Project Monitoring Support Officer (S)

Background:

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.

Please note that this is a temporary assignment for the duration of 5 months 29 days, with the possibility of extension. 

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 Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) plays a key role in supporting and co-ordinating the OSCE's activities in the field, in providing analysis and policy advice to the Secretary General (SG) and the Chairpersonship, in leading work on all aspects of the conflict cycle, and in supporting the various formats dealing with protracted conflicts. The CPC also serves as the focal point in the Secretariat for co-ordinating and developing the OSCE's role in the politico-military dimension.

The Programming and Evaluation Support Unit (PESU) assists the Secretary General and the Chairpersonship in the implementation of the Organization’s Project Management framework and standards, in line with the Common Regulatory Management System (CRMS) and with the recognized international standards. It is the primary point of contact for the Chairpersonship and participating States' delegations on programmatic and project management matters in relation to the Unified Budget (UB) process, as well as the Extra-budgetary contributions. PESU advises senior management and field operations on implementation of programme and project management as well as Performance-Based Programme Budgeting (PBPB) and co-ordinates all related training and coaching activities (i.e. strategic planning, programme management, project management) undertaken by the Unit across the Organization.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

As Project Monitoring Support Officer, you will support the CPC in exercising its programme co-ordination and oversight role on behalf of the Secretary General. You will provide support to implement the OSCE project and programme management methodology, with specific emphasis on the aspects related to project and programme monitoring and reporting.

You will work under the supervision of the Chief, Programming and Evaluation Support Unit and co-operate with the project and programme managers in the Secretariat as well as other OSCE Executive Structures.

More specifically, you will perform the following:

1. Advising Secretariat Departments and field operations, as and when needed, OSCE institutions, and providing support to project and programme managers in the implementation of the different phases of the project and programme management cycles with particular focus on project monitoring reporting and evaluation;
2. Contributing to the review and assessment of draft project monitoring and reporting reports, donor requirements, the Secretariat programmatic units submitted for CPC/PESU;
3. Designing and delivering training coaching and capacity building on project cycle management and programme management methodology and approach, both at Secretariat level, and at the field operations Institutions with particular focus on project monitoring reporting and evaluation;
4. Assisting in strengthening monitoring policies and practices and self-evaluation of programmes and projects and the OSCE’s Internal Control exercises on Project management;
5. Providing input to and update of OSCE-specific project management tools, guidelines and training materials; contributing to the development of online tools;
6. Supporting internal platforms and formats for sharing of best practices and lessons learnt on project cycle management across the Organization;
7. Advising on and providing input into policy development and strategies to support the enhancement of the quality of project and programme management in the Organization;
8. Drafting various documents, including background papers, reports and analyses; interacting with other Units of the CPC and/or the Secretariat in the development of policy and analytical papers of a regional, thematic or cross-dimensional nature;
9. Supporting relations with relevant bilateral and international organizations to ensure information sharing on project and programme management practices; keeping abreast of donors' requirements in terms of policies and practices, with a view to support extra-budgetary efforts;
10. Performing other 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:

• First-level university degree in political science, international relations, management or other field related to the assignment;
• Certificate on project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation is an asset;
• A minimum of six years of relevant professional-level experience with a governmental aid agency or an international organization in programme and project management and evaluation methodology and practices;
• Demonstrated experience in coaching and training delivery capacity on project cycle management;
• Demonstrated knowledge of results-based management methodology and practices, project and programme cycle management;
• Demonstrated knowledge of project and programme monitoring reporting and evaluation methodology and practices;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• 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;
• Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint), internet.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.

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.