Staff Officer (Budgets)

OPEN TO NATIONALS OF NATO MEMBER STATES ONLY

Post Number: OMC BXOX 0030
Job Title: Staff Officer (Budgets)
NATO Grade: NATO GRADE 15
NATO Body: Headquarters Allied Maritime Command (HQ MARCOM)
Location: Northwood, Middlesex, UK
Security Clearance Level: NATO Secret
Basic Monthly Salary: £ 5,937.79 (tax free)
Closing Date: Sunday 14 September 2025

1. Post Context/Post Summary

Allied Maritime Command is the Maritime Theatre Component Commander delivering 360 degree maritime focused awareness and connectivity while planning and commanding the full range of maritime operations.

The N8 Directorate is responsible for overseeing all financial and budgetary activity within HQ MARCOM.

The Budget and Operations Branch is responsible for the planning, preparation, production, screening, presentation, execution and reporting of all HQ MARCOM’s budgets.

The Budget Officer supports the Branch Head in the budgetary and financial planning processes of all HQ MARCOM’s budgets and assists in providing financial direction and guidance for operations and exercises.

2. Principal Duties

• Support the Branch Head in the preparation of annual and mission specific financial plans, Allied Operations Requirements Resource Plans (ARRP), the Medium Term Resource Plan (MTRP) and the Annual Budget Estimates, being in the principle budget officer for the Headquarters Budget.
• Contribute to the requirement screening/validation process necessary for the allocation of military budget resources.
• Support the Branch Head with the screening/approval process of the budget estimates at local/higher Headquarters.
• Contribute to the budget planning and execution policies and procedures across/between strategic commands and agencies related to operational missions assigned to HQ MARCOM.
• Maintain budgetary data to include current and past financial records and conducts analysis that contributes to the decision-making process
• Enable Users/Fund Managers in the translation of requirements into financial resource demands and ensure their inclusion in the draft annual budget estimates and other financial plans.
• Support the management, control and monitoring of the execution of the HQ MARCOM and delegated programme annual budgets estimates and financial resources allocated to the HQ. Ensuring the proper use of allocated international funds in accordance with NFRs/FRP and ACO/Bi-SC guidance.
• Support Branch Head in providing advice and guidance to HQ Staff, Working Groups and Boards on a broad range of budget and finance issues as directed.
• Manage and control the maintenance of accounts and statistics as required by the Branch Head, Director of Finance/Financial Controller, Chief of Staff, Commander, Strategic Headquarters and ultimately the nations in the Budget committee in accordance with regulations and expectations. Acts as the HQ’s financial report facilitator, responsible for maintaining the availability of required reports and creation of new reports as required.
• Control the management and reporting of budgetary risks, frozen budget credits and unfunded requirements.
• Support the process of giving technical advice and/or coordination as appropriate, with a particular focus on eligibility, risk management and internal control in the budget process.
• Proposes solutions to budget execution and financial resource management issues that may risk the successful achievement of HQ MARCOM assigned tasks, objectives, and responsibilities.
• Primary point of contact for all financial systems issues and authorised to deal directly with the appropriate help desk.
• Budget Committee Contributor
• Submits observations in his/her area of expertise and contributes to the Lessons Learned process.

·         Holds delegated budgetary control authority for the HQ programmes and agencies funded through budget allocations.

• Authorised to carry out budget transfers.

3. Special Requirements and Additional Duties

• The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere within the organisation at the same grade without there being any change to the contract
• Could serve as the N8 Directorate Lesson Learnt Officer.
• Could serve as the N8 Directorate Trainer Coordinator.
• The incumbent may be required to undertake operational deployments and/or TDY assignments both within and without NATO's boundaries for up to 30 days.
• The work is normally performed in a Normal NATO office working environment / Secure office environment with artificial light and air (e.g. Bunker).
• Normal Working Conditions apply. The risk of injury is categorised as: No risk / risk might increase when deployed.

4. Essential Qualifications

a. Professional/Experience

(1) Financial management:

Overall financial management, control and stewardship of the assets and, ensuring compliance with all governance, legal and regulatory requirements.

Skill Level (Ensure/Advise): Contributes to financial planning and budgeting processes. Develops financial plans and forecasts. Assists with the definition and operation of effective financial control and decision making, especially in the areas of service, projects and component cost models and the allocation and apportionment of all incurred IT costs. Analyses actual expenditure, explains variances, and advises on options in use of available budget.

(2) Business administration:

Activities that involve planning, organising, directing, coordinating, controlling, and evaluating the use of people, money, materials and facilities to accomplish assigned functions and tasks. 

Skill Level (Ensure/Advise): Works under broad direction. Influences the organisation, partners and peers on the contribution of own specialism. Builds appropriate and effective business relationships. Makes decisions which impact the success of assigned work, i.e. results, deadlines and budget. Has significant influence over the allocation and management of resources appropriate to given assignments.  Performs an extensive range and variety of complex technical and/or professional work activities.   Understands the relationship between own specialism and wider customer/organisational requirements.  Advises on the available standards, methods, tools and applications relevant to own specialism and can make appropriate choices from alternatives. Analyses, designs, plans, executes and evaluates work to time, cost and quality targets. Assesses and evaluates risk. Communicates effectively, both formally and informally. Demonstrates leadership. Facilitates collaboration between stakeholders who have diverse objectives. Takes all requirements into account when making proposals. Takes initiative to keep skills up to date. Mentors colleagues. Maintains an awareness of developments in the industry. Analyses requirements and advises on scope and options for continuous operational improvement. Demonstrates creativity, innovation and ethical thinking in applying solutions for the benefit of the customer/stakeholder.

(3) Experience:

• 5 years’ experience in a financial position in an international or national organisation.
• 5 years’ professional experience in financial analysis, reporting and budgeting with the ability to present and defend the funding of complex requirements.
• Knowledge and experience in interpreting financial policies, rules and procedures.
• Experience in using financial management systems.
• Practical experience financial analysis and reporting using advanced spreadsheet databases and other business intelligence tools.
• Experience in the coordination and harmonisation of financial issues across an organisation.
• Ability to work independently in a structured manner, remaining focused on detail.
• Ability to work and promote team work and team spirit.

b. Education/Training

• University Degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics, public administration or management and 5 years direct function related experience.

The additional job specific qualifications and experience is described under Professional/Experience paragraph (4/a). In case of ambiguity the required job specific experience have priority over the standard education and training levels and experience described here.

 c. Language

• English - SLP 3333 - (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

NOTE: The work both oral and written in this post and in this Headquarters as a whole is conducted mainly in English.

d. NATO Occupational Codes

• 50412F - Financial management
• 50413B - Business administration

5. Desirable Qualifications

a. Professional Experience

• Experience in a financial analysis or financial planning role in an international or multinational organisation,
• Knowledge and experience in interpreting financial policies in an international environment.
• Knowledge of project management techniques and tools.
• Ability to clearly convey technical information to non-technical audiences, including senior management.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to influence peers.
• Experience with incorporating new technological ways of working.

b. Education/Training

• An advanced University degree in management, accounting, economics, finance, or business administration.
• Training or courses in the use of quantitative analysis techniques.
• Training in process analysis, optimisation and automation.
• NATO Staff Officer Orientation Course (ETE-IT-2834) provided by NATO - School Oberammergau (NSO)
• Resource Management in NATO (LOG-LG-31280) provided by PTEC - Regional Department of Defense Resources Management Studies (DRESMARA).

 c. Language

English SLP 4444

6. Attributes/Competencies

Personal Attributes:

• The incumbent will be expected to apply his/her technical expertise and sound judgment to solve the problems that emerge on a routine basis.
• He/she will deal with both finance professionals and non-finance professionals, which requires patience, and interactive skills.
• He/she must have an ability to interpret policy, executive orders and directives and formulate policies and implement rules and procedures on matters of finance, procurement and property administration.
• The formulation of recommended solutions includes the application and modification of existing procedures, as well as the development of new procedures and directives/supplements.
• Must be a self-starter, who is able to anticipate problems and analyse a wide range of complex and dissimilar situations where conflicting policies, and technical restraints and software capabilities must be considered.
• Creative thinking, analytical reasoning, and sound judgment are required in developing solutions to frequent and dissimilar problems.
• The incumbent must have strong communication skills (both oral and written). Communication must be clear and direct, avoiding misunderstandings. 
• Integrity, creditability, attention to details and accuracy are essential.
• He/she needs to be a team player displaying courtesy, tact, diplomacy, flexibility, mental alertness, and the capacity to work well under pressure.
• Ability to convey own expertise to less experienced staff.
• Must have leadership and influencing qualities to ensure that the significant data analysis can be understood by all senior managers as the data will influence their decision making.

Professional Contacts:

• There is a wide variety of internal and external contacts, and the incumbent maintains a wide range of professional contacts within and outside the headquarters.
• Internal contacts include all levels up to and including Division Head and up to Chief of Staff level.
• External contacts include higher headquarters, other headquarters, including Host Nation organisations.
• Internal and external contacts are for information, negotiations and discussions.

Contribution To Objectives:

• The successful planning and execution of the international budgets are an important contribution to the Command’s objectives.
• The incumbent plays a major role in this process and the performance impacts on the division, command and region achievements and helps the Financial Controller in establishing financial objectives for the Command.

This post reports to:

• OMC BXOX 0010 - Branch Head (Budget and Operations) - A3/G17.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Dependent on requirements may be required to direct and supervise the work priorities of an ad-hoc or permanent team within the functional area.
• There are no reporting responsibilities.