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, work on legal and/or human rights issues in international organizations, 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

Education:

First-level university degree in law and/or significant work experience in criminal justice

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant, diversified, and progressively responsible 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;
• Minimum of 6 years of relevant, diversified, and progressively responsible professional experience including minimum 4 years of professional experience in the practice of law, e.g. lawyer, legal officer, judges, prosecutor, work on legal and/or human rights issues in international organizations, etc.;
• Previous work experience with drafting rule of law and/or human rights reports;
• Knowledge of judicial and legal reform issues and criminal justice;
• Knowledge and practice of international human rights standards and instruments;
• Excellent analytical skills, in particular with regard to legal reasoning;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication, drafting, editing and reporting skills;
• Experience in project management;
• Excellent written and spoken English;
• Ability to conduct research, including electronically, and analyse information on a range of legal issues;
• Ability to work within tight deadlines and under pressure;
• Ability to operate at medium to high government/diplomatic levels and with members of the judiciary, including senior officials;
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity.

Desirable:

• Experience working in South-East European countries or other transitional countries;
• Academic specialization in human rights or criminal justice.
  

Tasks and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of the Rule of Law and Human Rights Department (*Reporting line earmarked to change to the Head of the Justice and Security Department, subject to UB26 approval), the incumbent follows, analyses and reports on developments in Albania related to the rule of law.

The incumbent is responsible for providing advice on Albanian legislative and judicial reform, within the Presence's mandate and for developing and implementing projects in this area.

The Senior Legal Officer has the following specific responsibilities:

1. Monitoring, analyzing and reporting on developments in the Albanian legal sector, including the activities of justice sector institutions, the functioning of the legislative process, as well as rule of law related developments; analyzing and commenting on draft legislation and policies; monitoring and analyzing the Albanian legal sector in light of international norms, OSCE Commitments, and best practices from participating States, identifying gaps in domestic legislation and practice, and drafting recommendations to address these gaps;

2. Proposing and developing projects proposals and implementing projects supporting legal and justice sector reform and human rights compliant practices; providing assistance, in close co-operation with national and international stakeholders, to the Albanian authorities for the implementation of recommendations;
3. Establishing and maintaining close working relationships with international and national partners, including in parliament, government, independent agencies, civil society and international organizations; representing the Department and the Presence at meetings, conferences and seminars, as required and appropriate;
4. Supervising and guiding other staff members working on the RoL and justice portfolio as project managers or project support staff; managing the performance of all staff under his/her supervision in line with the performance management cycle; providing feedback and staff development to staff under his/her supervision; assisting the Head of Department in the programmatic and administrative management of the Department;
5. Monitoring, verifying and reporting regularly on legal and human rights concerns and developments throughout all regions of Albania; preparing or assisting in the preparation of various documents, including internal and external reports, memoranda, briefing notes, talking points and comments; providing rapid analysis on legal issues that arise in Albania as well as on legal issues internal to the OSCE Presence in Albania; performing other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Presence in Albania, please see: OSCE Presence in Albania

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.