1.SUMMARY
NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) plays a key role in explaining the Alliance’s strategic and political messages to opinion formers and to the public in general. As NATO’s main public interface, PDD works to raise the Alliance’s profile with audiences world-wide. PDD also works to promote security cooperation through a variety of programmes in NATO and partner countries and contributes to a continuous process of international security debate and policy creation. The Division also acts as coordinator for most public diplomacy activities undertaken by other divisions at NATO Headquarters, as well as by other entities belonging to the NATO structure.
The PDD – Press and Media Section is the principal point of contact for all media-related issues at NATO Headquarters, including engagements with international media, media monitoring and trends, media operations, press tours, and media policies.
The incumbent is responsible for the overall direction of the Press and Media Section, and of NATO’s press activities in general. S/he is the principal spokesperson for the Alliance, under the direction of the Secretary General, on all NATO-related issues. The Spokesperson plans, coordinates, and executes public communications for the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, including press conferences, speeches, interviews, articles, publications, etc. He/she will be expected to accompany the Secretary General on official national and international visits and to provide advice to the Secretary General and, when appropriate, to the North Atlantic Council on media relations. The Spokesperson oversees speechwriting for the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General and is responsible for providing guidance to and supporting the development of other strategic communications products. The Spokesperson is also responsible for NATO’s flagship social media accounts, including those of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General.
Due to the challenging and more dangerous security environment caused by Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, NATO is subject to intense public and media interest. The Alliance and its members are also subject to intense disinformation campaigns by adversaries and competitors aiming to undermine Alliance unity and cohesion. The incumbent is expected to be proactive in identifying opportunities for the Alliance to successfully convey its public messages in individual countries, regionally, and globally while remaining responsive to the varying demands of local, regional, and international media, including social media. He/she will also be responsible for identifying and countering hostile disinformation directed against the Alliance and its members. In doing so, the Spokesperson will need to manage and keep motivated a diverse team across various disciplines and work closely with civilian and military authorities across the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as in Allied and partner nations.
2.QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
3.MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Representation of the Organization
Serve as Spokesperson for NATO, coordinate timely responses to media enquiries and brief media on the record and on background. Build and maintain an effective network of journalists and media executives. Brief international media.
Planning and Execution
Plan and execute press tours to highlight NATO civilian and military activity. Develop press strategies and plans for Secretary General’s visits and other major engagements, including NATO Summit and Ministerial meetings. Contribute to the development and implementation of the NATO Annual Communications strategy.
Knowledge Management
Maintain full knowledge of all NATO-related issues of potential interest to the international press, including political issues, operations, capability developments, and international events. Supervise the production and distribution of news summaries, press articles and supplementary press clippings. Provide guidance and support the coordination of strategic communications products.
Policy Development
Participate in NATO HQ senior staff groups and boards, as required. Advise the Secretary General and delegations on the media implications of policy initiatives and ongoing operations. Ensure that NATO’s press activities support the decisions taken by the North Atlantic Council. Develop communication and media policies. Develop and promote NATO policies through key media engagements and speeches.
Stakeholder Management
Develop and maintain permanent contact with the media. Work with Delegations as appropriate to encourage coherent and effective media handling. Plan and coordinate media engagements for the Secretary General and other NATO officials. Liaise with spokespersons from NATO Allies and partners, and other international organisations, as appropriate. Coordinate with a wide range of NATO political and military stakeholders.
People Management
Manage, direct and evaluate the work of the Deputy Spokesperson and the team of the Speechwriters. Ensure they remain effective and motivated, including in a crisis. Ensure all taskings are executed within set deadlines and to high standards. Work towards a true team spirit, and a positive, productive and inspiring work environment. Provide regular and fair feedback on performance, informally as appropriate and via the HQ Performance Review and Development (PRD) system. Make recommendations for contract renewal or conversion decisions with the best interests of the Organization in mind.
Vision and Direction
Develop, communicate and implement a vision for the future development of the team, to face the challenges of the future in an ever-changing working environment. Act as a role model of inclusive leadership and promote resilience and flexibility.
Project Management
Assume overall responsibility for the work of the Section, including the Media Operations Centre. Direct media aspects of major NATO events, including Summit and Ministerial-level meetings. In cooperation with ASG/PDD, direct the development and management of media-related capabilities, including audio-visual capacities. Develop and direct media strategies and campaigns. Travel with the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General and on other visits.
Expertise Development
Advise the Secretary General and, where appropriate, the NAC on press and media relations. Advise all NATO offices, as well as military commands and operations, on their press and media relations. Draft media messages, press statements, Q&As, op-eds, and other public material for use by the Secretary General and other senior NATO officials.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4.INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Secretary General for all press and media matters related to the NAC, the Secretary General and any NATO body. S/he reports to the ASG, PDD for Section programming and personnel issues. S/he will be required to maintain a close working relationship with the Deputy Spokesperson, all senior members of the International Staff as well as with representatives from local, national and international media outlets.
Direct reports: 5
Indirect reports: 12
5.COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
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:
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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.