Associate Employee Relations Officer

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 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 Department of Human Resources (DHR) ensures that the OSCE has the human resources capacity necessary to successfully implement its mandates. DHR sets the policies and provides services in the areas of talent acquisition, administration of benefits and entitlements, payroll, performance management, talent development, and policy and employee relations across the Organization.

The HR Administration and Policy Unit is responsible for the accurate and timely administration of employee benefits and entitlements through the employee life cycle; for the development and interpretation of the HR regulatory framework; and for the management of employee relations cases, such as grievances. The Unit develops and delivers timely, client focused and innovative approaches on all aspects of HR administration, policies and employee relations.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

- Supporting the administration of formal grievance and disciplinary cases by reviewing documentation, preparing case summaries under supervision, liaising with the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and assisting in drafting procedural documents for review by the supervisor;
- Co-ordinating with OSCE institutions and field operations to support activities that promote a respectful and inclusive workplace; participating in meetings and training courses to share information and present the resolution of common HR issues;
- Assisting in research and data-gathering related to staff well-being and duty of care initiatives; participating in inter-agency discussions as appropriate and supporting analysis of identified trends under the direction of the supervisor, with a focus on improving HR practices in the field;
- Conducting research on HR policies and practices in the OSCE and other organizations, and contributing to the preparation of policy drafts or updates for review by the supervisor; supporting comparative reviews and documentation of precedent cases;
- Reviewing requests for exceptions to HR policies under the Common Regulatory Management System (CRMS) and drafting recommendations for consideration by DHR management, under guidance from the supervisor;
- Performing other related duties as assigned.

Necessary Qualifications:

- Second-level university degree in human resource management, law or a closely 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 two years (four years with a relevant first-level degree) of experience in human resource management or administrative law, such as dealing with employee grievances or disciplinary procedures;
- Legal or paralegal experience in drafting and reviewing documents of a procedural and technical nature;
- Experience working in an international or multicultural setting;
- Experience approaching difficult situations with empathy, patience and neutrality;
- Proven experience in the management of sensitive information, whilst displaying confidentiality, integrity and discretion.
- Professional fluency in English with excellent communication (both oral and written) skills;
- 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.

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.

Please note that vacancies in the OSCE are open for competition only amongst nationals of participating States

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