Job Description

1. SUMMARY

The Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division leads work in the NATO International Staff on the defence-related aspects of the Alliance’s fundamental security tasks at the political-military level. The Defence Policy and Capabilities Directorate in DPP addresses a wide range of issues related to Alliance defence policies and strategies, including the policy aspects of Alliance capabilities.

The Division’s Enablement & Resilience Section (ERS) develops, facilitates and supports the development of high quality professional advice to NATO and national authorities at the political level. The Section contributes to efforts to ensure Alliance military forces receive the resources and services they require to enable SACEUR’s Area of Responsibility, including collective logistics, and to support national resilience through civil preparedness, both of which support NATO’s deterrence and defence posture.

The incumbent of this post is responsible for developing and coordinating the Section’s enablement and logistics-related activities. They will provide political-military advice on Alliance’s enablement and logistics activities, particularly those related to deterrence and defence (i.e., Enablement of SACEUR’s Area of Responsibility) and, on enablement and logistics policy and planning at the NATO level. The incumbent is also responsible for the political-military coordination. They support the Logistics Committee’s (LC) activities and Programme of Work, coordinate the meetings of senior NATO stakeholders and, ensure that NATO’s Logistics Vision and Objectives (V&O) are in line with NATO political, strategic and policy guidance. They will also deputise the Head of Section on enablement matters, as necessary.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

The incumbent must:

possess a university degree;
have at least 5 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in a civil-military environment;
be conversant with the key defence and security policy issues of the Alliance;
demonstrate a broad knowledge of and experience in the capacity to develop and analyse logistics policies, plans and concepts;
have a very good understanding of the Alliance’s political and military consultative processes and their related policies and procedures;
have a very good understanding of the civil and military structure of the Alliance, particularly the responsibilities and roles of the relevant NATO civil and military bodies;
demonstrate sound political judgement;
have suitable experience in policy development and coordination;
be able to effectively communicate (clear, logical, persuasive and succinct) with strong writing and briefing skills;
possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other.

DESIRABLE

The following would be considered an advantage:

detailed knowledge of and experience in developing documents related to logistics policy and doctrine, including document related to NATO’s operational and/or defence planning;
experience in executing similar work for a national administration (including civil ministries and agencies), military or international organisation;
familiarity with the interrelationships between NATO HQ, the NATO Strategic Commands, national, civilian and military authorities in Alliance capitals, and of other countries and organisations that have partnerships with NATO;
experience in executing operational logistics;

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experience in working on logistics matters with the commercial sector;
be familiar with Logistics Information Management and Technology;
experience with managing people/teams.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Expertise Development

Provide political-military expertise and advice on the formulation and synchronisation of strategic NATO enablement and logistics policies and concepts, including through verbal briefings and written advice. Take into account logistics lessons identified and learned from the strategic environment in the development and implementation of logistics support policies and concepts. Conduct logistics studies and analyse complex documents and reports to provide strategic guidance to DPP leadership, the Section and other stakeholders as required.

Policy Development

Contribute to the development of the Alliance’s political and military advice on key defence and security policy issues related to logistics and enablement. This includes ensuring the coherence of enablement and logistics policy with strategic-level political-military NATO policies and concepts, as well as preparing studies and analytical concepts addressing enablement and logistics policies and plans. Monitor compliance with NATO logistics policies and the NATO Logistics Vision and Objectives.

Knowledge Management

Track and ensure appropriate follow-up to decisions made by relevant Committees. Develop reports and studies on wider enablement issues and on their interaction with defence policy and planning. Prepare reports, speaking notes, briefing material, press statements and other material for priority customers (i.e., Committees, the Private Office, divisional leadership, NMAs, etc). Compile data for various enablement-related reports as necessary.

Stakeholder Management

Coordinate political-military activities in support of the LC and the LCEG, as well as of meetings of senior NATO stakeholders, and monitor and provide guidance on the implementation of their decisions. In coordination with the military staff and other Section staff, oversee the preparation and administration of the bi-annual meetings of the Logistics Committee, including Agenda development to cover strategic logistics and enablement issues. Contribute to the work of the Defence Planning and Policy Committee (DPPC), Resilience Committee (RC), the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD), and other senior NATO committees as appropriate, and ensure that their work is appropriately reflected in logistics and enablement matters. Liaise with members of national delegations/administrations (including their military authorities), NATO Military Authorities, NATO agencies or officials from other NATO bodies or relevant regional/international organisations to facilitate political-military dialogue on enablement and logistics issues.

Representation of the Organization

Represent NATO in various settings, including giving presentations at conferences, workshops and seminars; support dialogue with national civil and military officials; and interact with members of International Organisations or civil society actors.

Project Management

Develop as appropriate the NATO Logistics Vision and Objectives to facilitate implementation of high-level political and military guidance in the logistics domain; and manage, coordinate and monitor its implementation.

Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent reports to the Head, Enablement & Resilience Section. They coordinate and provide advice to both civilian and military representatives, in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders, and participates, as the need arises, in NATO committees and working groups relevant to their area of work. They maintain a close relationship with other Divisional and Section staff, as well as with other International Staff divisions, the International Military Staff, NATO’s Strategic Commands, and appropriate national logistics staff (including military authorities such as US European Command). They will also deputise the Head of Section on enablement and logistics matters, as necessary, and in this context they will contribute to performance reporting for the Section’s enablement staff (including Voluntary National Contributions).

Direct reports: N/A

Indirect reports: N/A.

5. COMPETENCIES

The incumbent must demonstrate:

Achievement: Creates own measures of excellence and improves performance;
Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
Change Leadership: Expresses vision for change;
Impact and Influence: Uses indirect influence;
Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational politics;

Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others.

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. 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

Please note that at the time of the interviews, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of their education and professional experience as relevant for this vacancy.

Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate) and approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser.

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).

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.

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.