Post Context/Post Summary
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the strategic level command responsible for the planning, preparation, conduct and execution of NATO operations, missions, activities and tasks as directed by Council in order to achieve the strategic objectives of the Alliance.
The Finance and Acquisition Directorate is responsible for international and multinational appropriated and non-appropriated funds and the Internal Control and Risk Management activity. lt develops financial, budgetary, accounting, treasury, internal audit and procurement policies, develops and executes plans for the financial support of operations, missions and exercises. lt executes reimbursable support to external NATO bodies and agencies and training on NATO financial rules and procedures.
The Budget and Policy Branch manages the HQ and supported entities' budgets, and develops resource proposals and plans. lt reviews and analyses issues with financial implications and is responsible for providing financial direction and guidance for HQ-related activities.
The incumbent maintains budgetary databases, produces regular budgetary reports and analyses and is the focal point for coordinating the development of accurate and timely financial submissions to Nations and ACO/SHAPE management boards.
Principal Duties
The incumbent's duties are providing support to both the Section and the Branch in a matrix-structured organization. The incumbent will report to the Section Chief ACO Budget and Policy and is primarily responsible for:
1. Performing budget analysis and presenting arguments and recommendations for the efficient use of ACO budgetary resources.
2. Consolidating budgetary information, maintaining up to date financial data, and ensuring accurate and timely submission of requested budgetary inputs.
3. Producing regular budgetary reports and analyses of ACO budgets and presenting recommendations for in-year budgetary actions.
4. Defining financial information requirements and supporting the development and maintenance of financial management databases, spreadsheets, and other tools to provide financial information on ACO budgets to the Branch, the Branch Chief, the ACO Financial Controller, the Command Group, and the Nations.
5. Supporting and providing assistance in the development, testing and implementation of new financial tools including automated financial systems at ACO level.
6. Advising the Branch and Section Chief about the development and maintenance of the budget aspects of any ACO- or NATO-wide automated financial information system.
7. Contributing to the budget screening, submission of Medium-Term Financial Plan and ensuring consistency with the budget submissions.
8. Supporting the Branch and Section Chief with in-depth analysis for the conduct of ACO-wide financial studies.
9. Developing and maintaining information communication methods between SHAPE and ACO subordinate commands and NATO HQs.
10. Analyzing the required scope of statistical information for briefing documents, slides, etc. and
11. Support the preparation of ACO budget events (workshops, conferences) as required by the Branch
12. Attending as directed, additional training courses relevant to the above duties.
Supervisory duties: Dependent on requirements may also be required to direct and supervise the work priorities of an ad-hoc or permanent project team within the functional area.
Special Requirements and Additional Duties
The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere within the organisation at the same grade without there being any change to the contract.
The incumbent may be required to undertake deployments in support of military operations and exercises, and/or TOY assignments, both within and without NATO boundaries up to 30 days.
Essential Qualifications
a. Professional Experience
- 3 years’ experience in working with spreadsheets and databases, with extensive knowledge of office automation tools and office software packages.
- Experience in spreadsheet design, programming, or database administration.
- Experience in analysing financial data for large organisations.
b. Education/Training
Higher Secondary education and completed higher vocational training in finance, accounting, business administration. economics, public administration or related discipline leading to a formal technical or professional certification with 3 years function related experience, or Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 5 years post related experience.
c. Language
English - SLP 4343 (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)
Desirable Qualifications
a. Professional Experience
- Statistical and financial analysis.
- Software application development.
- Spreadsheet development.
- ERP or Financial system experience.
- Experience in the processing of budgets and financial plans.
- Extensive experience in spreadsheet design, ADP programming, or database administration.
b. Education/Training
- Completion of ADP courses at college level.
- Course: Resource Management Education Programme (RMEP) Course or equivalent.
- Course: Budget Officers Course or equivalent.
- Course: NATO Orientation Course or equivalent.
Attributes/Competencies
a. Personal Attributes:
The incumbent must be able to comprehend complex resource related issues, analyse multi-dimensional datasets, apply statistical concepts and present findings.
The incumbent will be required to assure the budget related administrative support of the entire branch with minimum supervision and will, therefore, need to work on his/her own initiative and anticipate problems and requirements and take action to resolve them. Sound judgment and flexibility are therefore required. Mature and tactful individual possessing sound judgment, flexibility, and the ability to express herself/himself clearly and persuasively, both orally and in writing. Ability to work on his/her own initiative on multiple tasks under high pressure and visibility. Able to travel and work irregular hours as required.
b. Managerial Responsibilities:
Staff Officers within the Financial Management and Policy Branch (regardless of section) may be assigned temporary or permanent responsibility for oversight or management of any ACO budget (including AOMs, Programmes, or HQs) depending upon the exigencies of the OPTEMPO, staffing levels, or workload.
c. Professional Contacts:
The incumbent shall interact with a variety of staff involved in budgeting activities throughout NATO at all professional levels. He/she will frequently be called upon to task subordinate HQ Budget Officers (A3s, OF4s, & A4s) to provide data for the purpose of analyses or reports.
d. Contribution To Objectives:
The incumbent will be responsible for producing accurate and timely financial information for the Branch Chief the ACO Financial Controller, the SHAPE Command Group, and the nations.
The successful accomplishment of these tasks will ensure that Command Group decision making is being taken upon the basis of accurate data and insightful and correct analysis. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring at all times adequate administrative and clerical support to the Branch Chief and all other members of the Branch. lf this support if deficient, then the effectiveness of the senior officers and the overall efficiency of the Branch will be compromised.
e. Supervisory Responsibilities:
Dependent on requirements may be required to direct and supervise the work priorities of an ad-hoc or permanent project team within the functional area.
There are no first Iine reporting responsibilities.
REMARKS:
Duration of contract: Serving staff members will be offered a contract according to the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPR). Newly recruited staff will be offered a definite duration contract of three years normally followed by an indefinite duration contract.
The salary will be the basic entry-level monthly salary defined by the NATO Grade of the post, which may be augmented by allowances based on the selected staff member’s eligibility, and which is subject to the withholding of approximately 20% for pension and medical insurance contributions.
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.
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.
Applicants who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment in another post of a similar nature, which might become vacant in the near future, albeit at the same or lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.
We believe that all people are capable of great things. Because of this, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the criteria listed within this job description.
Applications are to be submitted using NATO Talent Acquisition Platform (NTAP) (https://nato.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobsearch.ftl?lang-en). Applications submitted by other means (e.g. mail, e-mail, fax, etc) are not accepted.
More information to be found on these links:
Shortlisted candidates will be requested to provide original documentary evidence and a set of copies supporting statements in their applications. Appointment is subject to obtaining a NS security clearance and a medical certificate.
Remarks:
a) Only nationals from the 32 NATO member states can apply for vacancies at SHAPE.
b) Applications are automatically acknowledged within one working day after submission. In the absence of an acknowledgement please make sure the submission process is completed, or, re-submit the application.
c) Qualified redundant staff of the same grade interested in this post should inform this office, via their HR/Personnel Office by not later than vacancy’s closing date.
d) 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.
e) As part of the recruitment process, the organization may review publicly available information to assess potential conflicts of interest, reputational risks, or behaviors inconsistent with the organization’s values.
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