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 (Defence and Deterrence, Crisis Prevention and Management, Cooperative Security) by providing situational awareness, advance planning, well-exercised and executed crisis response, and outcome-oriented defence and related security cooperation programmes.
Within the Operations Division, the Defence and Security Cooperation Directorate (DSCD) facilitates political-military decision-making and programme implementation with partner nations. The directorate does this to strengthen resilience, promote integrity, transparency, accountability and good governance in the defence and related security sector of partner nations. 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 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.
The Ukraine Cooperation and Transformation (UCT) Section leads the implementation of the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine which is the overarching framework through which NATO provides practical support to Ukraine. The CAP promotes a number of key work strands including urgently needed non-lethal support, defence institution reform, reconstruction of military infrastructure, military health care, and demining.
As an integral part of the UCT, the CAP Policy Team (the Team) is responsible for the policy development in the field of assistance to Ukraine, including the strategic direction for the CAP and its activities, and providing relevant briefings to the Secretary General and senior officials across NATO. The Team also provides strategic management of the CAP short- and long-term activities, and prepares and co-ordinates meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Council’s Defence and Security Sector Committee. In addition, the Team supports the delivery of civil aspects of the work programme of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Finally, the Team provides support to the conduct of activities under the CAP Management Board which is jointly coordinated with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Finally, the Team works with officers who manage implementation of the CAP at the NATO Representation to Ukraine (NRU).
The Team works closely with other UCT and DSCD Teams, including the Interoperability Roadmap Team, the Programme Management Office and the Resources and Portfolio Management Team, to ensure alignment and coherence supporting the achievement of
a coherent defence institution and capacity development policy with Ukraine.
The Officer supports the CAP Team Leader. The incumbent assists with writing and coordination of tasks related to the implementation of the CAP, including the management of specific CAP projects and activities; supports committee work by drafting decision sheets, speaking notes, and letters for senior divisional leadership; organizes relevant workshops and meetings; prepares presentations; analyses relevant documents and draft official letters, papers, and statements. The Officer also works closely with other members of the UCT, DSCD, the NATO Representation to Ukraine (NRU) and the NATO-wide Country Team Ukraine to identify practical measures to advance the objectives of the CAP for Ukraine.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:

• possess a university degree in relevant disciplines such as social sciences, public administration, political science, law, international relations, etc. from an institute of recognized standing;
• have at least three years of recent experience in working on foreign/security/defence affairs for an international organization or a national administration;
• have experience in organising and participating in high-level events with NATO partner countries;
• possess previous experience in designing and implementing capacity building projects, including managing and monitoring budgets;
• be able to communicate clearly, logically and persuasively, verbally and in writing in one of NATO’s official languages;
• be prepared to reprioritise and shift to other tasks, if needed;
• demonstrate strong drive for teamwork, customer service attitude, and flexibility;
• have the capacity to learn and adapt to a fast-pace environment;
• possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; and I (“Beginner”) in the other;
• be flexible to travel and work outside normal office, including in non-permissive environments when required.

DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:

• knowledge of NATO-Ukraine Council policies and activities;
• knowledge of and previous exposure to the Central-Eastern Europe issues;
• knowledge of Ukrainian and/or Russian.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Expertise Development
Develop, maintain and apply expertise in defence and security co-operation with Ukraine and support the development, management and implementation of the CAP programmes according to agreed priorities. Support the drafting of related policy papers, including by conducting analyses of NATO/NUC policy and related NATO-Ukraine strategic documents, including the Annual National Programme of Ukraine and CAP documents.

Financial Management
Support the CAP Team Leader in managing and monitoring budgets within the specified area of competence, including by ensuring that financial resources are focused on CAP priorities, and are used in the most cost-effective manner in line with NATO’s financial regulations. Engage with all relevant stakeholders such as the NATO Office of Financial Control, NATO Agencies and other relevant NATO and national bodies. Support the preparation of financial and budget requests and reports for agreed activities.

Knowledge Management
Control the quality, quantity and relevance of input to the knowledge management systems, including in the framework of the CAP for Ukraine. Contribute to preparing and updating CAP programme implementation and monitoring reports. 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. Contribute to the preparation of relevant public briefing materials.

Planning and Execution
Support the selection of tools and activities under the CAP, including the development and implementation of specific implementation plans. Support the organisation of meetings of the Defence and Security Sector Committee. Develop background notes, perform analyses, write related reports and briefing papers. Draft reports from meetings falling under the responsibility of the OPS Division and follow the development of relevant issues.

Project Management
Design, oversee and monitor the execution of small projects/programmes under the CAP and/or provide specialist input. Apply modern Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) methodologies.

Stakeholder Management
Contribute to clarifying and contributing to meeting stakeholders’ expectations, including stakeholders in NATO, Allied countries and Ukraine. Assist with liaising and coordinating on CAP matters with the Country Team Ukraine colleagues by drafting, requesting and coordinating own and other colleagues’ inputs. Support the liaison with Allies and the Ukrainian Delegation to NATO in the context of the CAP. Represent, as appropriate, the Alliance at conferences and other activities on issues falling within the DSC Directorate’s area of competence. Collaborate with members of other divisions in the International Staff as well as with the NATO Military Authorities to understand, analyse and interpret the strategic environment, country-specific reform issues and requirements, and programme/project management issues. Develop and maintain relations with other institutions (governmental and NGOs) concerned with defence and related security capacity building.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent reports to the Team Leader, CAP Team in the Operations Division for the day-to-day execution of duties. The incumbent works in close coordination with other staff members in the UCT, DSCD and the Operations Division. The incumbent will maintain good working relationship with members of other divisions in the International Staff and International Military Staff, as well as with the NATO Military Authorities and with national and partner delegations.
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.

6. CONTRACT

Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years; possibility of renewal for up to three years, during which the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite duration contract.

Contract clause applicable:

In accordance with the contract policy, this is a post in which turnover is desirable for political reasons in order to be able to accommodate the Organisation’s need to carry out its tasks as mandated by the Nations in a changing environment, for example by maintaining the flexibility necessary to shape the Organisation’s skills profile, and to ensure appropriate international diversity.

The maximum period of service foreseen in this post is 6 years. The successful applicant will be offered a 3-year definite duration contract, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years. However, according to the procedure described in the contract policy the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite contract during the period of renewal and no later than one year before the end of contract.

If the successful applicant is seconded from the national administration of one of NATO’s member States, a 3-year definite duration contract will be offered, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years subject also to the agreement of the national authority concerned. The maximum period of service in the post as a seconded staff member is six years.

Serving staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Régulations.

NOTE: Irrespective of previous qualifications and experience, candidates for twin-graded posts will be appointed at the lower grade. Advancement to the higher grade is not automatic, and will not normally take place during the first three years of service in the post.

Under specific circumstances, serving staff members may be appointed directly to the higher grade, and a period of three years might be reduced by up to twenty four months for external candidates. These circumstances are described in the IS directive on twin-graded posts.

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 (

);
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.

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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.

8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

NATO is committed to diversity and inclusion, and strives to provide equal access to employment, advancement and retention, independent of gender, age, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, cultural background, sexual orientation, and disability. NATO welcomes applications of nationals from all member Nations, and strongly encourages women to apply.

NATO is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible working environment, where all candidates living with disabilities can fully participate in the recruitment and selection process. If you require reasonable accommodation, please inform us during your selection process.

Candidates will be required to provide documented medical evidence to support their request for accommodation.

Building Integrity is a key element of NATO’s core tasks. As an employer, NATO values commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in accordance with international norms and practices established for the defence and related security sector. Selected candidates are expected to be role models of integrity, and to promote good governance through ongoing efforts in their work.

Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or e-mail enquiries cannot be dealt with.

Applicants who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment to another post of a similar nature, albeit at the same or a lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.

The nature of this position may require the staff member at times to be called upon to travel for work and/or to work outside normal office hours.

The organization offers several work-life policies including Teleworking and Flexible Working arrangements (Flexitime) subject to business requirements.

Please note that the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium is a non-smoking environment.

For information about the NATO Single Salary Scale (Grading, Allowances, etc.) please visit our website. Detailed data is available under the Salary and Benefits tab.

NATO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. For more info please click here.