Head, Executive Secretariat (NCIO) at NATO

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

17 May, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

16 Feb, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Strategic Planning, Programme Management, Team Management, Coordination, Budgeting, Resourcing, Policy Development, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, Financial Management, People Management, Knowledge Management, Change Management, Governance, Accountability, Resilience

Industry

IT Services and IT Consulting

Description

Please note that the expected start date for this position is early September. 1. SUMMARY The NATO-Wide Coordination (NWC) Office is an independent office that supports enhanced governance, coherence, and institutional alignment across NATO agencies and bodies. The independent Office reports to the Secretary General through the Director General for Management. NWC serves as the central point of coordination between NATO Headquarters and the governance structures of NATO’s executive bodies, ensuring integrated support to Agency Boards and alignment with NATO’s strategic priorities. The incumbent administratively reports to the Director of the NATO-Wide Coordination Office, and is functionally under the direction of the NCIO ASB Chair. The role has a high degree of autonomy and manages a dynamic team of specialised professionals. The role also provides leadership and guidance in the implementation of the Secretariat’s mandate. The incumbent will first and foremost provide assistance and advice to the NCIO ASB Chair, as well as to the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committees. The incumbent is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the staff as summarised below: a. Direct the activities of the NCIO staff; b. Ensure the delivery of secretarial support and independent advice to National Delegates at the NCIO Governing Bodies; c. support the NWC efforts to enhance NATO-wide coherence in governance, policy and execution, as well as collaboration across different offices and committees; d. pursue automation and innovation, and establish performance indicators with a view to enhancing NATO’s effectiveness, resilience, and accountability; e. promoting consultative relationships and maintaining dialogue with all NCIO stakeholders. The post holder may be required to travel occasionally and work beyond standard office hours. Key challenges facing the successful candidate for this post during the next 2-3 years will include: 1. Strengthen Enterprise-wide coherence and cross-organizational coordination to enhance the overall decision-making processes, ensuring that both voting and non-voting stakeholders contribute in a coherent and well-aligned manner that supports timely, effective and high-quality outcomes. 2. Reinforce the Organization’s governance foundations to improve resilience and operational robustness, ensuring the NCIA can consistently meet its mandated strategic objectives and delivers on its Mission empowered and accountable. 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 2 A4 pages into total, 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 incumbent will: • hold a Master’s degree in the field of Political Science, International Relations, International Security, or related to the work of the NCIA; • have at least 10 years of progressively relevant professional experience in the area of strategic planning and programme management, out of which a minimum of five years in team management and coordination; • be familiar with the strategic issues and security challenges facing the Alliance and be conversant with the Alliance’s political and military consultative processes; • have experience with budgeting and resourcing; • possess robust knowledge of planning and reporting techniques in an international environment; • be able to formulate and implement a long-term vision and strategic perspective; • have substantial experience with the governance of international organisations; • possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one and II (“Elementary”) in the other; DESIRABLE The following would be considered an advantage: • certified project and/or programme management, and certified change management skills with a track record of delivering projects and programmes to challenging deadlines. 3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES Policy Development Contribute to the development of policy, directive and guidance documents in the areas of responsibility of the NCIO. Coordinate and prepare key strategic documents and statutory reports. Elaborate policy guidelines and support material, as well as quality assurance reviews to ensure that the planning process and related outcome documents are in compliance with the ASB strategic orientations and the programming framework and priorities, the ASB national Chair’s instructions, and the demands of the Alliance continuous adaptation. Stakeholder Management Engage and coordinate with all relevant NATO Enterprise stakeholders, ensuring as broad collaboration as possible in the development of policies, directives, guidance and standards. Coordinate closely with NATO staff working on the organisational governance. Provide strategic analysis of past and future trends and map Allies' needs and priorities. Expertise Development Provide direction and quality assurance advice of statutory documents. Make proposals to the NCIO ASB Chair for the development and adaptation of relevant policies and processes, by promoting innovative approaches. Advise and support the NCIO ASB Chairs with governance-related enterprise-wide NATO interactions and on all responsibilities under the NCIO Charter, the ASB’s internal rules and operating procedures and other relevant documentation or decisions. Organisational Efficiencies Lead and oversee the overall planning process and provide guidance and support with respect to the application of internal working practices and respect of organizational priorities and commitments, in close cooperation with stakeholders. Project Management Ensure that project/programme deliverables of the executive Secretariat are attainable and guide their progress. Identify risks and undertake contingency planning. Financial Management Plan, manage and ensure financial accountability and cost-effective execution for the assigned annual budget and associated work strands which are developed, monitored and overseen by the executive Secretariat. Ensure that all financial activities are in compliance with NATO Financial Regulations, and all other financial directives, inclusive of Procurement rules and procedures. People Management Support the executive Secretariat in cultivating a motivating, inclusive and effective workplace. Lead, plan, direct and supervise the work of the personnel. Provide mentoring, coaching and training opportunities and be available to offer guidance at critical moments. Ensure that all staff under their responsibility have clarity about organisational and individual objectives. Provide regular, fair and objective feedback on performance, informally as appropriate, and via the HQ Performance Review and Development (PRD) system. Perform other managerial functions as required. Representation of the Organisation Provide support to the NCIO ASB Chairs in their functions and perform any other additional duties that may be required regarding the management and operations of the executive Secretariat, and represent the Organization in internal and external meetings as delegated by the NCIO ASB Chair. Represent the NCIO at official functions. Knowledge Management Draft background briefs, progress reports, prepare presentations, and other items for high-level meetings. Ensure that the design and implementation of knowledge management systems for the office ensures the collection and distribution of high-quality content. 4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS The incumbent reports to the national NCIO ASB Chair in the execution of their function. Administratively, the incumbent reports to the Director, NATO Wide Coordination. They will develop close working relationships with National Delegations, the NCIA, the International Military Staff (IMS), the Science and Technology Organisation, the NSPO, Communications and Information Partnerships, and the NATO Strategic Commands. Direct reports: 5. Indirect reports: 5. 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; • Organizational 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. When submitting your application, please ensure that your Taleo Candidate Profile is updated and that your CV is correctly uploaded in the Taleo attachments section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note that the competition for this post is provisionally scheduled as follows: Pre-selection testing: end of March; Final selection: end of April. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 incumbent will provide assistance and advice to the NCIO ASB Chair and the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committees, while managing the day-to-day activities of the staff, including directing staff activities and ensuring secretarial support to National Delegates at governing bodies. Key accountabilities involve policy development, stakeholder engagement, expertise development, organizational efficiencies, project and financial management, and people management.