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 Prevention and Management, Cooperative Security) by providing situational awareness, advance planning, wellexercised 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 (OPC) 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 contributes to Section activities in providing advice and planning throughout the crisis spectrum, as well as supporting relevant NATO committees and authorities in carrying out the Alliance’s deterrence, defence and crisis management activities. They put special emphasis on monitoring of security and operational developments in areas/regions of interest to the Alliance, as directed by the Assistant Secretary General (ASG). They also support the development of comprehensive political-military assessments and possible response options in preparation for potential NATO or NATO-led operations, missions and activities, as well as exercises. They contribute actively to the Section’s work on the implementation of Alliance policies in the areas of deterrence and defence, as well as contribute to the development of relevant cross-cutting policy issues.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential

The incumbent must:

• Possess a university degree or an equivalent level of qualification relevant for this position, such as: Security or Defence Studies, Political Science or International Relations;


• Have at least 3 years relevant experience in a national administration or an intergovernmental organisation, dealing with defence policy, operations planning and/or crisis prevention and management;


• Have a good understanding of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, NATO’s defence policies and strategies, NATO’s crisis response, as well as the approaches of other International Organisations active in crisis prevention and management;


• Have a broad knowledge and understanding of current international events and the security environment;


• Demonstrate good political judgment;


• Have excellent drafting and communication skills;


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


• Be willing to travel and to work outside normal office hours.

Desirable

The following would be considered an advantage:

• A relevant post graduate university degree in a field relevant for this position;


• Relevant practical/field experience within a national or multinational/international organisation on multilateral security affairs;


• Familiarity with the interrelationships between NATO HQ, the NATO Strategic Commanders, national authorities of Allies and partner nations.

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Policy Development

Support the development of initiatives, policy, doctrine, guidelines and procedures to further the implementation of NATO’s advance planning tools through the development of civil-military assessment tools to help inform strategic political and military decision-making and planning.

Expertise Development

Apply expertise to deliver political military advice in relation to Alliance activities across the crisis spectrum. Contribute to the conduct of seminars, workshops, exercises and other activities for NATO colleagues, national civil and military planners and the training of experts in deterrence and defence and advance planning.

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, 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 politicalmilitary 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.

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. Support the development of tailored work plans for the relevant Committees, including through planning and execution of briefings, seminars, workshops and Away-Days. Perform any other related duty as assigned.

INTERRELATIONSHIPS:

The incumbent reports to Head, Plans Section and through them, to the Director for Operations. They are 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). They 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.

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.

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 twingraded 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.

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.

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.