Associate Communications Officer

Background:

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 Communications and Media Relations Section (COMMS) supports and advises the Secretary General and the OSCE Chairpersonship on their media and public relations activities and informs the public about the work of the OSCE. COMMS also serves as the focal point for public statements from OSCE Institutions and Field Operations. COMMS produces and disseminates press releases, information materials and regular publications, maintains the public website and the Organization’s social media presence and promotes the OSCE’s values, principles and work.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Associate Communications Officer works as part of a team to provide the full range of communication support, advice and products (digital, traditional and social media) to key stakeholders throughout the organization. The primary emphasis of the work will be digital communications. Additionally, the Associate Communications Officer is responsible for supporting the OSCE public website. The incumbent will work in close cooperation and coordination with other Communications Officers to deliver on the full spectrum of communications objectives to the benefit of improved OSCE visibility and recognition, as well as with the Web Developer to manage the OSCE public website.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief, Online Communications Unit, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

• Maintaining content and structure of the OSCE public website on a day-to-day basis using the website’s content management system and liaising closely with the Web Developer to ensure the website is up-to-date and meets the need of the organization and its multiple audience groups;
• Guiding the work of the network of internal website contributors including troubleshooting, training, and coaching where necessary, and ensuring content guidelines and policies are respected;
• Working closely with OSCE Secretariat programmes and departments to create and deliver communication products according to priorities, and ensuring communications support for events and conferences;
• Working closely with OSCE Institutions and Field Operation communications teams to ensure coordinated, streamlined and professional communication throughout the Organization;
• Developing texts, visuals and stories and distributing them across a broad range of communication channels;
• Performing other duties as required, including participating in a duty roster.

Necessary Qualifications:

• Second-level university degree in journalism, communications, multimedia, political science, international affairs, or another related field; a first-level university degree in the said fields in combination with two additional years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;
• A minimum of two years (four with a first-level university degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in communications (including social media, multimedia and website management), preferably in an international organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) or as a journalist, combined with several years of experience with writing, editing and production of communications material;
• Demonstrated experience using political judgement and analytical skills and established competence to convincingly present the activities and achievements of the Organization to external audiences;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; knowledge of another OSCE official language is desirable;
• 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.

Source: https://vacancies.osce.org/jobs/associate-communications-officer-p2-3601