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.

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.

OSCE Ministerial Council Decision MC.DEC/9/11 of 7 December 2011 established the Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) as part of the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, Austria. TNTD plays a key role as the focal point of OSCE-wide programmatic activities aiming at countering transnational threats and ensuring the co-ordination and coherence of action across all three OSCE dimensions among all executive structures, while respecting their mandates. TNTD comprises the Co-ordination Cell, the Action against Terrorism Unit, the Border Security and Management Unit and the Strategic Police Matters Unit.

The Transnational Threats Department/Strategic Police Matters Unit (TNTD/SPMU) is the focal point for co-ordinating and facilitating the implementation of the OSCE Strategic Framework for Police-Related Activities. TNTD/SPMU contributes to the implementation of the OSCE’s police-related commitments by providing support to the Chairperson-in-Office, the Secretary General, the OSCE field operations and the participating States in two key domains. Firstly, it promotes police development and reform within the principles of democratic policing. Secondly, it provides capacity building support in countering organized crime, terrorism, trafficking in illicit drugs, small arms and light weapons and human beings, and cybercrime, while upholding the rule of law and ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. TNTD/SPMU works closely with external partners, including UN bodies and regional organizations working on police-related matters.


Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Adviser on the Fight Against Organized Crime contributes to TNTD/SPMU’s work on countering organized crime as a key component of the OSCE’s efforts to address threats posed by criminal activity. She/He provides guidance and support to participating States and OSCE Executive Structures to strengthen their capacity to combat organized crime, including by enhancing their ability to investigate and prosecute organize crime, promoting regional co-operation between criminal justice authorities and supporting practitioner networks, in line with relevant international human rights standards.

Under the overall supervision of the Head of the Strategic Police Matters Unit, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:


For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Secretariat, please see: https://www.osce.org/secretariat


Necessary Qualifications:

• Second-level university degree from a university, Police Academy or an equivalent specialized higher education establishment in social or political science, law, public administration or a related field; a first-level university degree in combination with at least two years of additional qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;
• Additional professional training or certification in project management or a related field is an asset;
• A minimum of nine years (seven with a second-level degree) of professional and progressively responsible experience in criminal justice, including at least 5 years of international experience in the fields of criminal law and co-operation between criminal justice authorities, with a focus on combating organized crime;
• Demonstrated experience of developing and managing the implementation of capacity building projects at the international level, including sound financial and administrative management;
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of the international co-operation framework on combating organized crime, and of current and emerging issues in the fight against organized crime at the international level;
• Experience of facilitating exchanges between criminal justice practitioners on combating organized crime, including ability to build and maintain strong partnerships with stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels;
• Strong analytical and communication skills, including the ability to analyse information and identify needs and appropriate solutions, and to present ideas clearly in both written and verbal form;
• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; knowledge of other OSCE working languages is an asset;
• 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.

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

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 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.