Staff Officer (NFM)
JOB DETAIL
*Pending budget approval*
1. SUMMARY
The Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division has the lead role on the defence-related aspects of NATO’s fundamental security tasks at the political-military level.
Within the DPP, the Defence Capabilities Section supports the political-military work on the Alliance’s military adaptation, in particular through the implementation of the deterrence and defence concept and the warfighting concept. It deals with a wide range of policy issues related to Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture and its related initiatives, capabilities and structures, including the NATO Command Structure and the NATO Force Model. The section also contributes to the development of policy solutions to possible shortfalls and challenges to Alliance’s readiness, responsiveness and reinforcement; multinational approaches to forces development; and specific topical problems that arise. It supports the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC) by preparing the appropriate policy through relevant and timely political-military advice.
Under the supervision of the Head, Defence Capabilities, the incumbent will assist in the further development of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence initiatives. The post holder will assist in developing political-military advice and on the further adaptation of the Alliance’s defence structures, concepts, and procedures.
The incumbent will work in a Division which considers diversity and inclusion as essential to the way it works. At DPP, Diversity and Inclusion is considered to be as important as our programme of work and the number of staff who support it. DPP is a workplace which values each staff member for their contributions, perspectives and potential. At DPP, staff members feel equally involved in and supported in all areas of the workplace.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a university degree, or an equivalent level of qualification, from an institute of recognised standing or equivalent qualification;
- have a minimum of 3 years’ experience working for an international organisation or a national administration, with a focus on defence policy and its implementation;
- have the capacity for independent conceptual analysis of issues affecting the Alliance’s deterrence and defence initiatives;
- be conversant with the organisation, preparation, command and employment of national military forces, including their interaction and relationship with Alliance structures;
- be conversant with NATO policy issues, including the organisation, basic procedures and processes on defence policy and planning issues, major deterrence and defence initiatives;
- have the ability to communicate clear, logical, persuasive and use succinct arguments in oral and, especially written form;
- be familiar with various software packages, in particular the Microsoft Office suite or similar;
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other;
- be flexible to travel (10%) and work outside normal business hours, when requested.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- a Master’s degree in a relevant field;
- work experience in a NATO context;
- relevant military policy expertise on plans development, and preparation of forces for deterrence and defence activities at national or international level;
- experience using collaborative tools, i.e. SharePoint.
Policy Development
Support the development of general policy documents. Prepare, study or implement North Atlantic Council (NAC) decisions on deterrence and defence. Assist in developing and co-ordinating defence policy , including deployability, sustainability, training, verification, interoperability and command and control.
Expertise Development
Develop expertise on possible defence capability shortcomings and remedies. Keep well informed on current developments and emerging trends related to own area of competence.
Stakeholder Management
Develop and maintain a network of contacts within NATO, including other parts of the International Staff, NATO Military Authorities and national delegations. As well outside the Alliance with other international organisations, think tanks and experts in the security environment in order to monitor and analyse current affairs and key policy issues. Co-ordinate closely with colleagues in DPP and other Divisions to ensure policy developments are aligned with other NATO activities.
Knowledge Management
Develop reports and studies on wider security issues and on their interaction with defence policy and programmes. Prepare reports, briefing materials, press statements and other material for defence ministerial meetings. Draft presentations, related to own area of competence, to be used by the Assistant Secretary General (ASG), Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) or other senior NATO officials. Report on developments in own area of responsibility and recommend application to the work of the Section.
Information Management
Determine priorities, identify urgent matters, and organise and address tasks and requirements accordingly. Channel information to key players in NATO and influence strategy and opinions. Assist appropriate NATO committees in the development and preparation of documents dealing with the conceptual development of the Alliance’s defence policy and the implementation of such policy.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Head, Defence Capabilities Section and coordinates closely across NATO HQ with the International Staff, the NATO Military Authorities and Allied officials, as well as with counterparts in other international organisations. S/he maintains close working relationships throughout DPP and works effectively with other NATO divisions, in particular with those related to outreach cooperation and capacity building and the IMS, to ensure shared situational awareness, effective staff-level coordination and stakeholder management.
Direct reports: N/a
Indirect report: N/a
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent will demonstrate:
- Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
- Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work;
- Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts;
- Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
- Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade;
- Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
- Organisational Awareness: Understands organizational climate and culture;
- Teamwork: Expresses positive attitudes and expectations of team or team members.
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.
