Staff Officer, Secretary of the Deputies Committee
JOB DETAIL
1. SUMMARY
As part of the Office of the Secretary General (OSG), the Council Secretariat (CONSEC) provides key services with a bearing on the NATO enterprise as a whole, by coordinating the planning, implementation and follow-up to meetings of the North Atlantic Council at Ambassadorial, Ministerial and Summit level (Council Support Section); ensuring coordination with, and support to, subordinate committees (Committee Coordination Team); and providing the full range of Protocol services (Protocol Section).
Under the supervision of the Secretary of the Council, the Committee Coordination Team (CCT) coordinates senior policy committees, provides high-level guidance to harmonise working practices across the committee structure and provides information and knowledge management to committees and the International Staff (IS). CCT provides the committee secretary to the Deputies Committee (DPRC).
As a member of the CCT, the incumbent will perform the committee secretary function for the DPRC, including drafting, administrative, organizational and coordination support, as well as procedural advice. The DPRC deals with a broad range of topics on NATO’s agenda. Working in close cooperation with all IS Divisions utilizing the committee, along with all committee support functions, the incumbent will ensure the efficient and effective coordination of the DPRC’s work plan and meeting schedule. The incumbent will be responsible for preparing agendas, drafting decision sheets and other documentation for the committee and for conducting a quality control of committee documents issued to the DPRC that are drafted elsewhere. S/he will ensure all DPRC documents are processed correctly and are circulated in a timely manner.
S/he will advise colleagues on processes and procedures for committee business and maintains the link between IS and the Allies. The incumbent also takes on the important role of secretariat support for the drafting of NATO Summit communiques. S/he will participate in committee coordination projects on processes and procedures for committee business. S/he will perform additional duties as required to support the Head of Section and the Secretary of the Council.
Whilst principally concerned with the secretariat support for the DPRC, the incumbent will also provide support to the Council Support Section.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a university degree or equivalent qualification, preferably in the field of political science, international relations, or defence and security studies, from an institute of recognized standing;
- have at least 8 years professional experience in a related field;
- possess sound knowledge of NATO policies and procedures, current political and defence issues affecting the Alliance;
- have sound knowledge of the civil and military structure of the Alliance, particularly as regards the functioning of the NATO Headquarters and NATO committees;
- be able to draft quickly, clearly and concisely in context of committee work;
- have excellent communication and organisational skills;
- be prepared to work outside normal office hours and under time pressure; and
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; III (“Intermediate”) in the other.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- a Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as political science, international relations, or defence and security studies;
- experience working in a committee setting within an international organization;
- possess the following levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): VI (“Proficiency”) in one; V (“Advanced”) in the other.
Expertise Development
Apply professional experience in order to advise and assist the various Committee Chairs and Staff Officers so as to ensure the prompt and orderly conduct of the work of the DPRC. Keep abreast of ongoing issues and developments within the NATO environment and maintain broad general knowledge of the Organization and its structure, together with political awareness and familiarity with current developments in international affairs. Maintain specific knowledge of the issues on the DPRC’s agenda.
Information Management
Prepare agendas and decision sheets and review and process other documents of the DPRC in line with agreed IS processes. Handle all practical and administrative aspects of the work of the committee.
Knowledge Management
Promote the use of IKM tools that facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information with colleagues throughout NATO Headquarters. Ensure databases and SharePoint sites are updated in a regular fashion. Review and keep information up-to-date on Committee Sites Portal.
People Management
Coordinate closely with section colleagues to ensure that backup is provided for committee issues and that all committee requirements are met. Liaise with other committee secretaries to discuss and propose solutions to common issues.
Stakeholder Management
Maintain close and frequent contact with staff officers working on committee issues, including to coordinate on DPRC decision sheets. Maintain close and frequent contact with Divisional front offices in order to effectively coordinate the DPRC work plan across the International Staff. Maintain contact with DPRC members as the single point of contact for general issues related to committee business.
Planning and Execution
Manage efficiently and address all practical, administrative and logistical aspects of committee work. Particular attention needs to be paid to well-coordinated planning of committee meetings across a wide range of IS users. Track the taskings that are given to the DPRC by the NAC and the implementation of committee decisions.
Organisational Efficiencies
As improved IKM tools take root in NATO Headquarters, promote their implementation. Champion mechanisms that help the DPRC, and committees more generally, function more effectively and facilitate the implementation of streamlined committee processes and best practices.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the CCT Section Head. S/he maintains a close working relationship with the other members of the Section and CONSEC as a whole, as well as with the staff and front offices of other Divisions of the International Staff, the International Military Staff and other NATO bodies as required and with national Delegations.
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Achievement: Works to meet standards;
- Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
- Empathy: Reads non-verbal cues and understands meanings;
- Flexibility: Acts with flexibility;
- Self-Control: Responds calmly;
- Teamwork: Expresses positive attitudes and expectations of team or team members;
- Organisational Awareness: Understands the Organization’s structure.
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.
