The HD Centre is seeking to recruit a Project Officer to support its Oslo forum activities.

S/he will report to the Project Manager and contribute to conceiving and organising a series of high-level gatherings of armed conflict mediators and key peace process actors. S/he will carry out the following duties:

• Contribute to the formulation of the agenda;
• Conduct research as required, including the identification of relevant actors and issues in mediation and peacemaking;
• Liaise with other HD Centre projects as well as with high-level guests and external partners;
• Draft, compile and edit publications (for example, draft session briefs and session reports following the retreats);
• Co-ordinate with the communication team on the production of publications;
• Contribute to the day-to-day management of the project and work closely with the Project Assistant;
• Prepare project proposals and reports;
• Monitor and evaluate the achievement of project objectives.

The relevant candidate should have an advanced university degree (international relations, politics, law) and at least five years relevant experience in a related field. S/he should be able to undertake research independently. Fluency in English (spoken and written) is required. A second language (especially French, Spanish or Arabic) would be an advantage. Knowledge of, and experience in, conflict mediation, dialogue, facilitation and conflict resolution more generally, would be an asset.

The candidate should be:

• Enthusiastic and capable of working on several projects simultaneously;
• Flexible, creative, resourceful and able to find solutions to unexpected problems;
• Comfortable with independently planning tasks and managing time, including the tracking and processing of information in a fast-moving environment;

S/he should have:

• Political and diplomatic awareness and experience in handling politically sensitive situations/ information;
• Personal maturity and the ability to interact with a variety of people, including at the highest level.

We offer the opportunity to:

• Be part of a small team in a stimulating international environment;
• Be in frequent contact with other project staff in-house and external partners;
• Develop professional expertise in matters related to the mediation of armed conflict;
• Be involved in all aspects of project work, including attending the organised meetings;
• Meet and interact with peace process actors from a variety of backgrounds;

Please send your CV with a brief introduction outlining your experience to hrmanager@hdcentre.org.

The applicants should have a valid work permit for Switzerland

The application closing date is 23 December 2010. The HD Centre is an equal opportunities employer.

For more information, please visit http://www.hdcentre.org/