SUMMARY:

The International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) is an independent, external audit body composed of six members appointed by the North Atlantic Council (Council) from among candidates nominated by the member countries. Board Members are responsible for their work only to the Council. The Board carries out external audits of NATO bodies, assimilated entities and of the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP).

IBAN’s mandate is to assure the Council and the governments of NATO member countries that funds have been used according to authorisation and that the financial statements are accurate and give a fair view of NATO’s financial situation. IBAN also evaluates NATO’s activities with regard to their economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.

In order to achieve this mandate, IBAN performs three types of audits:

• Financial audit: an examination of the financial statements of NATO entities to check whether they are true and fair and their funds were properly used in accordance with the regulations in force;


• Performance audit: an evaluation of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of NATO's activities, operations and programmes;


• NSIP audit: an examination of expenditures for these projects, which relate to, for example, infrastructure, equipment or information and communication systems.

IBAN conducts approximately 30 financial statement audits per year of NATO commands, agencies, benefit plans, and other assimilated entities. IBAN also performs between 50 and 100 audits annually of NSIP expenditures. In addition, three or more performance audits are carried out each year. The audit teams travel to NATO and non-NATO nations to carry out their work.

The IBAN’s work is guided by the three core values of independence, integrity and professionalism:

• Independence: IBAN is solely responsible to the Council for its work. It neither seeks nor receives instructions from any other authority;


• Integrity: IBAN conducts its work in a fair, objective, balanced, unbiased, and non-political manner;


• Professionalism: IBAN’s work is planned, executed and reported in accordance with international auditing principles and standards.

The incumbent will act as a primary auditor for financial statement audits of NATO Reporting Entities and audits of NSIP expenditure as assigned by the Board, in accordance with the auditing standards adopted by the Board. They may also act as primary auditor for financial statement audits of non-NATO bodies as assigned by the Board. They may also act as a team member on financial statement audits of NATO and non-NATO bodies or audits of NSIP expenditure as assigned by the Board.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

The incumbent must:

• Possess a University degree or equivalent level of qualification;


• Have at least 6 years’ audit experience;


• Have knowledge of the auditing standards promulgated by the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC);


• Possess knowledge of current auditing techniques including audit software;


• Demonstrate strong analytical skills;


• Possess excellent oral and written communication skills;


• Possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one and II (“Elementary”) in the other; and


• Be able to travel extensively (approximately half the working year) throughout NATO member countries and be prepared to work outside of normal office hours, if required.

Desirable

The following would be considered an advantage:

• Experience as an Information Technology (IT) auditor and possessing a relevant qualification, such as Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA);


• Membership of nationally recognised professional accountancy or auditing institutions;


• Have experience with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) issued by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB);


• Have experience in accounting and financial management, preferably in an organisation applying IPSAS and/or IFRS;


• Prior audit work experience or seconded status in a national Supreme Audit Institution;


• Ability to communicate audit findings to stakeholders in a clear way;


• Experience in an International Organization;


• Advanced level of English; and


• Knowledge of other NATO member countries' languages.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Project Management

Act as primary auditor for financial audits of NATO or non-NATO bodies as assigned by the Board, in accordance with the auditing standards adopted by the Board. Act as primary auditor for audits of NSIP expenditure as assigned by the Board, in accordance with the auditing standards adopted by the Board. Manage and review the audit work of other auditors assigned to their team. They may also act as a team member on financial statement audits of NATO and non-NATO bodies or audits of NSIP expenditure as assigned by the Board.

Expertise Development

Ensure continuous professional development of audit skills as well as knowledge of NATO, NATO entities and activities and auditing practices at other International Organisations. To strengthen the impact of audit reports, aim at preparing and presenting clear, convincing and timely reports of the findings in accordance with the auditing standards adopted by the Board.

Information Management

Contribute to the maintenance of knowledge and information sharing within the Board. Ensure an efficient flow of information within the audit team.

Knowledge Management

Prepare and present clear, convincing and timely audit reports and/or findings in accordance with the auditing standards adopted by the Board. Communicate reports and results with the Board, other auditors and auditees. Control the quality, quantity and relevance of data input.

Stakeholder Management

Work closely with supervisors, colleagues and support staff and with management and staff of audited entities and projects. Collaborate with supervisors, colleagues and support staff to achieve excellent audit results.

Perform any other duty as assigned.

INTERRELATIONSHIPS:

During the audit process, the incumbent will work closely with supervisors, support staff and management at the audited entities. The ability to collaborate efficiently is an important element in achieving excellent audit results. Therefore, the incumbent should be a strong communicator and have the capacity to interact with staff in many NATO bodies.

The incumbent conducts the audit work under the supervision of the Board and works closely with the Principal Auditor, Senior Auditors and other Auditors. They must maintain close working contacts with officials of NATO bodies and national representatives in host countries.

• Direct reports: N/a;


• Indirect reports: N/a.

COMPETENCIES:

The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Achievement: Works to meet standards;


• Analytical Thinking: Sees basic relationships;


• Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work;


• Conceptual Thinking: Sees patterns based on life/work experience;


• Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;


• Empathy: Reads non-verbal cues and understands meanings;


• Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade;


• Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;


• Teamwork: Co-operates.

CONTRACT:

Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years; possibility of renewal up to a maximum of 9 years’ service.

Contract clause applicable

It has been decided that for technical reasons, turnover is required in this post, and therefore, the maximum period of service in this post is normally six or nine years. Accordingly, 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.

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.

Serving NATO staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the IBAN Charter and NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations.

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 Pretrained 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.

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.

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.