Deputy Head, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination (P4)

Osce; Warszawa; On-site; PLN 381,000 - 457,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Cigna medical insurance

Provident Fund (OSCE)

UN-style benefits

Job summary

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) seeks a Deputy Head of Department for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination in Warsaw. The role leads programmatic activities, budgeting, and staff management, ensuring effective delivery of initiatives to promote tolerance across OSCE participating States.

The incumbent will manage budgets, coordinate events, and provide expert input on gender mainstreaming while representing ODIHR at international conferences on human rights and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related field (e.g., Human Rights, International Relations, Law)
• Minimum seven years of professional-level experience in human rights or related fields
• Demonstrated knowledge of human rights and tolerance/non-discrimination issues
• Leadership and management experience
• Experience in project management
• Awareness of international cooperation principles and approaches
• Gender awareness and sensitivity
• Ability to work with diverse teams and backgrounds

Responsibilities

• Assist the Head in planning and managing department activities and budgeting
• Coordinate timely, high-quality information requests and briefing notes
• Supervise staff and manage HR processes including recruitment and development
• Prepare and monitor departmental budgets within ODIHR objectives
• Contribute substantively to TND events and meetings and provide advocacy support
• Represent the Office at international conferences on tolerance and non-discrimination

Skills

Leadership

Management

Programme planning

Gender mainstreaming

Communication

Teamwork

Policy analysis

Education

Master's degree in Human Rights / related field

Job description

Deputy Head, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination (P4)

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 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the OSCE responsible for the human dimension. ODIHR is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and the rule of law. ODIHR's assistance projects and other activities are implemented in participating States in accordance with ODIHR's mandate.

The Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department works in the areas of preventing and responding to hate crimes, combating racism and xenophobia, anti-Semitism, intolerance against Muslims, intolerance against Christians and members of other religions; and fostering mutual respect and understanding.

Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Deputy Head of Department assists the Head in planning, management and implementation of all departmental activities, ensuring the effective delivery of activities according to allocated budget and schedules as well as through timely and quality reporting, thus contributing to the Department’s objective to assist OSCE participating States in fulfilling their obligations to implement commitments related promoting tolerance and non-discrimination and mutual respect and understanding, including combating hate crimes. Specifically, the incumbent performs the following functions:

• Assisting the Head of the Department in managing the overall work of the Department; contributing to or, when delegated, leading on planning of programmatic activities, development of annual plans and ensuring their implementation to budget and schedule; formulation of the ODIHR programme by contributing to and, when requested, co-ordinating the preparation of programme documents and budgeting in the OSCE planning cycle;
• Co-ordinating to ensure timely and quality Departmental response to Office-wide requests for information, talking points, briefing notes and other input; supporting the Head of Department in providing leadership and guidance in the implementation of key strategic documents on gender mainstreaming;
• Managing the Department’s administrative aspects and human and financial resources; supporting the Head of Department in the supervision of the professional and administrative staff and in the administration of human resources, including the preparation and updating job descriptions, recruitment, work planning, and promotion of relevant professional development of opportunities of supervised staff;
• Assisting the Head of Department in managing relevant budgets in accordance with the Department’s and ODIHR’s objectives and in preparing departmental submission to the annual budget process;
• Co-ordinating and inputting substantively to TND-led human dimension events; providing expertise, and substantive support and advice in respect to the themes, agenda and annotated agenda, as well as logistical and other co-ordination as needed, for the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting and other human dimension meetings;
• Representing the Office at international conferences and meetings on tolerance and non-discrimination issues on behalf of the Head of Department; responding to requests for information on tolerance and non-discrimination issues.
  

Necessary qualifications:

• Second-level university degree in human rights, international relations, political science, law or a related field; a first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
• Minimum seven years (nine years with first-level university degree) of professional-level experience in human rights or related fields, preferably in an international environment;
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the area of human rights and tolerance and non-discrimination issues;
• Leadership skills and management experience;
• Demonstrated experience in project management;
• Awareness of international cooperation principles, concepts, approaches and techniques;
• Field experience and international organisation experience are desirable;
• Ability to exercise sound judgement on politically sensitive issues;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English. Working knowledge of other OSCE languages, in particular Russian, is strongly preferred;
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability to work in a team and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Remuneration Package:

Monthly remuneration is approximately EUR 8,500 depending on post adjustment and family status. OSCE salaries are exempt from taxation in Poland. Social benefits will include participation in the Cigna medical insurance scheme and the OSCE Provident Fund. The Organization contributes an amount equivalent to 15% of the employee's salary to this Fund and the employee contributes 7.5%. Other allowances and benefits are similar to those offered under the United Nations Common System.

Appointments are normally made at Step 1 of the applicable OSCE salary scale. In exceptional cases, an initial appointment at up to Step 3 may be considered. This depends on factors such as relevant experience exceeding minimum requirements or higher previous remuneration. Any such request by a candidate must be reviewed and approved by the OSCE before the appointment.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment, to offer an appointment at a lower grade or 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, should a suitable opportunity arise. The placement on a roster does not guarantee a future appointment or assignment.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

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 .

The OSCE is a non-career organization committed to the principle of staff rotation, therefore the maximum period of service in this post is 7 years.

Please be aware that OSCE appointments are subject to medical clearance.

The mandatory retirement age at the OSCE is 65 years for contracted positions at the general service, professional and director level. The Organization shall apply an age limit of 63 years at the time of appointment as the incumbent selected is normally expected to carry out the contractual obligation of two years.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.

• Issued by: Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
• Requisition ID: ODI000327
• Contract Type: International Contracted
• Grade: P4
• Job Level: Senior Professional
• Job Type: Contracted
• Number of posts: 1
• Location: ODI - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Warsaw
• Issue Date: Oct 6, 2026
• Employee Status: Fixed Term
• Schedule: Full-time
• Education Level: Master's Degree (Second-level university degree or equivalent)
• Job Field: Human Rights