF ENTRY ON DUTY: As soon as possible
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 15 March 2016
Background:
This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to assignment at the 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 fieldsof election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. The ODIHR's assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with the 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.
The purpose of the Democratization Department's Rule of Law Unit is to strengthen the supremacy and legitimacy of law in compliance with OSCE principles and international law within the human dimension. Towards that end, the Rule of Law Unit currently conducts a portfolio of projects in the area of judicial independence, criminal and administrative justice reform, trial monitoring and international fair trial rights and election dispute resolutions in the OSCE region.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the Chief, Rule of Law Unit, the Rule of Law Officer will perform the following functions:
Conducting research, analysis, and assessments on rule of law issues with a particular focus on judicial and administrative justice development, including the effective resolution of electoral disputes;
Monitoring political and judicial/administrative justice developments in the OSCE region, particularly in the countries where the ODIHR carries out programmes; providing briefings to the ODIHR and OSCE officials on selected rule of law issues;
Developing, implementing and evaluating ODIHR projects and activities in the judicial and administrative justice domains, with a focus on strengthening capacity of institutions and civil society actors;
Providing professional advice and expertise to the ODIHR, the OSCE institutions and field operations, governmental and non-governmental agencies in the participating States;
Performing other related duties as required.
Necessary Qualifications:
University degree in law is required;
A minimum of six years of professional work experience in law, rule of law development or policy issues relating to law, and at least three years of experience specifically in rule of law development in a country in transition to democracy is required; previous working experience as a judge, prosecutor or lawyer is an asset;
Thorough knowledge of international criminal (procedure) law, international public law, including constitutional law and comparative government structures;
Sound knowledge of international human rights standards regarding fair trials requirements is essential; political intuition, organizational and strong analytical skills; resourcefulness, initiative and maturity of judgement;
Ability to work with minimal supervision and under time pressure;
Ability to operate Microsoft Windows applications;
Excellent knowledge of English with good drafting skills is required; knowledge of Russian is highly desirable;
Ability and willingness to work as a member of a multinational team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.
How to apply:
This post is open for secondment only. Candidates are requested to apply through the OSCE desk of the respective Ministry for Foreign Affairs several days prior to deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of the application. 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/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.