Chief of Operations (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.
The duties and requirements of this seconded (S) position correspond to a P4-level role in the UN common system. 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 Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU) has been established in order to continue supporting the Ukrainian Government’s reform efforts and mitigating the increased risks to civilians caused by the war against the country. The objective of the SPU - and therefore of all its projects - is to support Ukraine across all three OSCE dimensions on the government’s reform efforts and on the evolving risks to civilians caused by the war, thus ensuring that the OSCE’s work conducted over the past three decades and in the future, continues to impact positively the institutions and people of Ukraine and that Ukraine’s comprehensive security is enhanced in line with the OSCE commitments.

This post is located in the SPU Management Support: Programme Implementation Unit (PIU) project of the SPU under the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC) at the OSCE Secretariat (SEC). The SPU is envisaged to run until 31 December 2028. The post extension is subject to the availability of funds as well as the extension of the project duration.

Please note that this post is located in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the Senior Adviser (P4), the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Co-ordinating and managing a portfolio of extra-budgetary projects, grouped into five thematic components: Democratization and Good Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Human Security, and Economic, Environmental and Politico-Military; overseeing functioning of the Programme.
2. Advising staff and drafting guidelines for project staff, supervising directly and indirectly personnel of five components, including – as first-level supervisor – personnel of five areas of work of Rule of Law and Human Rights, Human Security, Economic, Environmental and Political-Military components; and co-ordinating the functioning of the Programmatic Implementation Unit; performing programmatic approval functions in Oracle.
3. Co-ordinating closely with the Senior Adviser SPU and with Secretariat departments and units and other OSCE institutions on matters such as strategic direction, Programme and project implementation.
4. Advising the Senior Adviser on policy, operations and project development; overseeing strategic planning process and through contacts with Ukrainian Authorities (including at ministerial level), identifying projects, formulating with responsible project staff relevant documents and establishing corresponding budgets; in consultation with the Senior Adviser, fundraising for the Programme and assigning funds within the thematic areas of work.
5. Preparing the draft report to the Advisory Board; overseeing preparation of donor reporting and regular briefings for OSCE participating States’ embassies in Kyiv.
6. Maintaining a close relationship with the Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office to Ukraine.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE SPU, please see: https://www.osce.org/support-programme-for-ukraine.

Necessary Qualifications:

• First-level university degree in management, public administration or other field relevant to OSCE priorities.
• Minimum 9 years (7 years with a relevant second-level degree) of extended professional managerial experience in complex security environments, post-conflict and/or developing countries and communities, with policy level experience in donor field programming, preferably in an international environment.
• Project management experience.
• Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; working knowledge of Ukrainian would be an asset.
• Holding a valid driving license.
• 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 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.

Candidates interviewed and found suitable in the recruitment process for this vacancy notice will be placed on a roster of suitable candidates (valid for three years) for fixed-term posts open for secondment, should a suitable opportunity arise. The placement on a roster does not guarantee a future appointment or assignment.

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.

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation; therefore, the maximum period of service in this post is 10 years.

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 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

• Issued by: OSCE Secretariat
• Requisition ID: OSC000528
• Contract Type: International Secondment
• Grade: S
• Job Level: Professional
• Job Type: Seconded
• Number of posts: 1
• Location: OSCE
• Issue Date: Jul 8, 2026
• Closing Date: Aug 5, 2026
• Employee Status: Fixed Term
• Schedule: Full-time
• Education Level: Bachelor's Degree (First-level university degree or equivalent)
• Target Start Date: As soon as possible