Chief of Media Section (S3)

  • Location:
  • Salary:
    negotiable / YEAR
  • Job type:
    FULL_TIME
  • Posted:
    5 days ago
  • Category:
    Management and Strategy, Media and Public Relations
  • Deadline:
    16/12/2025

JOB DESCRIPTION

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:

  • Advanced degree in university education in media studies, journalism, international relations or related field, or professional certification in media technology, or equivalent professional experience;
  • Knowledge of international media standards and regulations;
  • Very good oral and written English communication skills;
  • Good analytical and interpersonal skills.

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

Advanced university degree in a relevant field.

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience including at least 3 years at the management level relevant to the actual position. A first-level university degree in combination with two years of additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree.

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

  • Education in the field of media development and/or experience in development work in the area of media pluralism and freedom of media in transition countries;
  • Excellent knowledge of media legislation and relevant regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and the media;
  • Excellent knowledge of media landscape in Kosovo;
  • Proven track record in programme and project design, project management and supervision;
  • Demonstrated and progressively responsible management experience;
  • Experience in coordinating on media related issues with relevant international and/or local organisations;
  • Excellent organizational skills;
  • Excellent monitoring, reporting, analytical and drafting skills;
  • 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;
  • Professional fluency in the English language;
  • Advanced skills in operating windows applications, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Outlook for e-mail.

Desirable:

  • Previous operational and/or field experience;
  • Knowledge of the political environment of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, including the mandate and structure of the international community present in Kosovo;
  • Understanding of politics and media affairs in Southeast Europe;
  • Knowledge of local languages or most common lingua franca in the mission area;
  • Negotiation and/or mediation experience.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Director of the Democratization Department, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

  1. Being responsible for the management of the Media Section, directly supervising all Section staff members;
  2. Providing strategic direction for the Media Section portfolio on promoting and strengthening media pluralism and institutions, as well as freedom of the media;
  3. Overseeing the identification, designing, implementing and evaluating of media related projects in accordance with departmental and Mission strategies, and OSCE rules and regulations;
  4. Co-ordinating and oversees the drafting of reports based on information provided by the Section and the Mission’s Regional Centers;
  5. Providing strategic direction for the MS portfolio on strengthening media institutions such as the Independent Media Commission, Press Council of Kosovo, Radio Television of Kosovo, and Association of Journalists of Kosovo;
  6. Providing relevant written and verbal communication and inputs on media related developments, such as: analytical reports, presentations, briefing notes, etc.;
  7. Providing advice to the Director and the Head of Mission on good practices regarding media legislation and developments on wider media issues;
  8. Participating in the Department’s and Section’s policy making process.
  9. Liaising and maintaining frequent communication with the OSCE Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media, local and international organizations, partners and stakeholders, and other OSCE field operations, on developments and coordination of media related initiatives;
  10. Performing other duties as assigned.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, please see: https://www.osce.org/mission-in-kosovo

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 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.

Additional Information

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements