Assistant

1. SUMMARY

The Political Affairs and Security Policy (PASP) Division leads on the political aspects of NATO’s fundamental security tasks.
Within PASP, the Partnership East Section is responsible for the development and the implementation of political guidance related to NATO relations with Russia and Ukraine (including in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) and the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) respectively), Belarus, Republic of Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Section also guides the work of the NATO Representation in Kyiv, Ukraine and the NATO Liaison Office in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.
The incumbent reports to the Head of the Partnership East Section and is accountable for efficiently handling a wide range of support duties of an administrative and organizational nature.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL
The incumbent must:

• have a good general education at least to higher secondary level;
• have at least 4 years’ experience of administrative support duties;
• be conversant with various software packages, in particular the Microsoft Office;
• have experience within multidisciplinary and multi-cultural environments dealing with a variety of stakeholders;
• have proven organization and coordination skills;
• have previous experience of organizing events;
• have experience of budgetary and financial support duties;
• possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other;
• be able to work outside of normal office hours when needed.
  

DESIRABLE
The following would be considered an advantage:

• have previous experience of working with an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system;
• have experience of working with SharePoint;
• have experience of working with online communication tools (Webex, MS Teams, etc.);
• knowledge of Russian language would be a particular asset.
  

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Planning and Execution
Assist with the day-to-day administration of the Section. Organize, schedule, and coordinate relevant meetings, seminars, and conferences. Prepare missions and engage with a variety of stakeholders, both at NATO and externally. Support the Section’s administration of the NATO offices located in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Organize own workload to ensure the accurate and timely execution of duties. Provide assistance to the other PASP Sections and Committee Coordination team as required by the Divisional manning and workload.

Information Management
Administer the Section Head’s schedule. Answer enquiries and incoming calls. Draft memoranda and cover letters to documents. Type and format a variety of documents, including tables of figures requiring careful presentation using the standard software packages used by NATO (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint). Take minutes at meetings as necessary. Oversee the paper flow into and out of the office, including retrieving and organizing correspondence/documents (including classified information). Maintain an effective follow-up and/or reminder system for pending actions within the Section.

Knowledge Management
Collect, categorize, and track relevant information required for various tasks and projects. Maintain well-structured paper and electronic filing systems. Assist in operation and updating of the available content on the Section’s Internet and Intranet pages.

Stakeholder Management
Liaise and coordinate with other parts of PASP Division as well as throughout the International Staff (IS) to ensure efficiency in daily management of workload and processes. Be the point of contact for initial requests of various nature. Maintain all lists of internal and external contacts.

Expertise Development
Proactively develop skills in areas such as planning and organizing, new technology, languages and effective communication. Liaise with other Assistants to leverage knowledge.

Organisational Efficiencies
Provide constructive suggestions to improve office procedures. Find ways to be faster, better and more effective in managing information and using office tools.

Financial Management
Ensure that proper financial procedures are followed for the budget, prepare the necessary financial documents, follow up on activities to ensure that financial files are correctly processed and maintain records of all financial transactions.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent reports to the Head, Partnership East Section, as well as to the Section Officers on an as needed basis. S/he will be required to collaborate with the other Assistants throughout PASP and the IS as well as with external contacts and experts as required.
Direct reports: N/a
Indirect reports: N/a.

5. COMPETENCIES

The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work;
• Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems;
• Empathy: Listens actively;
• Flexibility: Acts with flexibility;
• Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation;
• Organisational Awareness: Understands the Organization’s structure;
• Teamwork: Expresses positive attitudes and expectations of team or team members.

6. CONTRACT

Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years’ duration; possibility of an indefinite duration contract thereafter.

Contract clause applicable:
In accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations, the successful candidate will receive a definite duration contract of three years, which may be followed by an indefinite duration contract.
If the successful applicant is seconded from the national administration of one of NATO’s member States, a 3-year definite duration contract will be offered, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years subject to the agreement of the national authority concerned. The maximum period of service in the post as a seconded staff member is six years.
Serving staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Régulations.

NOTE: Irrespective of previous qualifications and experience, candidates for twin-graded posts will be appointed at the lower grade. Advancement to the higher grade is not automatic, and will not normally take place during the first three years of service in the post.
Under specific circumstances, serving staff members may be appointed directly to the higher grade, and a period of three years might be reduced by up to twenty four months for external candidates. These circumstances are described in the IS directive on twin-graded posts.

7. RECRUITMENT PROCESS

8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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.

Building Integrity is a key element of NATO’s core tasks. As an employer, NATO values commitment to the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in accordance with international norms and practices established for the defence and related security sector. Selected candidates are expected to be role models of integrity, and to promote good governance through ongoing efforts in their work.

Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or e-mail enquiries cannot be dealt with.

Applicants who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment to another post of a similar nature, albeit at the same or a lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.

The nature of this position may require the staff member at times to be called upon to travel for work and/or to work outside normal office hours.

The organization offers several work-life policies including Teleworking and Flexible Working arrangements (Flexitime) subject to business requirements.

Please note that the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium is a non-smoking environment.

For information about the NATO Single Salary Scale (Grading, Allowances, etc.) please visit our website. Detailed data is available under the Salary and Benefits tab.