Logistics officer

The logistics officer is the first mission member to arrive in-country and the last to leave.

"It is up to the logistics officer to find, equip, and secure an office before the core team arrives," says Valeriy Shyrokov, a Ukrainian citizen who has been handling logistics on election observation missions, for both the ODIHR and the United Nations, since 1999.

"Once the core team is set up, the next wave of long-term observers begins. They need to be met at the airport, accommodated, briefed, and deployed to the field."

As election day approaches, the logistics officer is primarily responsible for ensuring that short-term observers are deployed and properly accommodated, which includes arranging an interpreter and driver for each team.

"It is hard to overestimate the role of the logistics officer," Shyrokov says. "He has to be aware of every single operational detail throughout the mission."