NATO Internship - Science & Technology Organization (STO)
🔍 Belgium
INFO-SESSION ON THE VACANCY AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
NATO is organising an info-session webinar on the recruitment process for this programme which will take place on 11/06/2025 at 4pm CET (Brussels time).
This will be the opportunity for applicants and professionals to gain more insight into
the steps of the recruitment process and to have the opportunity to ask questions to
Talent Acquisition Service. Some interns and/or former interns will also share their experience of the programme with the audience.
Please register using the following link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HdnqpN5hSDaM-t7JB8lAuQ
Are you interested in how science and technology contributes to defence and security?
Do you have communication, information technology or analytical skills and are eager to apply and develop those?
Then this internship position at the Office of the Chief Scientist in NATO HQ Brussels is for you!
The NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO):
• Delivers innovation, advice, and scientific and technical solutions to meet the Alliance’s needs;
• Is the world’s largest collaborative research forum in defence and security, drawing upon world-class expertise from NATO nations;
• Cherishes a collaborative international environment that is both challenging and stimulating;
• Fosters high-impact S&T to maintain cutting-edge capabilities for the Nations and NATO.
The mission of NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO) is to generate and exploit a leading-edge S&T programme of work, delivering timely results and advice that advance the defence capabilities of NATO Nations, Partner Nations, and NATO in support of collective defence, crisis management, and cooperative security.
The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) is the STO’s representation at NATO HQ. With its small staff, the OCS supports the Chief Scientist in two essential functions, namely as the Chair of the NATO Science & Technology Board (STB), and as the principal scientific advisor to NATO senior leadership.
How the daily work will look like?
Interns will develop a better understanding of the value and relevance of S&T to the Alliance and have an opportunity to contribute and shape important results for the benefit of Allies and NATO. It will also help them get to know the NATO S&T Enterprise and its numerous actors, from the perspective of a strategic headquarters and its political/military focus; and, learn the inner workings of NATO HQ, as well as the roles of delegations, committees, and staffs. They will also have an opportunity to develop and apply a broad range of quantitative & qualitative analytical and communication skills in a real world complex environment.
An intern can apply for one of these following projects:
Strategic Communication:
The intern’s contributions will include:
• Contribute further developing the STO corporate communication products processes and tools;
• Use, improve and implement the STO Communication Strategy and Plan, in collaboration with the STO’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE, in La Spezia, Italy) and the STO’s Collaboration Support Office (CSO, in Paris, France);
• Build upon previous work and construct multiple communication products aligned to the STO Corporate Strategy;
• Participate in meetings with NATO S&T stakeholders inside and outside NATO HQ (as appropriate);
• Support other professional activities of the OCS as required
The intern’s contributions will include:
• Applying data analysis skills to extract, analyse and visualize textual data;
• Applying qualitative research skills supporting strategic analysis of S&T issues;
• Supporting the identification of, for example, synergies among various NATO S&T activities, of their relation with NATO initiatives, and of promising technology trends for defence and security applications;
• Participate in meetings with NATO S&T stakeholders inside and outside NATO HQ (as appropriate);
• Support other professional activities of the OCS as required.
What do we offer?
- 6-month traineeship at NATO Headquarters, in Brussels, starting in March / October 2026.
- Full-time traineeship (38 hours a week).
- Monthly grant of €1,286.09 and a travel reimbursement upon joining and leaving the organisation.
- Teleworking subject to business requirements.
- Rich programme of activities, attending regular events and participating in meetings with several stakeholders.
- NATO HQ Staff Centre which promotes employee well-being and fosters a healthy work environment (click here for more info, special membership price for NATO interns)
Selection Criteria
Please note that you can apply for up to three (3) different NATO HQ Internship Programme vacancies!
Apply until 22 June 2025, at 23.59, Brussels time
Essential:
The candidate must:
- be a national of a NATO member state,
- be at least 21 years old,
- have at least two years of university level studies OR equivalent education OR be currently a student OR a recent graduate (degree obtained no longer than 12 months ago),
- have proficiency in English.
Desirable:
The following criteria will be considered an advantage:
- Bachelor's degree or in the final stage of a Master’s degree relevant to the requested area of expertise,
- be an advanced user of IT tools including Microsoft Office, particularly in SharePoint;
- previous experience with other international organizations, national administration, research or industry.
- Be able to conduct research and draft in the English language;
- have good knowledge of French.
Competencies required:
The candidate must demonstrate the following competencies:
- Achievement: Works to meet standards.
- Analytical thinking: Breaks down problems and sees basic relationships.
- Clarity and accuracy: Shows general concern for order and clarity, and checks own work.
- Customer service orientation: Responds appropriately, maintains clear communication.
- Empathy: Listens actively.
- Flexibility: Acts with flexibility.
- Initiative: Reacts to short-term opportunities or problems.
- Organizational awareness: Understands the organization’s structure.
- Teamwork: Cooperates, shares information and knowledge freely, offering support and cooperation.
Our Values:
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 and candidates living with disability to apply (please click here for more information).
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.
Special Notice:
In order for the Internship Office to assess your eligibility for the Internship Programme, please attach the following documents:
- Copy of university qualifications you have completed and/or
- Proof of ongoing studies with the dates clearly mentioned if you are still studying.
We prefer that these documents are in one of the NATO official language (English or French). If you don’t have these documents in English or French, please attach a self translation.
Please ensure that all information is complete and accurate before submitting your application.
Please note that the application cannot be updated after the relevant deadline.
The pool of candidates will be available to all NATO IS / IMS Divisions, Offices and NATO Bodies in case there is a need for a similar profile.
Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or e-mail enquiries cannot be dealt with.
Read more about the Internship Programme, including terms and conditions, and what we offer at our website (please click here).
Kindly note that 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.