Officer, Governance and Institutions (3 posts)
JOB DETAIL
*Pending budget approval*
Through this competition, the NATO International Staff seeks to identify qualified applicants for two grade G17 posts and one G15/17 post of Governance Officer.
1. SUMMARY
The mission of the Operations Division of the International Staff is to prepare NATO for the defence of Alliance territory, to respond to crises at home and abroad, and to strengthen the capabilities of partners. The Operations Division advances the core tasks of the Alliance (Defence and Deterrence, Crisis Prevention and Management, and Cooperative Security) by providing situational awareness, advance planning, well exercised and executed crisis response, and outcome-oriented defence, as well as related security cooperation programmes and capacity building.
Within the Operations Division, the Defence and Security Cooperation Directorate (DSCD) facilitates political-military decision-making and programme implementation with partner nations. OPS does this to strengthen resilience, promote integrity, transparency, accountability and good governance in the defence and related security sector. They enhance the institutional and defence capabilities of partner nations so that they can better respond to crises at home and abroad. As the focus for NATO defence and related security cooperation initiatives, the Directorate uses an integrated set of planning and programme implementation tools to develop effective and efficient state defence institutions under democratic control that comply with international norms and practices, and to develop forces and capabilities that can operate effectively with NATO forces when appropriate.
As part of the Governance and Institution Team, the Officer will be responsible for the design, planning, implementation, management, monitoring and coordination of capacity building programmes aimed at strengthening good governance and integrity in the defence and related security sector as part of NATO’s partnership and security cooperation tools. The Officer will be responsible for providing advice and expertise to national authorities on good governance and integrity, as well as supporting the implementation of national anti-corruption commitments in line with international norms. In this context, s/he will provide advice on NATO Building Integrity (BI) tools and mechanisms, including the BI Policy and Action Plan, the BI Self-Assessment and Peer Review Process, and educational tools. S/he will develop tailored programmes of cooperation for individual nations based on the analysis of national needs and gaps. The Officer will be in charge of coordinating a network of experts and will engage with high-level national authorities of both NATO and partner nations.
Additionally, the Officer will be responsible for the management of financial resources as well as for drafting of reports and documents for NATO Committees; drafting documents for public use, including for the NATO Website; and representing the Operations Division within and outside NATO. S/He will liaise with representatives of nations, other NATO units and International Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a degree from a university or from an institute of recognised standing, preferably in political science, international relations or another relevant discipline;
- have at least five years’ experience in working on foreign/security/defence affairs for an International Organisation or a national administration;
- have experience in defence and security matters with a focus on good governance and building integrity in the defence and security sector as well as related institution and capacity building;
- have knowledge in programme development and management, including financial management and budgeting;
- have significant experience in organising and participating in high-level visits with partner countries;
- have a very good understanding of transformation, reform, defence institution building and capability development processes;
- demonstrate flexibility to unforeseen circumstances;
- be able to communicate clearly, logically and persuasively, verbally and in writing in one of NATO’s official languages;
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other;
- be willing to travel extensively including in non-permissive environments and to work outside normal business hours when required.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- be familiar with NATO policies and instruments related to Building Integrity and capacity building programmes aimed at the defence and related security sector in NATO partner countries;
- knowledge and experience in designing and applying programme monitoring and evaluation processes;
- previous experience of work in/with NATO’s partners
3. MAIN ACOUNTIBILITIES
Policy Development
Contribute to the development and update of the NATO’s Building Integrity policy, partnership policies and their interaction with NATO’s defence policies and security cooperation programmes. Support the drafting of policy papers related to NATO’s cooperation programmes, particularly in the area of governance and institutions. Prepare and co-ordinate advice to individual nations, and assistance to multinational groupings, on good governance, transparency and anti-corruption.
Knowledge Management
Contribute to the development and management of the BI programme according to agreed priorities. Raise awareness and work together with civilian and military stakeholders to support implementation of the NATO BI Policy; and tailored programmes developed for individual nations. Develop/update practical tools and mechanisms to promote good governance and strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity, in order to help reduce the risk of corruption in the defence and security sector. This also includes quality assurance and performance measurement as set against defined objectives. Assist in the preparation and coordination of briefing packages and background materials for NATO Ministerial meetings, and for senior officials, as well as for the relevant NATO committees.
Expertise Development
Serve as expert for assigned BI portfolios and provide advice to senior management as well as members of the BI Task Force. Draft reports from meetings falling under the responsibility of Operations Division and follow the development of relevant issues in other committees. Assist in communication and knowledge sharing efforts through the preparation of briefing memoranda, talking points, questions/answers, speaking notes and background materials for meetings at, and visits to/from, NATO as well as preparation of material informing the public of the NATO BI policy and efforts to mainstream BI.
Planning and Execution
Anticipate future needs of the Alliance and partners to address governance and institutional issues, including related to anti-corruption. Ensure that activities across NATO structures in the area of building integrity are executed in accordance with NATO policies. Coordinate and oversee the execution of relevant activities across NATO.
Project Management
Contribute to the development and management of cooperation programmes with NATO’s partners. Ensure that project management strengthens systematically the integrated planning and programme implementation approach for NATO’s partnerships and security cooperation tools. Ensure that projects are clearly linked to and in support of overarching political guidance. Ensure that projects are designed with clear goals set so that progress is measurable.
Financial Management
Plan, manage and monitor budgets within his/her area of competence in accordance with NATO rules and regulations. Ensure that financial resources are focused on NATO priorities and strategic plans, and are used in the most cost effective manner. Justify costs of cooperation programmes to the senior management of the Organization.
Stakeholder Management
Develop and sustain relations with the BI Community of Practice, including: national delegations, NATO civilian and military staff, NATO agencies, governmental and non-governmental institutions concerned with issues set out in the NATO BI Policy. This includes working closely with subject matter experts drawn from the public and private sector.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent works under the day-to-day guidance of and reports to the Governance and Institution Team Lead for the performance of all areas of responsibility set out above. S/He shares responsibilities and works closely with the other staff officers in the Defence and Security Cooperation Directorate and the rest of the Operations Division. S/He will maintain a good working relationship with members of other Divisions of the International Staff and International Military Staff. S/He will work closely with the staffs of the NATO Military Authorities, national delegations and liaison officers and, through the delegations, with authorities of both NATO and partner countries.
5. COMPETENCIES
You will demonstrate the following competencies:
- Achievement: Creates own measures of excellence and improves performance;
- Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
- Change Leadership: Expresses vision for change;
- Impact and Influence: Uses indirect influence;
- Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
- Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational politics;
- Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others.
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.
