Deputy Branch Chief (Exercises)

Who we are:

For 75 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) and its predecessors have worked tirelessly in providing the means that enable the connectedness and togetherness that keep our Alliance strong. We are the NCIA, a team of 3000 civilian and military staff in 29 locations throughout Europe, North America and Asia. 

Our technology and cyber experts allow NATO to conduct critical operations, protect NATO’s airspace, make data-driven decisions, defend against cyber-attacks, secure NATO networks and maintain superiority in space. This is all possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to keep this edge we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff. 

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join the NCIA, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us keep our technological edge.

About the job:

Based in Mons, Belgium you will join the Agency as we embark on a journey to transform our IT services to support NATO’s Digital Endeavour. You will join the Operations and Exercises team (OPEX), which serves as the NCIA’s interface for the supply of Command and Control (C2) Services to our customers that are planning and/or executing deployed operations and exercises. It ensures that the NCIA’s responsibilities to deployed operations are met in line with the agreed service level agreements and Command and Control (C2) arrangements. 

We are looking for a driven and enthusiastic Deputy Branch Chief (Exercises) who will take on the following roles and responsibilities:

•    Act as deputy to the Branch Head, providing leadership to the exercise planning team, managing the tracking, documentation, and formal closure of all tasking, and coordinating planning and support activities with senior stakeholders;
•    Represent the Exercise Branch Head at selected Military Training and Exercise Programs (MTEP) and exercise planning events, serving as the technical Subject Matter Expert for OPEX CIS-related activities;
•    Support the Branch Head Exercises with the CIS planning components of MTEP events;
•    Train and mentor new OPEX military staff, enabling them to function as Staff Officers of Primary Responsibility and Project Managers for exercise support;
•    Coordinate with NATO Command Structure headquarters and other stakeholders to ensure comprehensive NCIA support to exercises;
•    Engage with both static and deployed NCIA units and service lines during all phases of exercise planning and execution, ensuring responsive reach-back support for incident management and deployed operations.

For a full list of duties, please review the job description on the NCI Agency career site.

About you:

The valuable knowledge and experience that you bring to this role are:

•    A minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s degree at a nationally recognized University in a related discipline (such as, IT service/program/project management) and 3 years post related experience; Or a different educational qualification and at least 10 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post.
•    At least 3 years of experience in a NATO, national or relevant industry related appointment, involving leading and managing planning teams, with experience in:
         o    Planning CIS for operations at operational level;
         o    Project Management;
         o    Team leading;
         o    Training personnel.
•    Experience in office communication tools, including MS-SharePoint, MS-Projects and MS-Office;
•    Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with good briefing skills;
•    Knowledge of the development of requirements for projects, ideally within IT environment;
•    Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer:

•    Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history;
•    3 year contract with competitive tax-free salary and household and children’s allowances;
•    Privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave;
•    Excellent private health insurance scheme;
•    Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays;
•    NATO Pension Scheme;
•    Development programs such as professional training, wellbeing, and more

To learn more about NCI Agency and our work, please visit our website.  

The NCI Agency prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability.  

Additional details on the conditions of application can be found via the NCI Agency career site.