Staff Officer, Operations Division
JOB DETAIL
*Pending budget approval*
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 (Collective Defence, Crisis Management, Cooperative Security) by providing situational awareness, advance planning, well-exercised and executed crisis response, and outcome-oriented defence and related security cooperation programmes.
Under the authority of Director for Operations, the Plans Section contributes to the effective preparedness of the Alliance to face both deterrence and defence challenges and crises. The Section coordinates political-military advice for the North Atlantic Council through the Operations Policy Committee on these matters. It guides the political aspects of advance planning in support of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence, as well as potential NATO-led crisis response operations and exercises. It handles all aspects of strategic planning that require the North Atlantic Council’s attention and coordinates work on posture management. The Section also has oversight of the enhanced situational awareness process in NATO HQ and of Geospatial Services.
The incumbent will be assigned duties by the Head, Plans Section to assist in the implementation of the deterrence and defence concept, in particular in support of the further development of advance plans, as well as in the staffing and preparation of advice and recommendations to the Operations Policy Committee (OPC). S/He will provide political-military advice on deterrence and defence related documents prepared by the NATO Military Authorities and in support of the decision-making process of the Council related to crisis management and collective defence. The incumbent will further support the review process of the NATO Crisis Response System and will contribute to policy development on cross-cutting issues as required.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a university degree in a field relevant for this position, such as: Security, Defence or International Relations, etc.;
- have at least 3 years of experience relevant to defence policy, operations planning and/or crisis management;
- have experience in programme implementation in the field of deterrence and/ or defence;
- have a good understanding of civil-military crisis management in the national and/or international context;
- have an awareness of NATO’s Crisis Response System, the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, as well as the approaches of other International Organisations active in crisis management;
- be conversant with Alliance defence policies and strategies;
- have a broad knowledge and understanding of current international events and the security environment;
- have excellent drafting and communication skills;
- demonstrate good political judgement;
- be competent with off-the-shelf software (e.g. MS Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint);
- be willing to travel and work outside normal office hours, when required;
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- a post-graduate university degree in a field relevant for this position;
- experience working for a national administration or international organisation on multilateral security affairs;
- experience in planning domain-specific issues, e.g. maritime, air, land, enablement etc;
- knowledge of other international organisations, such as the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);
- familiarity with the interrelationships between NATO HQ, the NATO Strategic Commands, national authorities of Allies and partner nations.
3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Policy Development
Support the development of initiatives, policy, doctrine, guidelines and procedures to increase NATO’s operational preparedness to respond to the full spectrum of crises (both collective defence and crisis management), including by drawing on appropriate lessons learned, to help inform strategic political and military decision-making and planning.
Expertise Development
Apply expertise to activities across the crisis spectrum. Prepare advice on operations-related political-military planning matters, including through the Crisis Management Task Force. Contribute to the conduct of seminars, workshops, exercises and other activities for NATO colleagues, national civil and military planners, including interaction with International Organisations, as required.
Knowledge Management
In cooperation with various stakeholders (inside and outside NATO, as required), coordinate or contribute to the development of crisis-related analysis and assessments as appropriate, taking into account inputs by all relevant stakeholders as well as own research. Share relevant operational information to ensure common situational awareness with NATO and partner delegations, National Military Authorities (NMAs) and other bodies, following set procedures and, according to need, with other International Organizations.
Stakeholder Management
Liaise and cooperate with the International Staff, NMAs and national representatives with regard to crisis management, collective defence procedures, civil and political-military planning-related issues and developments. Support the conduct of activities with NATO partnerships. Develop contacts and cooperation in support of the conduct of political/military activities designed to cooperate with international organisations involved in crisis management. Represent the Section at NATO and in various national, regional, and international settings, including giving presentations at conferences, workshops, and seminars and supporting dialogue with government, the NMAs and civilian and military representatives of nations.
Planning and Execution
Support the development of tailored work plans for the relevant Committees, including through planning and execution of briefings, seminars, workshops and Away-Days. Develop a network across NATO HQ and NATO Strategic Commands to support this task.
Project Management
Take on additional relevant projects as deemed necessary by divisional management and relevant to Alliance crisis management, planning and operational objectives. Support training and exercises events, organization of committee meetings outside of NATO HQ related to the implementation of deterrence and/or defence concept and the refinement of advance plans.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to Head, Plans Section and through him/her, to the Director for Operations. S/He is also required to maintain close working relationships with other sections of the Operations Division, in particular the Crisis Response Systems and Exercises Section (CRSE), including the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), and with the Operations and Planning (O&P) and Policy and Capabilities (P&C) of the International Military Staff (IMS). He/she will also coordinate with other Divisions of the International Staff, the IMS, the Situation Centre, the NATO Strategic Commands and national delegations, as necessary and be prepared to establish appropriate coordination with other non-NATO entities when so directed.
Direct reports: N/A
Indirect reports: N/A
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
- Flexibility: Adapts to unforeseen situations;
- Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade;
- Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
- Organizational Awareness: Understands organisational climate and culture;
- Teamwork: Cooperates.
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
Before you apply to any position, we encourage you to click here and watch our video providing 6 tips to prepare you for your application and recruitment process.
Do you have questions on the application process in the system and not sure how to proceed? Click here for a video containing the information you need to successfully submit your application on time.
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.
