Speechwriter at NATO

Brussels, Brussels-Capital, Belgium -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

25 Jun, 26

Salary

0.0

Posted On

27 Mar, 26

Experience

5 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Research, Drafting, Editing, Political Analysis, Journalism, Communications Strategy, Media Relations, Public Briefings, Analytical Thinking, Clarity, Accuracy, Conceptual Thinking, Customer Service, Impact, Influence, Initiative

Industry

IT Services and IT Consulting

Description

SUMMARY 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 audiences through a wide range of channels. Within the OSC, the Speechwriter conducts background research and drafts speeches, articles, press conferences, statements, media messages and other written material for the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General, and senior officials as required. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE The incumbent must: • possess a university degree in political science, history, journalism, international relations, or relevant discipline; • have excellent written and oral communication skills; • have at least 6 years’ experience in a communications environment or government/diplomacy, out of which at least 3 years’ experience drafting speeches, articles, press statements, media messages, or speaking points for senior leadership; • have knowledge of the political, military and defence issues of concern to the Alliance; • possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English and French): VI (“Proficient”) in one and I (“Beginner”) in the other. The following would be considered an advantage: • experience in a research institute, think-tank, foreign/defence ministry of a NATO Ally, an international organisation, or the media. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES Expertise Development. Draft speeches, articles, press conferences, statements, media messages and other written material for the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, and other senior officials as needed. Edit press conferences and media messages for the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General as required. Keep abreast of NATO’s broad political and politico-military agenda in order to gain a deepened understanding of all issues that form the subject of NATO’s public communication. Knowledge Management. Conduct the appropriate research and analysis to draft speeches, press conferences, articles and policy statements. Ensure that all work is delivered on time and to a high standard. Policy Development. Contribute to security policy development by providing advice to the NATO Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson to shape political messaging. Representation of the Organization. Provide public briefings as required on NATO’s current political agenda. Liaise with event organisers about the speaking engagements of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, and other senior officials as needed. Perform any other related duty as assigned. INTERRELATIONSHIPS Reporting Line: The Speechwriter reports directly to the Deputy Spokesperson. Interactions: The post holder maintains close relationships with staff of the Office of the Secretary General, Divisions within the International Staff and International Military Staff, the NATO Military Authorities and Allied missions. Direct reports: N/a Indirect reports: N/a COMPETENCIES The incumbent must demonstrate: • Analytical Thinking: Makes complex plans or analyses. • Clarity and Accuracy: Checks own work. • Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts. • Customer Service Orientation: Takes personal responsibility for correcting problems. • Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade. • Initiative: Is decisive in a time-sensitive situation. • Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational climate and culture. • Teamwork: Solicits inputs and encourages others. 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. 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 Speechwriter is responsible for conducting background research and drafting speeches, articles, press conferences, statements, and media messages for the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, and other senior officials. This role also involves contributing to security policy development by advising spokespersons on political messaging and providing public briefings as required.