Organization: Organization of American States (OAS)

Website and contact information:

www.oas.org

Organization of American States Building (MNB)
17th Street & Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006, USA

 General Secretariat Building (GSB)
1889 F Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006, USA

Administration Building (ADM)
19th Street & Constitution Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006, USA 

Location of headquarters:

Washington, D.C., USA

Year founded:

1948

Mandate and/or mission statement:

OAS Charter:

Art. 1 The American States establish by this Charter the international organization that they have developed to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, to strengthen their collaboration, and to defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity, and their independence. Within the United Nations, the Organization of American States is a regional agency.

The Organization of American States has no powers other than those expressly conferred upon it by this Charter, none of whose provisions authorizes it to intervene in matters that are within the internal jurisdiction of the Member States.

Article 2 The Organization of American States, in order to put into practice the principles on which it is founded and to fulfill its regional obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, proclaims the following essential purposes:

a)     To strengthen the peace and security of the continent;

b)     To promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention;

c)     To prevent possible causes of difficulties and to ensure the pacific settlement of disputes that may arise among the Member States;

d)     To provide for common action on the part of those States in the event of aggression;

e)     To seek the solution of political, juridical, and economic problems that may arise among them;

f)     To promote, by cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development;

g)     To eradicate extreme poverty, which constitutes an obstacle to the full democratic development of the peoples of the hemisphere; and

h)     To achieve an effective limitation of conventional weapons that will make it possible to devote the largest amount of resources to the economic and social development of the Member States.

Relevant programs and projects:

Current head/director (and nationality):

José Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General, Chile

Number of Member States and/or Observer States:

35 Member States (34 participate actively; Cuba has been suspended from participation since 1962.

Operating budget:

$81.5 million (2007 Regular Fund Budget)

Number and location of missions or field offices (if applicable):

34 Country Offices 

Number of employees:

Grades descriptions:

 Vacancy announcements

All applications must be submitted electronically.  Only nationals of the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) are eligible for employment with the General Secretariat.  The Department of Human Resources will only accept applications if they are in response to a specific job vacancy announcement. Applicants who do not meet the Minimum Requirements, as indicated in the vacancy announcement, will not be considered.  The duration of the selection process is approximately three months. Only those applicants who are under serious consideration will be contacted for an interview.  During this process, all official documentation such as, diplomas, certificates, etc., can be submitted.  If an on-site interview test is required for the advertised position, the applicant will be responsible for any travel expenditures.  Canadian nationals should note that basic salary and post adjustments may be subject to Canadian Income Tax. Bulletin IT-21R2/Determination of an Individual’s Residence Status explains Canada’s position concerning the determination of an individual’s residence status for income tax purpose http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it221r3-consolid/README.html

Application process

Applicants must submit electronically the following documents:

1.       OAS Application Form (Form 60)

2.       Cover Letter: describing the reasons for which you want to work at the General Secretariat of the OAS.

3.       Resume (Curriculum Vitae)

 Any applicant, external or internal, who does not complete and submit all sections of the Application Form prior to the closing date stated on the vacancy announcement, including the other required documentation, will not be considered for the recruitment process. The documents described above must be submitted to:

By e-mail as attachments to [email protected]

Subject: Vacancy number - Last name, First Initial 

To download form and submit the OAS application form, please follow these instructions:

 1- Download document by pressing a right click on the link Word Format

2- Choose option: "Save Target As"

3- Save document on your C: drive with the following name: Last Name, First Initial, Vacancy number

4- Fill out application form

5- Send it as "attachment" to [email protected]

Unknown

What are the expectations, minimum requirements and application procedures for volunteers in this organization?

Unknown  

Yes

What are the expectations, minimum requirements and application procedures for interns in this organization?

Internship Requirements:

Junior, senior and graduate students at the university level. Students must have at least a 3.0 GPA and a good command of 2 of the 4 official languages of the organization: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese.

Internship Application Procedure:

FALL 2007 Deadlines: 4/16/2007 - 6/15/2007

Before you apply for the FALL 2007 SESSION, please be aware that you will be asked for the following requirements:

1. Fill out the Student Intern Program Application Form.

2. Provide two letters of recommendation, one preferably from a professor in the major. The second letter from an employer or another professor.

3. Attached a copy of the transcript.

Students who will be receiving credits, should make arrangements with their universities and provide specific information in order to ascertain that the assigment will be in line with the university's policy for granting credits.  FALL SESSION WILL LAST FROM SEPTEMBER 4 TO DECEMBER 7, 2007

Varies with specific vacancies.