Staff Officer (NICC Cyberspace Engagement)

Post Context

ACT contributes to preserving the peace, security and territorial integrity of Alliance member states by leading, at Strategic Command level, Warfare Development required to enhance NATO’s posture, military structures, forces, capabilities and doctrines.

The Capability Development Directorate (CAPDEV) comprises two Divisions—Requirements and Capabilities. The Directorate supports SACT in his Capabilities Requirement Authority (CRA) role. It is responsible for a holistic through lifecycle Capability Development approach that infuses innovation and transformative efforts that are an integral part of the Warfare Development. This includes responsibilities for elicitation, development, capture and collection, quality review, traceability and visibility of capability requirements.

The Capabilities Division coordinates the development of capabilities from capability planning through acceptance and then disposal with the management entities, NATO Headquarters staff and the NATO Governance Structure. This entails synchronizing horizontally across capabilities to achieve coherent efforts and outcomes.

The Cyberspace Branch provides scientific, technical and operational expertise for the development and continuous improvement of modern and agile Cyberspace capabilities including Cyber Defence and enabling cryptographic infrastructure. The Branch provides services and products through a competency-aligned structure to support appropriate product, programme coordination across DOTMLPFI lines of development throughout the lifecycle. The Branch supports cyber concepts development, capability requirements elicitation, architectures (including cryptographic reference and target architectures) and federated interoperability. This includes leveraging applied science, technology, operations research and horizon scanning. The Branch leads the development of Capability Programme Plans (CPPs)  and ensures delivery of programme outcomes by assessing throughout the lifecycle the CSSPR against agreed tolerances. The Branch leads the acceptance testing and documentation of assigned capabilities. The Branch analyses emerging technologies with stakeholders. It ensures military and technical coherence and persistent interoperability.

Within the Cyber Branch, the incumbent's main responsibility is to coordinate engagement with NICC stakeholders under the direction and guidance of the Technical Director and in coordination with the Cyberspace Programme Director and Cyberspace Federation & Partnership SME.

Principal Duties:

• Support the NICC in developing a multi-level, cross-functional engagement plan, based on current ACT cyberspace engagement plan, and the associated activities.
• Share with the NICC ACT’s current and planned cyberspace warfare and capability development activities, including those related to the engagement plan, to provide visibility, coherency and avoid duplications.
• Identify engagement opportunities with NICC stakeholders, which can provide maximum pull-through in support of ACT cyberspace transformation activities.
• Under the guidance of the Cyberspace Technical Director and in coordination with the Programme Director and Federation & Partnership SME, leverage the NICC to elicit stakeholders’ contribution to relevant warfare and capability development activities/products: strategic outlook analysis, feasibility study, concept/doctrine development, experimentation, capability programme plans, capability requirement definition, analysis of alternatives, etc.
• Liaise and establish partnership with NATO organizations, nations, industry and academia in the NICC. This include planning, organizing and executing events or workshops as well as attending relevant conferences.
• Support the Cyberspace Federation & Partnership SME in developing and executing ACT overall Cyberspace engagement plan and ensure its consistency/alignment with NICC activities. This include organizing events/workshops, soliciting comments/feedback, developing Requests for Information (RFIs), developing and maintaining Communities of Internet (CoIs).
• Support the Cyberspace Federation & Partnership SME in facilitating, as needed, information exchange agreements, situational awareness agreements, policy and doctrine harmonization, in conjunction with relevant NICC stakeholders.
• Prepare relevant briefing materials, as required, and deliver presentations.
• Act as ACT focal point in the NICC for cyberspace transformation activities, and represent ACT on appropriate committees, panels and working groups, as needed.

Essential Qualifications / Experience:

• University Degree  in managerment information systems, accounting, economics, finance, business administration, public administration, operations research, project management or related discipline  and 4 years post related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training  in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 5 years post related and 2 years function related experience.
• Minimum 2 years of experience serving as a project or programme manager.
• 4-6 years of experience in international relations.
• 4-6 years of experience in leading international teams throughout workshops, focus groups, or large size events.
• 3 years of experience in data collection, analysis and presentation.
• 3 years of experience working on cyber-related matters in international/national organizations or industry.
• Experience working in multinational teams (both as contributor and as a leader) and in interacting/briefing with/to senior leadership (at the Flag/General Officers level or civilian equivalent).

 Language:

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

Desirable Qualifications / Experience:

• Demonstrable experience in the organization and large events, preferably technical in nature and at the international level.
• General knowledge of the organization and structure of NATO.
• Experience working in the area of industrial relations or protocol.
• Demonstrable understanding of Cyberspace operations.

 Attributes/Competencies:

Personal Attributes:

• The incumbent requires the ability to prepare, organize and conduct engagements with all type of stakeholders, from industry to military organizations. This will require excellent communication skills, along with a sense of protocol or etiquette. Incumbent shall demonstrate attributes related to analytic mind-set, ability to decompose complex problems into solution sets, good judgement and common sense, adaptability, flexibility and tact, along with the ability to be target oriented and develop independently in a complex environment.

Professional Contacts:

• The post holder acts as engagement specialist. He/she will be required to maintain professional contacts at senior level (up to flag officer and civilian equivalent) with NICC stakeholders (i.e. inside and outside the organization). The incumbent will be the main face interfacing with those contacts towards the organization of working groups, workshops, conferences and other events, and requires explanation, discussion, persuasion and approval of action. The incumbent will provide advice, may negotiate and commit the organization to a Course of Action (COA).

Contribution To Objectives:

• The incumbent recommendation, actions and performance will determine how internal and external stakeholders engage with the Cyberspace Branch, thereby affecting Branch’s plans, objectives and results, which in turn contribute directly to the perception of the HQ ability to perform, as well as the achievement of HQ objectives that require stakeholders support.

Security Clearance

The successful applicant will be required to apply for and receive a NATO SECRET Security Clearance prior to final confirmation of contract and commencement of employment.

Contract

This position is linked to a specific NATO project and is for a limited duration of 3 (three) years only.

Serving NATO International Civilian staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations.  Newly recruited staff will be offered a three year definite duration contract.

Notes for Candidates

The HQ SACT web site gives full details on the eligibility criteria and application processes to be adopted by all candidates.  However, candidates should particularly note:

Please answer each of the pre-screening questions completely in English. Expressions such as: “please see attached CV, please see annex, please see enclosed document, etc” are not acceptable; this is a cause of immediate rejection of the application.

Particular attention should be given to Education and Experience section of your application form, which should be populated with details of your career to date and educational achievements and certifications as they relate to your application.

The candidature of NATO redundant staff at grade G17 will be considered with priority.

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.

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

This vacancy will close on 16 June 2025 @ 17:59hrs (EDT)/11:59hrs (CEST).