Audio-Visual Services (AV) Technician
JOB DETAIL
1. SUMMARY
The Executive Management (EM) Division has the lead role in the overall management of the NATO HQ. The EM Division covers the following directorates: HQ Support and Transformation (HQST), Human Resources (HR), and Information Communication, and Technology Management (ICTM).
Within the Executive Management Division, the Interpretation and Conference Services (ICS) provides direct support to NATO’s core business – the daily consultation among nations. It includes all the components found in established International Organisations for the provision of modern conference services, including bookings, planning and coordination, and the provision of technical Audio-Visual (AV) support, room preparation and interpretation for all official NATO languages and others on request.
The HQ is a cutting edge building presenting 21st century challenges. All NATO conference and meeting facilities are under the purview of the AV Services to a greater or lesser extent in terms of operations, maintenance and user support. These facilities include conference rooms in the secure and the unclassified areas, meeting rooms throughout the building, Video Teleconference (VTC) rooms, training rooms, and the AV installations in other premises.
As a member of the AV team, your role is to ensure that the facilities are well-maintained and technically reliable for daily use. This includes high-level gatherings like Heads of State and Government, Ministerial, Ambassadorial, and other NATO Committees within NATO HQ and abroad. . Additionally, the incumbent will train and assist end users with system and software usage during the preparation of presentations and meetings.
The incumbent provides quality assurance on the day to day handling of all events and reports directly to the Lead, AV Operations. For high-level clients the incumbent will operate and monitor the AV infrastructure.
The incumbent will be called upon to work in shifts, sometimes accumulating long working hours under very high pressure to deliver support to events that make global news.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- have the appropriate technical training corresponding to a Higher technical diploma in electronics/IT or an equivalent qualification acquired through experience;
- have 3 years of recent experience in the audio visual field, including managing technical issues and clients; maintaining and operating modern audio visual, interpretation and conference equipment.
- have experience in handling complex audio-visual installations, demonstrating knowledge in:
- IT networking and proficiency in DANTE audio networking;
- audio/video multiplexing, streaming codecs, and protocols;
- operating and configuring all-in-one presentation switchers;
- network-integrated controllers for controlling AV and building technology with different formats.
- have experience working closely with clients, technicians and facility managers to ensure that all AV components are implemented in such a way as to provide a solution that meets not only the requirements of those individuals but also the goals of the organization;
- have a proven ability to work under pressure to handle multiple tasks and prioritize effectively;
- have the flexibility to work outside regular hours in response to crises and urgent requirements.
- have experience in diagnosing and documenting properly and accurately technical failures occurring in the AV infrastructure,
- demonstrate a strong ability to prioritize demands and respond to clients, under high operational pressure;
- Possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; II (“Elementary”) in the other.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- certification in DANTE (level 1 and 2);
- working experience with Televic Plixus network and associated Unicos equipment;
- demonstrated prior experience working as an audio/mixing engineer
Planning and Execution
Under the supervision of the Lead, AV Operations ensure service delivery, operate and maintain the audio-visual systems, simultaneous interpretation equipment and related ancillary equipment at NATO Head Quarter (NHQ) and on missions abroad.. Perform routine maintenance and troubleshoot malfunctions of the audio visual infrastructure. Assemble and install AV equipment (e.g. cameras, screens, projectors, microphones, mobile racks, mobile interpretation systems, etc.) during events. In the NHQ, install, repair, programme and operate multilingual interpretation systems and be responsible for the audio and/or video recording. Follow up the execution of AV support activities and operations in all conference and meeting rooms. Follow up on technical issues, work orders and events. Communicate with user and maintenance teams to give information about system incidents, ensure proper issue registration and coordinate interventions as required. Help the team implement new procedures, tools and enhancements. Take remedial action for technical issues likely to impact operations, immediately if necessary. S/he may be called upon to act as Technical Control Room (TCR) Operator if so required.
Expertise Development
Analyse equipment conditions and end-user feedback and prepare reports putting forward progress, adverse trends and appropriate recommendations for the sound management of the AV facilities at NHQ. Advise on the choice of AV systems to best suit the requirements of NATO for a modern and healthy working environment, work to improve customer service support processes and practices and offer advice and guidance for the design and implementation of the AV environment in the NHQ.
Stakeholder Management
Work in close collaboration with the team and collaborate with other technical staff and sections to achieve successful and efficient conferences. Follow up on incidents and Service Requests to ensure timely support and end-user satisfaction. Build and maintain effective collaborative relations with the many clients and stakeholders within the Organization and beyond, to help in capturing requirements, managing expectations and facilitating service delivery.
Information Management
Ensure that deadlines are met and that changes in priorities are communicated and understood by the section. Collaborate with the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to ensure that the Information, Communication and Technology infrastructure in the NHQ is up to date and compliant with standards. Log and report any incident or significant technical event in the dedicated platform. Describe accurately a technical incident with all relevant and necessary details allowing the escalated support team to clearly understand and solve the incident. Maintain storage and inventory of the audio visual equipment.
Project Management
Raise project and operational or systemic risks with management. Take part in analysing the Headquarters’ long-term requirements and contribute to projects aimed at improving and modernising existing AV systems.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Lead, AV Operations. S/he will maintain regular contact with end-users (International Staff (IS), International Military Staff (IMS), Delegations, Agencies and other NATO Bodies). The incumbent must work effectively in a team and build and maintain a good working relationship with people from a variety of backgrounds, nationalities and cultures and interact in a discreet and effective manner with the most senior officials.
Direct reports: N/a
Indirect reports: N/a.
COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Achievement: Works to meet standards;
- Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
- Flexibility: Accepts the need for flexibility;
- Initiative: Reacts to short-term opportunities or problems;
- Organisational Commitment: Models loyalty;
- Self-Control: Responds calmly;
- Teamwork: Co-operates.
In accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations, the successful candidate will receive a definite duration contract of three years, which may be followed by an indefinite duration contract.
7. USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries. Applications must be submitted using e-recruitment system, as applicable:
- For NATO civilian staff members only: please apply via the internal recruitment portal (link);
- For all other applications: www.nato.int/recruitment
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More information about the recruitment process and conditions of employment, can be found at our website (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/recruit-hq-e.htm)
Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate), approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser, verification of your study(ies) and work experience, and the successful completion of the accreditation and notification process by the relevant authorities.
NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. NATO reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at NATO’s sole discretion, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.
8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
