Deputy Director, Office of Strategic Communications at NATO

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Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

24 Dec, 25

Salary

0.0

Posted On

25 Sep, 25

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Team Management, Project Management, Public Communications, Change Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Organisational Efficiency, Financial Management, Policy Development, Knowledge Management, Communication Skills, Innovation, Leadership, Collaboration, Analytical Skills, Mentoring, Coaching

Industry

IT Services and IT Consulting

Description

1. SUMMARY NATO’s Strategic Communications builds trust in and support for the Alliance by strengthening public awareness and understanding of NATO’s priorities and activities. Led by the NATO Spokesperson/Director of Strategic Communications, the Office of Strategic Communications (OSC) provides communications direction and guidance to stakeholders across the NATO enterprise and coordinates strategic communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies. The Office carries out full-spectrum communications, analysing the information environment, designing and creating content, managing communications technology and platforms, overseeing media relations, and engaging with audiences through a wide range of channels. The incumbent serves as key advisor on management issues and Deputy to the Director of Strategic Communications, assuming related management and coordination tasks in their absence. The incumbent assists the Director in the overall leadership, direction and management of the OSC, promoting operational excellence and the implementation of sound and inclusive management principles. The Deputy Director thereby helps ensure the effective and efficient accomplishment of the OSC’s mission, priorities and objectives, in line with overall Alliance objectives. The incumbent identifies, plans and implements initiatives and business processes aimed at improving efficiency and proficiency across all sections. The incumbent is responsible to the Director for overseeing the efficient management of the OSC´s resources, including budgetary and human resources as well as information and communication technology. The incumbent thereby puts a premium on innovation and early adoption of technology, in support of enhanced business processes, working methods and IKM, and lead on related change management. Within their area of responsibility, the incumbent will represent the Director in relevant corporate initiatives and projects. The incumbent will also be in charge of ensuring that the OSC responds to all administrative and due diligence requirements in terms of reporting and auditing in a timely manner. In addition, the incumbent will oversee and organise the work of the OSC´s Directorate Support team. As part of the Office of Strategic Communications, the post holder may be required to travel occasionally and work beyond standard office hours when required. Key challenges facing the successful candidate for this post during the next 2-3 years will include: 1. Designing, developing and adapting management and business processes for a newly-configured team, supporting an integrated way of working across the Office of Strategic Communications; 2. Supporting coordination between the OSC and a range of stakeholders within NATO Headquarters and across the broader NATO Strategic Communications community, which includes both military and civilian counterparts; 3. Under the guidance and the Director, steering the coordination of policy work undertaken by the OSC, including in the context of information threats and information environment assessment. In addition to completing the application form and the pre-screening questions, candidates will be asked to address these key challenges in an essay of no more than 800 words, which will be evaluated as part of the long listing assessment. Please see full instructions on how to apply at the end of the vacancy notice. 2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE ESSENTIAL The candidate must: • possess a university degree from an institute of recognized standing, in a field relevant for this position; • have at least 10 years of relevant experience, in progressively responsible positions, out of which at least 5 years in team management, overseeing the financial, administrative, project and human resource aspects of teams; • have experience in organisational, project and resource management; • have experience working in a multilateral environment or an environment with a variety of stakeholders from multicultural backgrounds; • have demonstrated experience in leading on change initiatives; • have experience in public communications; • have experience managing cross-functional teams; • have strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to draft and review documents addressed to senior leadership; • possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; II (“Elementary”) in the other. DESIRABLE The following would be considered an advantage: • management experience in the NATO operating environment and related knowledge of NATO structure, practices and business processes; • knowledge and experience in working in/with one or more of the business domains of the OSC (strategic communications, public affairs, digital communications, communications technology & infrastructure). 3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES Vision and Direction Assist the Director, along with the Deputy Spokesperson, in setting priorities and objectives for the OSC, in alignment with the strategic direction of the Alliance. Help develop, communicate and implement a vision based on well-defined priorities and objectives. Assist the Director in ensuring the proper management of human, budgetary and technological resources. People Management Assist the Director in managing the workloads and resilience across the OSC. Act as a role model of inclusive leadership and promote collaboration, flexibility and innovation, in close cooperation with Section Heads. Lead on the organisation of the OSC’s Directorate Support team, providing administrative, IKM and budget support. Provide regular and fair feedback on performance, informally as appropriate and through the HQ Performance Review and Development (PRD) system. Identify possible development and mobility opportunities for team members. Stakeholder Management Develop and foster relations at senior levels to facilitate collaboration and output. Participate in relevant committees, task forces, boards, panels and working groups linked to business integration as appropriate. Planning and Execution Assist the Director in overarching management and coordination of the OSC and proactively analyse and address future needs. Organisational Efficiencies Assist the Director in managing the organisational structures of the OSC and promote efficient use of existing resources, including by developing and promoting improved business processes, tools and technologies. Financial Management Assist the Director in establishing objectives and priorities, propose budget aligned with the latter, and exercise oversight and management in terms of budget implementation. Project Management Manage workload, ensure prioritisation and ensure that project/programme deliverables are attained and guide their progress. Identify risks and undertake contingency planning to mitigate them. Policy Development Review and contribute to policy papers and reports related to subjects under the OSC´s purview. Knowledge Management Ensure that the OSC´s corporate knowledge is retained, accessible to a variety of differentiated stakeholders, and managed according to state-of-the-art IKM policies and principles, in close coordination with relevant initiatives taken at Enterprise level. Perform any other related duty as assigned. 4. INTERELATIONSHIPS The incumbent reports to the Director of Strategic Communications/NATO Spokesperson and works closely with the Deputy Spokesperson, forming together an integrated management team. The incumbent will maintain communication and coordination with in-house stakeholders, including the Office of the Secretary General, senior interlocutors in IS Divisions and independent offices, as well as NATO Military Authorities. Direct reports: 7 Indirect reports: 40 5. COMPETENCIES The incumbent must demonstrate: • Achievement: Sets and works to meet challenging goals; • Change Leadership: Personally leads change; • Conceptual Thinking: Clarifies complex data or situations; • Developing Others: Provides in-depth mentoring, coaching and training; • Impact and Influence: Uses indirect influence; • Initiative: Plans and acts for the long-term; • Leadership: Positions self as the leader; • Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational politics; • Self-Control: Stays composed and positive even under extreme pressure. 6. CONTRACT Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years; possibility of renewal for up to three years, during which the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite duration 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. 7. USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries. Applications must be submitted using e-recruitment system, as applicable: For NATO civilian staff members only: please apply via the internal recruitment portal (link); For all other applications: www.nato.int/recruitment Before you apply to any position, we encourage you to click here and watch our video providing 6 tips to prepare you for your application and recruitment process. Do you have questions on the application process in the system and not sure how to proceed? Click here for a video containing the information you need to successfully submit your application on time. Please note that the competition for this post is provisionally scheduled as follows: Pre-selection testing mid November 2025; Final selection mid December 2025, in Brussels, Belgium. More information about the recruitment process and conditions of employment, can be found at our website (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/recruit-hq-e.htm) Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate), approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser, verification of your study(ies) and work experience, and the successful completion of the accreditation and notification process by the relevant authorities. 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. 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. NATO is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible working environment, where all candidates living with disabilities can fully participate in the recruitment and selection process. If you require reasonable accommodation, please inform us during your selection process. Candidates will be required to provide documented medical evidence to support their request for accommodation. 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. NATO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. For more info please click here.

Responsibilities

The Deputy Director assists the Director in managing the Office of Strategic Communications, ensuring operational excellence and the implementation of sound management principles. They oversee resource management, including budgetary and human resources, and lead initiatives to improve efficiency across the office.