Communications 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.

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 Office of the Secretary General (OSG) plays a key role in supporting the Secretary General in the effective implementation of his/her mandate and specific tasks given to him/her by the OSCE participating States. This includes primarily assisting the Secretary General in his activities, serving as a focal point for liaison and support to the Chairperson-in-Office, and coordinating tasks across the Secretariat. It groups horizontal services such as Executive Management, Communications and Media Relations, Legal Services, External Co-operation, Security Management, Gender Affairs, Conference and Language Services, Central Records Management, and oversees the OSCE Document Centre in Prague (DCiP). The OSG ensures effective co-ordination of policy advice provided to the Secretary General and the Chair, and management decisions taken by the Secretary General.

The Communication and Media Relations Section (COMMS) supports and advises the Secretary General and the OSCE Chair on media and public relations activities, and informs external audiences about the work of the OSCE. COMMS also serves as the focal point for public statements and other communication material from OSCE Institutions and field operations. COMMS produces and disseminates press releases, information materials and regular publications, maintains the public website, the Organization’s social media presence and promotes the OSCE’s values, principles and work.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The Communications Officer works as part of a team to provide the full range of communication support, advice and products (digital, traditional and social media) to key stakeholders throughout the organization. The primary emphasis of the work will be digital communications. Additionally, the incumbent is responsible for the day-to-day management of OSCE corporate social media accounts. The incumbent will work in close cooperation and coordination with another Communications Officer to deliver on the full spectrum of communications objectives to the benefit of improved OSCE visibility and recognition.

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Digital Strategy and Communications, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Engaging with and advising senior OSCE officials, communications staff in the OSCE Chair team, Communication Focal Points across the organization (including Field Operations and Institutions) and programmatic staff;
2. Engaging with external stakeholders, including but not limited to delegation staff from participating States, media representatives and members of the public;
3. Developing visuals, stories, and messages and distributing them across a broad range of communication channels;
4. Managing OSCE’s social media presence on a day-to-day basis, including the coordinating and scheduling of content publishing with multiple organizational stakeholders;
5. Working closely with OSCE Secretariat programmes and departments, as well as with senior OSCE officials, to create and deliver communication plans and products according to priorities, and ensuring communications support for events and conferences;
6. Working closely with OSCE Institutions and Field Operations to ensure co-ordinated, streamlined and professional communication throughout the Organization;
7. Acting as contact for media and public enquiries;
8. Performing other duties as required, including participating in a duty roster.

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

Necessary Qualifications:

- A second-level university degree in journalism, communications, political science, international affairs, or another related field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of relevant experience will be accepted in lieu of the second-level university degree;

- A minimum of five years (seven with a first-level degree) of progressively responsible professional experience in communications (including social media, media relations, public relations and advocacy), preferably in an international organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) or as a journalist, combined with several years of experience with writing, editing and production of communications material;

- Demonstrated experience using political judgement and analytical skills and established competence to convincingly present the activities and achievements of the Organization to external audiences;

- Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills; knowledge of another OSCE official language is desirable;

- 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 literacy 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.

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: SEC000892
• Contract Type: International Secondment
• Grade: S
• Job Type: Seconded
• Number of posts: 1
• Location: SEC - OSCE Secretariat, Vienna
• Issue Date: Oct 31, 2025
• Closing Date: Sep 22, 2026
• Employee Status: Fixed Term
• Schedule: Full-time
• Education Level: Master's Degree (Second-level university degree or equivalent)
• Target Start Date: As soon as possible