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Officer, Southern Neighbourhood Section

🔍 Belgium

New
📁
Political Affairs
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250724 Requisition #

1.       SUMMARY

The Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (PASP) leads on the political aspects of NATO’s core tasks and it is the political hub for partnerships within the Alliance. Within the Division the Southern Neighbourhood Section (SNS) conducts partnership work related to NATO relations with Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) partner countries as well as with other countries in the Middle East and Africa and with relevant regional organisations, and ensures that NATO implements these relationships coherently across its structures. Embedded in the Section is also the Office of the Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood (OSRSN).

Within the OSRSN, the Officer is responsible for supporting the SRSN in implementing his mandate, including the drafting of speaking notes, speeches and memos for SRSN political engagements. The incumbent will also support the SRSN in the coordination of NATO’s efforts in the Southern Neighbourhood and in his engagements with other regional and international organizations. They support the organization of events and conferences under SRSN responsibility and engage with Allies, partners and relevant actors in the Southern Neighbourhood, and across the NATO enterprise to achieve the goals set by the SRSN.

Within the SNS, the incumbent contributes to the development and implementation of NATO’s policies and programmes related to dialogue and cooperation with the Southern Neighbourhood. Within this framework, the main functions of the Officer include: assisting in the drafting of documents and briefing material for the Secretary General, other senior NATO officials, for NATO Committees and for public use (e.g for the NATO website). They also represent PASP as necessary, within and outside NATO. They liaise with representatives of nations, other NATO units, International Organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), think tanks and academic institutions. 

2.       QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

The incumbent must:

  • possess a degree from a university or from an institute of recognised standing, preferably in political science, international relations or another relevant discipline;
  • have at least 2 years’ experience in working on foreign/security/defence affairs for an International Organisation, national administration or Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO);
  • have excellent analytical and drafting skills in one of the two official NATO languages;
  • have experience in lecturing, briefing and public speaking;
  • have an in depth understanding of and experience in dealing with the countries in the southern neighbourhood and issues affecting them;
  • have previous experience in programme development and project management;
  • possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one: IV (“Upper Intermediate”) in the other;
  • be able and willing to travel to locations, where enhanced security and safety measures are required, for which s/he will be required to undertake Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT);
  • be willing to work outside of normal working hours and to travel when required.

DESIRABLE

The following would be considered an advantage:

  • experience of working on-site in any of the countries in the Southern Neighbourhood
  • experience in working with diplomatic missions and government agencies.
  • possess a good knowledge of oral and written Modern Standard Arabic (MSA);

3.       MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Expertise Development

Serve as organisational expert for assigned regional and country portfolios and provide guidance in these areas as necessary. Monitor and analyse political developments in the countries under the Section’s purview and keep abreast of regional developments in the southern neighbourhood. Draft reports from meetings falling under the responsibility of PASP, in particular for the Partnerships and Cooperative Security Committee (PCSC), and follow the development of issues. Assist in communication and knowledge sharing efforts through the preparation of briefing memoranda, talking points, questions/answers, speaking notes and background materials for meetings at, and visits to/from NATO. Manage the SRSN public diplomacy engagements.

Policy Development

Based on subject-matter expertise, help develop and implement policies related to the Southern Neighbourhood by providing advice to nations and officials. 

Project Management

Contribute to the development and management of cooperation programmes in the Southern Neighbourhood. Contribute to supporting visits to NATO HQ and NATO participation to international conferences and seminars involving officials, opinion leaders and multipliers from the region. Partner with other PASP Sections and with other International Staff (IS) elements in order to develop, support and implement planned programmes, and to ensure consistency in quality. Assist in the preparation and coordination of briefing packages and background materials for Senior Officials, and for the relevant NATO committees and meetings. 

Representation of the Organization

Represent, as appropriate, the Alliance at conferences and other activities on issues falling within the Section’s area of competence. Contribute to NATO’s public diplomacy and information efforts on these issues.

Stakeholder Management

Develop and sustain relations with national delegations, NATO civilian and military agencies and other institutions (governmental, NGOs, think tanks and academic organisations) concerned with issues related to the Southern Neighbourhood. 

Knowledge Management

Filter and store relevant data and documents, ensuring quality control. Update country profiles. Assist with the management of the Internet web modules for Southern Neighbourhood and intranet sites.

Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4.       INTERRELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent will report to the Head, Southern Neighbourhood Section and through them to the SG Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood. They will work in close coordination with other Sections within the PASP Division, and with other Divisions in the IS, with the NATO Military Authorities and with national and partner delegations.

Direct Reports: N/a

Indirect report: N/a

5.       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.
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.        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

Before you apply to any position, we encourage you to click here and watch our video providing 6 tips to prepare you for your application and recruitment process.

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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.

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. 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. 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. NATO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. For more info please click here.

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