Staff Officer, Data, Cyber and Systems

Schedule: Full-time

OPEN TO NATIONALS OF NATO MEMBER STATES ONLY

STAFF VACANCY 250640

DIVISION: International Military Staff (IMS)

Joint Intelligence & Security Division (JISD)

Strategy & Policy Unit (SPU)

Capability Development Branch (CAPDEV)

Data, Cyber & Systems Team (DCYSYS)

TITLE: Staff Officer, Data, Cyber and Systems

GRADE: A-2/G-15

Please note that the competition for this post will be conducted on-site (NATO HQ, Brussels) and is tentatively scheduled to be completed by the second half of January 2025.

1. Post Context:

The Joint Intelligence and Security Division (JISD), under the leadership of the Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security (ASG-I&S), comprises two principal pillars: Intelligence – headed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence (DASG-I); and the NATO Office of Security (NOS) – headed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Security (DASG-S).

The Intelligence pillar is responsible for ensuring the situational awareness of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and the Military Committee (MC), for the analysis of the indications and warnings in support of the NATO Crisis Response System, and for the development of intelligence policies and capabilities for NATO. Its functional areas address: intelligence analysis and production, intelligence policy, and capability development. The Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU), comprised of both military and civilian personnel, is responsible for intelligence policy and intelligence capability development, and supports the production of NATO Agreed Intelligence (NAI) assessments.

The SPU Capability Development Branch (CAPDEV) deals with strategy, policy, project/programme management, and stakeholder coordination for Joint Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance (JISR), including in the space domain, Intelligence-related capabilities (such as Biometrics, Identity Intelligence, Human Network Analysis and support to Targeting, Technical Exploitation, and Battlefield Evidence), Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs), as well as Intelligence-related innovation and cyber issues. The Branch leads various coherence and reform initiatives, drives alignment of Intelligence-related capabilities with NATO’s broader strategic efforts, and manages and chairs different communities of interest within the NATO Intelligence Enterprise. It provides advice to Allies on the issues under its purview, staffing work in particular for the Military Committee, Military Intelligence Committee, the Civilian Intelligence Committee, and various other committees and groups. The Branch includes two sections: the Joint Intelligence, Reconnaissance & Surveillance (JISR) Team and the Data, Cyber and Systems (DCYSYS) Team.

The DCYSYS Team is responsible for intelligence input to EDT policy development and innovation, cyber domain development and transformation, as well as the NATO Intelligence Systems Architecture (NISA) coherence initiative as part of NATO’s Digital Transformation.

This Staff Officer will work as part of the DCYSYS Team, reporting to the Head of DCYSYS. This position is a civilian post that requires specialised knowledge and skills. This position is a Project-Linked NATO International Civilian (NIC) position linked to the NATO 2030 Agenda.

2. Principal Duties:

The incumbent will contribute directly to the delivery and implementation of the Intelligence-related efforts under NATO’s Digital Transformation as an IMS Key Requirement Area in the NATO 2030 Agenda by:

Developing and maintaining a high level of situational awareness of efforts and issues relevant to the position; coordinating and providing input from a JISD perspective, and regularly updating the JISD leadership;

Following and contributing to the preparation of relevant NATO committee meetings, including the Civilian Intelligence Committee (CIC), the Military Intelligence Committee (MIC), the Cyber Defense Committee (CDC), the the Digital Policy Committee (DPC) and other relevant committees;

Coordinating with relevant stakeholders within JISD, the broader NATO Intelligence Enterprise, other NATO HQ Divisions and NATO bodies. Liaising with Allied representatives and national military and civilian authorities, other international organizations and further bodies as appropriate;

Contributing to, or taking the lead on, drafting relevant policies, background papers, inputs or speaking notes and coordinating them with other relevant stakeholders;

Leading on project and programme management functions for relevant DCYSYS lines of work, in particular the implementation of the NATO Intelligence Systems Architecture (NISA) and the programme to enhance cyber-threat related Data, Information and Intelligence Sharing (DI2S);

Contributing to the management and further development of the NATO Intelligence on Cyberspace Community of Interest (NIOC COI);

Representing JISD, as required, in relevant working groups and other meetings related to tasks of the SPU;

Taking up any other related tasks, as required.

3. Special Requirements and Additional Duties:

•The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere in the organization at the same grade without there being any change in the contract.

•The incumbent may be required to undertake TDY assignments both within and without NATO’s boundaries.

•The work is normally performed in a normal NATO office working environment.

The incumbent may be required to work irregular or unsocial hours whenever necessary.

4. Essential Qualifications:

The incumbent must:

Professional/Experience:

have at least 2 years relevant professional experience;

have experience working on data, cyber and/or systems-related matters in a national administration, international organisation or in the private sector;

have experience drafting and negotiating policies;

be familiar working on the nexus between policy/strategy and technology;

have a good understanding of the strategic issues and challenges facing the Alliance and NATO’s geopolitical environment;

have experience in project and programme management, liaising between various civilian and military stakeholders and entities, and facilitating cross-team collaboration;

demonstrate leadership, commitment to teamwork and interest in working in a fast-paced multi-national environment;

have excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and oral);

experience in delivering briefings to senior officials, and drafting reports for various audiences;

have strong analytical skills and be detail oriented;

Education/Training:

possess a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in the field of information technology, data science, international relations, intelligence studies, political science, or another relevant discipline;

Languages. Candidates must have an advanced level of spoken and written English. The working language in the IMS is English and therefore candidates will be required to pass a one-hour multiple-choice computer-based test in English at the required level as well as to demonstrate their abilities in the written test and interview.

Computer Literacy. Use of MS-Office applications in crucial to the effective and successful execution of daily duties. Advanced user experience with Word, Outlook, Excel & PowerPoint.

5. Desirable Qualifications:

The following would be considered an advantage:

Professional/Experience:

a good understanding of NATO policies and procedures;

technical expertise related to data, cyber and systems;

a good knowledge of the civilian and military structure of the Alliance, particularly the responsibilities and roles of the NATO civilian and military bodies which are part of the NATO Intelligence Enterprise;

prior experience related to Intelligence policies and capability development;

knowledge of French as NATO’s second working language.

Languages. An elementary level of French.

6. Personal Attributes:

The incumbent must demonstrate

Achievement (creates own measures of excellence and improves performance);

Analytical Thinking (sees multiple relationships);

Change Leadership (expresses vision for change);

Impact and Influence (uses indirect influence);

Initiative (is decisive in a time-sensitive situation);

Organisational Awareness (understands organisational politics);

Teamwork (solicits inputs and encourages others).

7. Professional Contacts:

The incumbent must establish and maintain close working relations with other NATO HQ Divisions and bodies, NATO Intelligence Enterprise stakeholders from Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, national Delegations to NATO, including Partner missions, national officials in capitals, as well as with intelligence-related data, cyber and systems stakeholders such as the “Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation Systems” (BICES) Executive, the “NATO Communications and Information Agency” (NCIA), and security related systems managers.

8. Contribution to the Objectives:

The incumbent must contribute to and facilitate the development of NATO Intelligence plans/concepts, procedures, policies and capabilities by providing subject-matter expertise to senior officials and Nations.

9. Remarks.

Security Clearance – NATO SECRET (if not currently held, the incumbent must be eligible for this level of clearance).

Work Environment – Normal office environment.

10. How to apply

Applications must be submitted by 2 November 2025 (23:59 Brussels time) using one of the following links, as applicable:

For NATO civilian staff members only: please apply via the internal recruitment portal (for more information, please contact your local Civilian HR Manager);

For all other applications:

Applications are automatically acknowledged within one working day after submission. In the absence of an acknowledgement, please make sure the submission process is completed, or, resubmit the application.

11. Additional Information.

The successful candidate will fill this post as a Project Linked NATO International Civilian (PLN) with a three-year definite duration contract within the NATO 2030 Agenda. On expiry of this term, the PLN will be deleted or absorbed into the ceiling pending approval or, exceptionally, will be considered for extension. The above remains applicable also if the successful candidate is seconded from a national administration. Serving NATO international civilian personnel will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations.

Appointment will be subject to the deliverance of the appropriate security clearance by the national authorities and approval of the medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser.

A written test will be held as part of the selection procedure.

Applicants who meet the necessary requirements and who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this particular competition, may be considered for posts of a similar nature, albeit at a lower grade, which may become vacant in the near future.

NATO as an employer values diverse backgrounds and perspectives and is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce. NATO welcomes applications of nationals from all Member States 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.

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 IMS at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, is committed to providing equality in working opportunities regardless of sex, race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation.

The IMS is a non-smoking environment.