- IMS
- Brussels, Belgium (Remote)
- Internship/Traineeship
NATO Internship – International Military Staff, NATO Standardization Office
- IMS
Brussels, Belgium
Internship/Traineeship
Published:
Application Deadline: June 22, 2025
- IMS
Brussels, Belgium
Internship/Traineeship
Published:
Application Deadline: June 22, 2025
Do you still keep the faith that international cooperation makes us safer and more secure? Are you interested in how Allies’ militaries are able to work together so closely despite our diversity of language and culture? Are you familiar with research methods and qualitative analysis techniques? Are you looking for an opportunity to help international cooperation overcome today’s growing mistrust and division? Then look no further and apply now to join us!
NATO is currently looking for interns who are dedicated to preserving and furthering international cooperation, by working in the Policy and Coordination (P&C) Branch and the Standardization Support Branch (SSB) of the NATO Standardization Office (NSO).
The NSO initiates, coordinates, supports and administers standardization activities. We assist technical and tactical experts working all across Allies’ national defence establishments to collaboratively develop and apply NATO standards. These activities aim to enhance interoperability and operational effectiveness of Alliance military forces.
NATO standards are a key way that NATO’s policies and initiatives are enacted by military forces, defence institutions and industry. They are key to keeping NATO a cohesive, cutting-edge, learning organization. NATO is increasing its standardization efforts to support the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, as well as its readiness and cohesion, through deeper interoperability. To this end, Heads of State/Government renewed their commitment to implement NATO standards in the Vilnius Defence Investment Pledge, responding to current security challenges emerging from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The NSO supports and participates in a wide variety of committees and coordination groups composed of Allied nations, Partner nations, NATO staffs and EU institutions.
HOW THE DAILY WORK WILL LOOK LIKE?
Working as an intern in our Branches, you will have many interesting and skill-building opportunities.
Working with the P&C Branch, your work will deal these tasks:
Working within the SSB your work will be a combination of:
In addition to these tasks, you will also have the opportunity to attend training events and workshops in NATO HQ, Brussels and the surrounding area. Working in the NSO will give you an in-depth, comprehensive view of NATO’s wide-ranging interoperability and standardization programs / tools. With us, your hands-on experience of NATO will go beyond just the development of policy and strategic initiatives. It will encompass a variety of actions to make those a reality, taken by NATO and nations across the entire Alliance, in their collective response to current international security challenges.
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
SELECTION CRITERIA:
Essential
The candidate must:
Desirable
The following criteria will be considered an advantage:
COMPETENCIES REQUIRED:
The candidate must demonstrate the following competencies:
OUR VALUES:
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 and candidates living with disability 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.
SPECIAL NOTICE:
In order for the Internship Office to assess your eligibility for the Internship Programme, please attach the following documents:
We prefer that these documents are in one of the NATO official language (English or French). If you don’t have these documents in English or French, please attach a self translation.
Please ensure that all information is complete and accurate before submitting your application. Please note that the application cannot be updated after the relevant deadline. The pool of candidates will be available to all NATO IS / IMS Divisions, Offices and NATO Bodies in case there is a need for a similar profile.
Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or email enquiries cannot be dealt with.
Read more about the Internship Programme, including terms and conditions, and what we offer at our website. Kindly note that 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.
NATO is currently looking for interns who are dedicated to preserving and furthering international cooperation, by working in the Policy and Coordination (P&C) Branch and the Standardization Support Branch (SSB) of the NATO Standardization Office (NSO).
The NSO initiates, coordinates, supports and administers standardization activities. We assist technical and tactical experts working all across Allies’ national defence establishments to collaboratively develop and apply NATO standards. These activities aim to enhance interoperability and operational effectiveness of Alliance military forces.
NATO standards are a key way that NATO’s policies and initiatives are enacted by military forces, defence institutions and industry. They are key to keeping NATO a cohesive, cutting-edge, learning organization. NATO is increasing its standardization efforts to support the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, as well as its readiness and cohesion, through deeper interoperability. To this end, Heads of State/Government renewed their commitment to implement NATO standards in the Vilnius Defence Investment Pledge, responding to current security challenges emerging from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- The Policy and Coordination (P&C) Branch is responsible for developing, maintaining and monitoring the utility of NATO policy and procedures for standardization. The P&C Branch liaises with the staffs of other NATO bodies involved in standardization (e.g. NATO committees and Strategic Command headquarters), defence ministries, military general staffs, along with national and international standardization entities, fostering cooperative action and transparency;
- The Standardization Support Branch (SSB) is responsible for the NSO information management, translation services, business applications (i.e web portals), and administration. Within SSB, the Executive Officer liaises with the IMS for the delivery of agreed support services, conducts coordination within the NSO, ensures efficient and effective horizontal and vertical information flow, facilitates awareness, application and implementation of NATO-wide policy and procedures, and is responsible for budget, human resources, and security.
The NSO supports and participates in a wide variety of committees and coordination groups composed of Allied nations, Partner nations, NATO staffs and EU institutions.
HOW THE DAILY WORK WILL LOOK LIKE?
Working as an intern in our Branches, you will have many interesting and skill-building opportunities.
Working with the P&C Branch, your work will deal these tasks:
- Develop recommendations to improve interoperability through cooperation on NATO standards;
- Compose convincing and reliable justifications through research and analysis, and use of web-based tools;
- Facilitate collective decision making and multilateral negotiations among national representatives and staffs, ensuring clear, focused and timely communication before, during and after the meetings of various working groups;
- Analyse databased information, narrative reports and other sources; identify relevant information to provide summaries, insights and conclusions that will allow the NATO Standardization Office to make recommendations on Allies’ implementation of and compliance with NATO standards;
- Assess NATO-wide policies and procedures, and compose clear and concise summaries and reports for their understanding and implementation within the NSO and the whole standardization community.
Working within the SSB your work will be a combination of:
- Serve as the assistant Executive Officer helping with the development and execution of the NSO multimillion-euro budget, as well as various human resources, security and coordination tasks;
- Support the development and project management of NSO innovation projects. Current projects include the development of an upgraded NATO Terminology platform; the use of AI for standards development and revision; the development of an event management application; and fielding a multi-factor authentication mechanism for the NSO’s protected portal.
In addition to these tasks, you will also have the opportunity to attend training events and workshops in NATO HQ, Brussels and the surrounding area. Working in the NSO will give you an in-depth, comprehensive view of NATO’s wide-ranging interoperability and standardization programs / tools. With us, your hands-on experience of NATO will go beyond just the development of policy and strategic initiatives. It will encompass a variety of actions to make those a reality, taken by NATO and nations across the entire Alliance, in their collective response to current international security challenges.
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
- A 6-month traineeship at NATO Headquarters, in Brussels, starting in March / September 2026;
- A full-time traineeship (38 hours a week);
- A monthly grant of €1,286.09 and a travel reimbursement upon joining and leaving the organisation;
- Teleworking subject to business requirements;
- A rich programme of activities, attending regular events and participating in meetings with several stakeholders;
- NATO HQ Staff Centre which promotes employee well-being and fosters a healthy work environment (click here for more info, special membership price for NATO interns).
SELECTION CRITERIA:
Essential
The candidate must:
- Be a national of a NATO member state;
- Be at least 21 years old;
- Have at least two years of university level studies OR equivalent education OR be currently a student OR a recent graduate (degree obtained no longer than 12 months ago);
- Have proficiency in one of the two official NATO languages (English/French).
Desirable
The following criteria will be considered an advantage:
- Have a Bachelor's degree or in the final stage of a Master’s degree relevant to the requested area of expertise;
- Elementary knowledge of the second official NATO language (English/French);
- Be an advanced user of IT tools including Microsoft Office, SharePoint;
- Previous experience with other international organizations, national administration, research or industry.
COMPETENCIES REQUIRED:
The candidate must demonstrate the following competencies:
- Achievement: Works to meet standards;
- Analytical thinking: Breaks down problems and sees basic relationships;
- Clarity and accuracy: Shows general concern for order and clarity, and checks own work;
- Customer service orientation: Responds appropriately, maintains clear communication;
- Empathy: Listens actively;
- Flexibility: Acts with flexibility;
- Initiative: Reacts to short-term opportunities or problems;
- Organizational awareness: Understands the organization’s structure;
- Teamwork: Cooperates, shares information and knowledge freely, offering support and cooperation.
OUR VALUES:
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 and candidates living with disability 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.
SPECIAL NOTICE:
In order for the Internship Office to assess your eligibility for the Internship Programme, please attach the following documents:
- Copy of university qualifications you have completed and/or;
- Proof of ongoing studies with the dates clearly mentioned if you are still studying.
We prefer that these documents are in one of the NATO official language (English or French). If you don’t have these documents in English or French, please attach a self translation.
Please ensure that all information is complete and accurate before submitting your application. Please note that the application cannot be updated after the relevant deadline. The pool of candidates will be available to all NATO IS / IMS Divisions, Offices and NATO Bodies in case there is a need for a similar profile.
Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or email enquiries cannot be dealt with.
Read more about the Internship Programme, including terms and conditions, and what we offer at our website. Kindly note that 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.
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