Background:

This position is open for secondment only and participating States are kindly reminded that all costs in relation to assignment at 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 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 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 fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. ODIHR’s assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with ODIHR’s mandate.

ODIHR possesses substantial expertise and has carried out a significant amount of work on the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment, including developing a handbook for OSCE field staff on preventing torture, a Baseline Study and Guidance on Eliminating Incentives for Torture in the OSCE Region, guidance on monitoring places of detention, a guidance document and training curriculum on the UN Revised Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules). Strengthening the independent monitoring of all places of detention and the OPCAT (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) system in the OSCE region represents another important avenue of ODIHR’s work.

Tasks and responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Deputy Head, Human Rights Department, the Advisor on Torture Prevention will lead the anti-torture portfolio at ODIHR and will perform the following duties:

1. Advising on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmatic activities in the thematic area, as part of the Department’s overall work on Human Rights and Security;
2. Carrying out substantive research, monitoring and analysis on human rights topics of relevance, with a particular focus on torture prevention and related human rights issues;
3. Advising Human Rights Department management on the impact of policy and/or specific political situations on programmatic work within the Department in relation to the prevention and prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment;
4. Building alliances and networks with independent experts, international and national governmental and non-governmental actors, UN mechanisms and agencies, regional human rights bodies and OSCE field operations, in order to develop regional collaboration and sharing of best practice, exchange information, co-ordinate activities and implement common programs in the field of torture prevention;
5. Planning, developing, implementing and co-ordinating programmes and activities on human rights and, specifically, on combating/preventing torture and other ill-treatment, with government authorities, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms under OPCAT and civil society from participating States;
6. Performing other duties as assigned, including by contributing to the overall human rights work of the Department.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, please see https://www.osce.org/odihr

Education and Experience:

• First-level university degree in law, political science, international relations, or social sciences, with a specialization in human rights; possession of a second-level university degree in a related field is desirable;
• A minimum of six years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience in the field of human rights, including experience at the international level, preferably with a focus on combating/preventing torture;
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing human rights programmes and activities with capacity building and/or technical assistance components;
• Good understanding of human rights monitoring methodologies and experience of human rights monitoring, preferably with a specific focus on torture and the monitoring of places of detention;
• Excellent knowledge of UN, Council of Europe and OSCE human rights standards and institutions;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English; knowledge of Russian is desirable;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds whilst maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities.

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.

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.