Background:
The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) adopts a comprehensive approach to security, addressing a wide array of concerns including arms control, confidence-building, human rights, economic and environmental issues, and counter-terrorism. This approach spans three key areas through the politico-military, economic and environmental, and human dimensions. All 57 participating States of the OSCE have equal status, and decisions are made by consensus, though they are politically, not legally, binding.
The Transnational Threats Department (TNTD), particularly through its Action against Terrorism Unit (ATU), serves as the primary entity for coordinating and facilitating the OSCE's counter-terrorism activities. TNTD/ATU plays a crucial role in supporting the OSCE’s counter-terrorism efforts by providing assistance to the Chairperson-in-Office, the Secretary General, and participating States. This includes helping participating States implement their counter-terrorism commitments and enhancing co-operation with other international organizations and United Nations (UN) bodies.
The international community has recognized the need to address the terrorist financing (FT) and has over time developed a holistic response to countering this threat. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 (2001) which required UN Member States to undertake measures to deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist attacks, through legislative action, international co-operation and the freezing of assets. In 2019, responding to evolving threats and challenges in the fight against terrorist financing, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2462, consolidating previous Resolutions on Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and calling for new measures directed at preventing and suppressing terrorist financing. Resolution 2462 also explicitly stipulated that States shall ensure that their CFT measures are consistent with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law.
Recognizing CFT as a cornerstone of global efforts to counter terrorism, the OSCE is delivering a comprehensive programme to assist its participating States and Partners for Co-operation in strengthening their capacities to counter the financing of terrorism, by further improving their domestic CFT frameworks and enhancing regional, national and local capacities to prevent terrorists from raising, storing, moving and using funds for terrorist purposes, in full compliance with international law. Focus areas include strengthening capacities and multi-stakeholder co-operation on terrorist financing investigations, including in relation to rapidly evolving technologies, public-private partnerships, financial inclusion and avoiding adverse impact on civil societ.
For more detailed information on the structure and work of the Secretariat, please see: http://www.osce.org/secretariat
Objective of Assignment:
The OSCE is seeking qualified experts to join its roster to support the TNTD/ATU in a number of key areas, including, but not limited to, legislative review and drafting support, the adaptation and development of CFT training curricula, the delivery of specialized CFT training courses with a focus on investigation and prosecution, public-private partnerships, the development of practical written guidance materials.
Candidates are requested to indicate their area(s) of expertise and number of years of experience in their application’s cover letter while making reference to the above-mentioned topics.
Once placed on the roster, candidates will be considered for relevant consultancy opportunities, for which they will be contacted to confirm their interest and availability, with the final selection potentially involving an interview and written assignment.
The expert might be hired in order to cover one or several of the tasks listed below. Assignment-specific tasks and responsibilities and the required level of expertise will be outlined in the terms of references shared with the candidates short-listed for a specific assignment.
Duration of Assignment:
This is a roster call. Duration of the assignment depends on the tasks, deliverables, location, and modality of each specific consultancy assigned.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
The OSCE is looking for professionals with demonstrated and in-depth expertise in CFT, with a specific focus on evolving technologies (incl. virtual assets), public private partnerships and co-operation with the financial and non-financial sectors (incl. the non-profit organization sector) and the ability to translate complex issues into practical, accessible and operationally relevant training content and/or guidance materials for different categories of stakeholders, in line with international legal obligations and standards. Depending on the specific assignment, roster experts may be requested to:
1. Support the development of needs assessments for training programmes related to CFT;
2. Develop, design, update or tailor training materials, slides, practical examples, practical demonstrations, case studies and exercises on CFT for training courses, roundtables and other OSCE events;
3. Explain CFT concepts in clear, simple and audience-appropriate language, including for non-technical or mixed groups such as law enforcement practitioners, policymakers, civil society representatives;
4. Provide expert input on CFT for thematic briefs, guides, and other OSCE documents and publications;
5. Provide specialized operational assistance in the field of CFT to governmental agencies;
6. Support the mentoring and coaching of professionals in the field of CFT;
7. Support consultative processes and dialogues on CFT, including those related to the involvement of civil society actors;
8. Co-operate with other experts, OSCE field operations, institutions and project partners as required, including by adapting content to regional or national contexts in Central Asia, South-Eastern Europe or other OSCE areas.
9. Prepare brief written inputs, training summaries, lessons learned, technical notes or recommendations following activities, including observations on participants’ main questions, capacity needs and possible follow-up work.
Necessary Qualifications:
- Advanced university degree in economics, finance, political science, law, security studies, international relations, or any other field related to counter-terrorism and countering the financing of terrorism or technical expertise gained through other types of education (e.g. relevant police, financial intelligence unit or security service education).
- A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional (operational and/or policy) experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Knowledge and understanding of good practices, current trends/typologies and risk factors in terrorism financing;
- Experience developing needs and risk assessments related to countering the financing of terrorism;
- Experience with supporting and strengthening judicial processes in relation to financial crimes, in particular terrorist financing;
- Experience developing and giving trainings on one or more of the following topics:
- The terrorist financing cycle and sources of financial information that can be used in counter terrorist operations;
- Terrorist financing analysis;
- Terrorist financing investigations, incl. across borders;
- Terrorist financing disruption;
- Terrorist financing sanctions against individuals and entities associated with terrorist groups;
- Co-operation with the private sector (financial and non-financial) in the context of CFT;
- Evolving technologies and terrorism financing and countering terrorist financing, incl. virtual assets, the use of AI in financial monitoring, gaming, etc;
- Co-operation with the non-profit sector in CFT;
- Implementation of Financial Action Task Force standards and recommendations.
o Experience providing CFT-related technical assistance to governmental agencies, international organizations, non-profit organizations, etc.;
o Experience working with and engaging the private sector in CFT efforts;
o Experience mentoring or coaching professionals in the field of countering the financing of terrorism;
o Experience working on risk-based supervision;
o Understanding of human rights considerations and protection of non-profit organisations when countering the financing of terrorism;
o Knowledge of legal and policy frameworks related to CFT, including policies, strategies, laws and co-operation mechanisms, incl. across borders;
o Experience developing and implementing targeted financial sanctions.
- Professional fluency in English with excellent writing skills; knowledge of Russian and other languages spoken in the OSCE area will be considered a strong asset;
- Flexibility and ability to work under time pressure to meet tight deadlines;
- Ability to establish and maintain effective and constructive working relationships with people of different national and cultural backgrounds while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders;
- Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and the ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
- Analytical skills to assess emerging threats and propose practical responses in both policy and implementation contexts;
- Computer literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications;
- Experience working with evolving technologies, incl. AI, to counter terrorist financing;
- Willingness and ability to travel for specific assignments.
- Knowledge of international human rights standards in the counter-terrorism context and the ability to integrate these into own work, and complying with a Do No-Harm-approach;
- Geographical expertise in the OSCE area, in particular Central Asia and South-Eastern Europe, would be an asset;
- Professional experience working with or for international and/or regional organizations would be considered an asset.
Remuneration Package:
Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.
The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment 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.
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 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: SEC001048
- Contract Type: Special Service Agreement (SSA) / Consultant
- Grade: No grade
- Job Type: Consultant
- Number of posts: Multiple
- Location: SEC - OSCE Secretariat, Vienna
- Issue Date: Jul 9, 2026
- Closing Date: Aug 6, 2026
- Education Level: Master's Degree (Second-level university degree or equivalent)
- Job Field: Rule of Law
