Officer, Women, Peace & Security
🔍 Belgium
The Human Security (HS) Unit, is located in the Office of the Secretary General and operates under the responsibility of the Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (SGSR WPS) and Head of the Human Security Unit. The SGSR provides guidance and oversight on the implementation of NATO’s WPS and HS Agendas across the Alliance by facilitating coordination and integration of gender perspectives and human considerations into NATO’s policies and activities.
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda was launched on 31 October 2000 with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and now includes nine additional Resolutions (1820, 1888, 1889, 1960, 2106, 2122, 2422, 2467 and 2493).
NATO’s common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and obligations under the Charter of the United Nations underpin the principle that the full rights and participation of women are essential to peace and security. NATO recognises the disproportionate impact that conflict has on women and girls, the vital roles women play in conflict prevention and management, and the importance of incorporating gender perspectives in all that the Alliance does. Drawing from the UNSCRs on Women, Peace and Security, the Alliance works to address gender inequality by integrating gender perspectives through the Alliance’s three core tasks of deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security.
The Officer will: (1) Lead and coordinate WPS lines of effort in the Unit within the framework of the WPS Policy, under oversight of the SGSR; (2) Provide advice and support to the SGSR on matters and engagements related to WPS; (3) Provide support to NATO civilian and military staff on the integration of WPS into their work; (4) Prepare background notes, talking points, and other written content and participate in relevant meetings and conferences; (5) Engage with internal and external stakeholders in support of NATO’s work on WPS and assist in raising awareness, mobilizing commitment and facilitating practical collaboration; (6) Conduct research and monitor trends related to WPS and manage related projects, as needed.
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:
- possess a university degree, or an equivalent level of qualification from an institute of recognised standing, in gender studies, international relations, political science or another relevant discipline;
- have at least 5 years of relevant professional experience in working on foreign or security affairs including within International Organisations (IOs), Governmental Organisations (GOs), and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs);
- demonstrate experience in implementing the WPS Agenda within an organizational setting;
- have knowledge of the WPS Agenda at NATO, also in connection to the NATO Human Security Agenda and other NATO strategic priorities;
- have previous experience in policy writing;
- have experience working in a diverse and multicultural environment dealing with multiple stakeholders;
- have strong inter-personal and negotiation skills;
- demonstrate excellent ability to communicate orally and in written, including excellent drafting and editing skills;
- possess strong analytical, writing, and presentational skills;
- have strong organizational skills and the ability to work under short deadlines;
- demonstrate flexibility and strong drive for team work and diversity;
- possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; III (“Intermediate”) in the other;
- be willing and flexible to travel and work outside normal office hours, when required.
DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:
- be familiar with the Alliance’s political and military consultative process and the key issues involved;
- a graduate degree (Masters or Ph.D.) in a relevant field;
- experience working with/within the military or other security sector actors.
3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Stakeholder Management
Develop and maintain a strong network of contacts within NATO, Allies and Partner nations, other International Organisations, academia and research institutes in the field of WPS and gender issues to better develop and implement projects of common interest. This may include engagement with civil society, academia, and experts from national and international organisations, among others. Lead engagement with NATO Partners, in particular Ukraine, and International Organisations in the coordination and implementation of the WPS Agenda.
Expertise Development
Provide advice and support to the SGSR for WPS, NATO offices, as well as military commands, on their work to implement the WPS Agenda, within the framework of the NATO WPS Policy. This may include research and consultations to better understand how to integrate WPS considerations across NATO’s three core tasks, as well as in strategic communication.
Project Management
Contribute to the management of special projects within the Unit and in cooperation with other Divisions, as necessary. This may include working with a range of stakeholders including external contractors.
Information Management
Ensure coordination of input from various parts of the Organisation, looking both at content and timeliness. Support the timely sharing of information within the Unit.
Knowledge Management
Follow the development of relevant issues within NATO as well as external trends in WPS and gender issues and share knowledge on these within the Organization. Contribute to the preparation of briefing packages and speaking notes on WPS for senior leadership.
Support the Unit’s WPS public diplomacy efforts, including on social media, and liaise with NATO Public Diplomacy Division (PDD) in this regard. Support the development of articles and briefings. Draft public information material for the media and other audiences, including for the NATO website.
Policy Development
Contribute to policy documents relevant for the efficient implementation of the WPS Agenda. Provide input to policy, strategy and conceptual papers developed by colleagues and Allies, including by integrating gender perspectives in all relevant areas of work. Contribute to the organization of events on specific policy areas.
Representation of the Organization
Brief and lecture visiting groups; represent the Alliance at conferences, workshops and seminars and other activities connected to WPS. Deliver speeches, briefings and present papers, as directed and at the appropriate level.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Special Representative through the Senior Officer. They assist the SGSR in the coordination of the WPS Agenda within the HS Unit and with other Divisions of the International Staff, with NATO Military Authorities representatives and representatives of NATO Allies. They liaise with Partners and other International Organisations.
Direct Reports: N/a
Indirect Reports: N/a
5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:
- Analytical Thinking: Makes complex plans or analyzes.
- 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.
- Organizational Awareness: Understands organisational 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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Please note that the competition for this post is provisionally scheduled as follows:
Pre-selection testing from first week of July;
Final remote selection on third and fourth week of August.
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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.