Staff Officer, Committee Support

1. SUMMARY

The NATO Chief Information Officer (CIO) function brings Information and Communications Technology (ICT) coherence across NATO Enterprise’s civil and military bodies. The NATO CIO is empowered to realize the Allies’ vision for the NATO Enterprise, is accountable to the Secretary General and is responsible for the development of Enterprise directives and advice on the acquisition and use of information technologies and services. The NATO CIO provides Enterprise oversight on cybersecurity issues, and, in close coordination with all relevant NATO civil and military bodies, works towards the continual improvement of the cyber hygiene and cybersecurity posture in the NATO Enterprise.

The Office of the NATO CIO (OCIO) has an integrated staff organization comprised of International Staff (IS) and International Military Staff (IMS) members.

The incumbent provides direct support senior committees, such as the Senior Executive Group (SEG). S/He plans and organizes the meetings, prepares and distributes agendas, shares the documents and presentations with the stakeholders across the NATO Enterprise, and drafts the records of the meetings. S/He prepares speeches and speaking notes for senior officials as directed.

The incumbent has information and knowledge management responsibilities (IKM) and in this capacity leads, develops processes, administrates and directly contributes to sharing and distributing information and knowledge within the office and with NATO Enterprise stakeholders, using IKM tools. The IKM tools for the IS are: MS SharePoint, document and records management systems, tasker tracker systems, etc. .

2. QUALIFICATIONSANDEXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

The incumbent must :

• possess a university degree from an Institute of a recognised standing, in a field relevant for this position (e.g. Security, Defence, International Relations or Computer Science);
• have 2 years of experience in organising meetings/conferences and/ or in programme administration;
• have strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to draft documents and presentations for a senior audience;
• have experience in writing speeches and speaking notes for senior officials;
• have experience in managing information via MS SharePoint;
• have competencies with off-the-shelf software (e.g. MS Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint);
• be proactive and capable to manage stress;
• the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other.

DESIRABLE

The following would be considered an advantage:

• a graduate degree (Masters or Ph.D.) in a field relevant for this position;
• excellent knowledge of NATO’s structure, procedures, and practices or from similar Organisations;
• experience working for a national administration or international organisation on multilateral security affairs;
• be familiar with the interrelationships between NATO HQ, the NATO Strategic Commands, national authorities of allies and partner nations.
  

3.MAINACCOUNTABILITIES

Planning and Execution

Prepare, plan and organise the Senior Executive Group (and other assigned committees) meetings, draft, coordinate and distribute agendas, share the documents and presentations with the stakeholders across the NATO Enterprise, and draft the minutes of the meetings.

Stakeholder Management

Liaise and cooperate with the NATO Enterprise entities points of contact (International Staff, International Military Staff, National Military Authorities (NMAs), Agencies and other NATO bodies) with regard to meetings’ planning, preparation and running. Develop contacts and cooperation in support of the conduct of the Senior Executive Group activities. Maintain accurate lists of stakeholders for information exchange. Clarify and contribute to stakeholders’ expectations.

Information Management

Organise, administrate and directly contribute to the sharing and distributing of information and knowledge within the office and with stakeholders across the NATO Enterprise, using tools such as MS SharePoint, MS Outlook, and the tasker tracker systems.

Draft memoranda and cover letters to documents. Draft speeches and speaking notes for senior officials. Type and format all kinds of documents, using the standard software packages used by NATO (MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). Maintain an effective follow-up and/or reminder system for pending actions.

Knowledge Management

In cooperation with OCIO staff and points of contacts across the NATO Enterprise, develop and enhance knowledge related to sharing and distributing information. Control the quality, quantity and relevance of input to the knowledge management systems.

Organisational Efficiencies

Contribute to the developing procedures that enhance information sharing and communication efforts. Contribute to the development of management tools and mechanisms that help the OCIO function more effectively and efficiently at the practical level, in particular regarding the sharing of and exchanging information. Contribute to enhancing processes and procedures that improve the overall functioning of the NATO Enterprise.

Expertise Development

Maintain and apply expertise regarding the initiatives tracked via the Senior Executive Group and other committees s/he supports. Prepare advice to the OCIO management regarding their participation and contribution to the respective meetings.

Project Management

Oversee and monitor the execution of assigned projects in support of the OCIO goals and objectives and provide specialist input where required.

Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

The incumbent reports to the Executive Officer. S/He is required to maintain close working relationships with the Front Office and other sections of the OCIO. S/He will also coordinate with other Divisions of the International Staff, the IMS, the NATO Strategic Commands and national delegations, as necessary, and be prepared to establish appropriate coordination with other NATO entities when so directed.

Direct reports: N/A

Indirect reports: N/A

5. COMPETENCIES

The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Clarity and Accuracy: Monitors others’ work for clarity.
• Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems.
• Empathy: Reads non-verbal cues and understands meanings.
• Flexibility: Acts with flexibility.
• Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation.
• Organizational Awareness: Understands organisational climate and culture.
• Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others

6 . CONTRACT

Contract clause applicable:

In accordance with the contract policy, this is a post in which turnover is desirable for political reasons in order to be able to accommodate the Organisation’s need to carry out its tasks as mandated by the Nations in a changing environment, for example by maintaining the flexibility necessary to shape the Organisation’s skills profile, and to ensure appropriate international diversity.

The maximum period of service foreseen in this post is 6 years. The successful applicant will be offered a 3-year definite duration contract, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years. However, according to the procedure described in the contract policy the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite contract during the period of renewal and no later than one year before the end of 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 also 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.