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 activities, serving as a focal point for liaison and support to the Chairperson-in-Office, and coordinating tasks across the Secretariat. It groups horizontal services such as Executive
• Management, Communications and Media Relations, Legal Services, External Co-operation, Security Management, Gender Affairs, Conference and Language Services, Central Records Management, and oversees the OSCE Document Centre in Prague (DCiP). The OSG ensures effective co-ordination of policy advice provided to the Secretary General and the Chairmanship, and management decisions taken by the Secretary General.
• The Communication and Media Relations Section (COMMS) supports and advises the Secretary General and the OSCE Chairmanship on media and public relations activities, and informs external audiences about the work of the OSCE. COMMS also serves as the focal point for public statements and other communication material from OSCE Institutions and field operations. COMMS produces and disseminates press releases, information materials and regular
• publications, maintains the public website, the Organization’s social media presence and promotes the OSCE’s values, principles and work.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The incumbent 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 incumbent is responsible the day-to-day management of OSCE corporate social media accounts. The incumbent will work in close cooperation and coordination with another Communications Officer to deliver on the full spectrum of communications objectives to the benefit of improved OSCE visibility and recognition.

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

• Developing visuals, stories and messages and distributing them across a broad range of communication channels;
• Managing OSCE’s social media presence on a day-to-day basis, including the coordination and scheduling of content publishing with multiple organization’s stakeholders;
• Working closely with OSCE Secretariat programmes and departments, as well as with senior OSCE officials, to create and deliver communication plans and products according to priorities, and ensuring communications support for events and conferences;
• Working closely with OSCE Institutions and Field Operations to ensure co-ordinated, streamlined and professional communication throughout the Organization;
• Acting as contact for media and public enquiries;
• Performing other duties as required, including participating in a duty roster.

Necessary Qualifications:

• Second-level university degree in journalism, communications, 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 five years (seven with a first-level university degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in communications (including social media, media relations, public relations and advocacy), 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/communications-officer-p3-3602