Officer, Defence Capabilities
🔍 Belgium
1. SUMMARY
The Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division has the lead role on the defence-related aspects of NATO’s fundamental security tasks atthe political-military level.
Within the DPP, the Defence Capabilities Section supports the political-military work on the Alliance’s military adaptation, in particular through the implementation of the deterrence and defence concept and the warfighting concept. It deals with a wide range of policy issues related to Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture and its related initiatives, capabilities and structures, including the NATO Command Structure and the NATO Force Model. It supports the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC) by preparing the appropriate policy through relevant and timely political-military advice.
Under the authority of the Head, Defence Capabilities, the incumbent will contribute to the further development of the Alliance's deterrence and defence initiatives and shaping of the overall policy related to deterrence and defence. The post holder will contribute to and develop political-military advice on a wide range of capability issues as well as on the further adaptation of the Alliance’s defence structures, concepts, and procedures.
The incumbent will work in a Division which considers diversity and inclusion as essential to the way it works. At DPP, diversity and inclusion is considered to be as important as our programme of work and the number of staff who support it. DPP is a workplace which values each staff member for their contributions, perspectives and potential. At DPP, staff members feel equally involved in and supported in all areas of the workplace.
2. QUALIFICATIONS
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a university degree or equivalent qualification, from an institute of recognised standing;
- have at least 5 years’ experience working for an International Organisation or a national administration, with a focus on defence policy;
- demonstrate the capacity for independent conceptual analysis of issues affecting the Alliance’s deterrence and defence initiatives;
- have a thorough understanding of the organisation, preparation, command and employment of national military forces, including their interaction and relationship with Alliance structures;
- familiarity with NATO and a strong knowledge of policy issues facing the Alliance, in particular relating to the implementation of the deterrence and defence concept and the warfighting concept;
- be able to communicate clear, logical, persuasive and succinct arguments in oral and, especially, written form;
- be prepared to travel and to work outside business hours.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- postgraduate (Master’s, PhD) degree in a relevant field;
- relevant military experience in command and in staff positions, including relating to the training, exercises and preparation of joint forces for operations;
- relevant experience in strategy and plans development;
- familiarity with the NATO Defence Planning Process.
3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Policy Development
Provide and co-ordinate advice regarding deterrence and defence initiatives, including the development of general policy documents. Prepare, study or implement North Atlantic Council (NAC) decisions on deterrence and defence. Assist in developing and co-ordinating defence policy on a broad range of topics related to the military adaptation.
Expertise Development
Develop and maintain expertise on possible defence capability shortcomings and remedies, including related to posture, plans, forces and command and control. Keep well informed on current political and strategic developments and emerging military trends.
Stakeholder Management
Develop and maintain a network of contacts within NATO, including other parts of the International Staff, NATO Military Authorities and national delegations, in particular national representatives in the DPPC. As well as outside the Alliance with other international organisations, think tanks and experts in the security environment in order to monitor and analyse current affairs and key policy issues. Co-ordinate closely with colleagues in DPP and other Divisions to ensure policy developments are aligned with other NATO activities.
Knowledge Management
Develop reports and studies on wider security issues and on their interaction with defence policy and programmes. Prepare reports, briefing materials, press statements and other material for defence ministerial meetings. Draft presentations, related to own area of competence, to be used by the Assistant Secretary General (ASG), Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) or other senior NATO officials. Report on developments in own area of responsibility and recommend application to the work of the Section.
Information Management
Determine priorities, identify urgent matters, and organise and address tasks and requirements accordingly. Channel information to key players in NATO and influence strategy and opinions. Assist appropriate NATO committees in the development and preparation of documents dealing with the conceptual development of the Alliance’s defence policy and the implementation of such policy.
Representation of the Organisation
Give presentations to visitors to NATO HQ, provide briefings to the media when directed, and represent the
Project Management
Assist in the management of high-level capability initiatives and any resulting actions.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Head, Defence Capabilities Section and coordinates closely across NATO HQ with the International Staff, the NATO Military Authorities and Allied officials, as well as with counterparts in other international organisations. They maintain close working relationships throughout DPP and works effectively with other NATO divisions and the IMS, to ensure shared situational awareness, effective staff-level coordination and stakeholder management. They also work closely with staff of the two NATO Strategic Commands and, as necessary, with national delegations.
Direct reports: N/a
Indirect reports: N/a.
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Analytical Thinking: Makes complex plans or analyses;
- Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work;
- Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts;
- Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
- Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade;
- Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
- Organisational Awareness: Understands organizational climate and culture;
- Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others.
7. 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 (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 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.