Senior Protocol Officer (S)

Background:

This is a temporary position with the start date of as soon as possible and the initial duration of 5 months and 29 days with possibility of an extension.

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, Communications 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 post is located in the Office of the Secretary General (OSG) Executive Management Section. Executive Management ensures effective co-ordination of policy advice provided to the Secretary General and the Chairmanship, and management decisions taken by the Secretary General. The Senior Protocol Officer acts as a subject matter expert and co-ordinator in relation to international protocol.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Senior Protocol Officer reports to the Director of the Office of the Secretary General and the Secretary General acts as the second-level supervisor. The Senior Protocol Officer supervises general service staff and/or interns that may be assigned to the function, distributing workload, managing performance and guiding development.

Under the overall supervision of the Director of the Office of the Secretary General, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Providing protocol and liaison services in relation to high-level visits to the OSCE Secretariat, presentation of credentials and signing ceremonies; ensuring advance liaison and co-ordination with delegations and/or representatives of participating States and VIPs; ensuring meeting room setup (including providing flags, protocol advice on top table and seating arrangements); receiving and accompanying visitors in line with the protocol; liaising with Security Management, Executive Management, Communications Unit, as well as the Conference and Language Services at the OSCE premises in Hofburg, when required; making arrangements for the exchange of appropriate gifts (e.g. for bilateral meetings and special occasions);
2. Planning, co-ordinating and organizing the process of official correspondence of a protocol nature;
3. Maintaining an overview of all protocol tasks, fostering co-operation between different Secretariat units, identifying opportunities for further efficiencies and making effective use of relevant technologies and tools and assisting the protocol function in development, acquisition and promotion of their utilization;
4. Drafting policies, manuals and standard operating procedures across a full range of protocol functions, in consultation as appropriate with other Secretariat units and external stakeholders, and, in relation to other OSCE executive structures, with OSCE Institutions and field operations;
5. Promoting the role of the protocol functions across the OSCE, in collaboration with the OSCE Institutions and field operations, ensuring knowledge management and organizational learning and development in this area; mobilizing and guiding cross-organizational teams; and providing protocol advice and training to staff of the OSCE Secretariat, Institutions and field operations;
6. Supervising the work of any assigned general services staff and/or interns;
7. Performing other relevant duties as assigned.

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

Necessary Qualifications:

• Second-level university degree in international relations, political science, public administration, law or a related field;
• A protocol function certification or formal training would be an asset;
• A minimum of eight years of progressively responsible experience in protocol, external relations or a related area is required;
• Experience in planning and organizing meetings, conferences or events;
• Experience in an international organization and/or the United Nations system is desirable;
• Work experience in the area of protocol or event management in a multilateral and bilateral protocol setting is desirable;
• Professional fluency in English and German with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills;
• 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 literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications.

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-formto 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, please see https://www.osce.org/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.

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

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.