Officer, Defence Planning
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Job Summary
1. SUMMARY
The Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division leads work in the NATO International Staff (IS) on the defence-related aspects of the Alliances fundamental security tasks at the political-military level. Within the DPP the Defence Planning Directorate (DPD) is responsible for the conduct of Alliance defence planning and leads the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP)¹.
The Officer acts as a rapporteur and produces comprehensive factually consistent and correct reports on the defence and security related plans and policies of individual Allies drawing on and rationalising inputs from a number of specialists. They further contribute to the effective planning and coordination of the bi-annual review of Allied capability delivery efforts.
This post requires flexibility and availability to travel frequently (approximately 40% of working time).
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
The incumbent must:
possess a university degree in a relevant field for the post or have attended a NATO or national military joint staff college (OF-3 level or higher);
have at least 6 years of experience in either land maritime aerospace or joint and enabling forces and/or capabilities as well as good knowledge of joint operations;
have considerable experience in the field of defence planning or military capability development;
have excellent written and oral communication skills; and
possess the following minimum levels of NATOs official languages (English/ French): V (Advanced) in one; I (Beginner) in the other.
The following would be considered an advantage:
military staff experience at senior officer level or experience at the joint operational (two starts or above) level;
good general knowledge of NATO specifically NATOs defence plans and policies and their relationship with the NDPP; and
very good knowledge of the NDPP or national defence planning processes.
3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES
Policy Development: Draft reports on Allied national plans and policies and assess these against the corresponding NATO capability targets. Draft speaking notes and coordinate the preparation of committee meetings. Develop defence planning-related policy documents. Prepare senior leadership for high level engagements. Prepare and coordinate advice to individual Allies as needed.
Stakeholder Management: Build a network of expert contacts on defence planning issues and encourage a culture of cooperation through developing relations with national defence planning experts and with the relevant defence planning staffs across the NATO Enterprise. Regularly represent the DPD in various meetings with national authorities.
Knowledge Management: Keep up-to-date with the different steps of the NDPP and developments in the different domains in particular technological developments and how they impact on military capability requirements. Contribute to the development of NATOs capability requirements terminology. Keep up-to-date on the development of NATOs defence policy and plans and their interaction with NATOs defence policy and the NDPP.
Project Management: Plan and manage the execution of NDPP Step 5 including the drafting and negotiation of the Defence Planning Capability Survey. Engage with NATO defence planning staffs across the HQ the International Military Staff and the Bi-Strategic Commands to ensure their coordinated contribution to NDPP Step 5. Liaise with Allied delegations to ensure the planning of bilateral and multilateral meetings. Drive the evolution of the NDPP through constant adaptation of the Step 5 related products to NATOs defence policy and plans.
Perform any other related duty as assigned.
4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
Reporting Line: The Officer reports to the Head Defence Planning Section.
Interactions: The incumbent works closely with the other Officers of the Directorate members of other Divisions staff of the two NATO Strategic Commands and National Defence Transformation experts.
Direct reports: N/A
Indirect reports: N/A
5. COMPETENCIES
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.
Organizational Awareness: understands the Organizations politics.
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 Organisations 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 Organisations 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 NATOs 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 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: 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.
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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 ( will be subject to receipt of asecurity clearance(provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate) approval of the candidatesmedical fileby the NATO Medical Adviser verification of your study(ies) and work experience and the successful completion of theaccreditationand 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 reference documents without proper quotes (plagiarism) or any tools available on internet including but not limited to translation facilities or generative artificial-intelligence (AI) 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 tools will be rejected without further consideration 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 NATOs 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 ourwebsite. 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.
¹ Please note that defence planning is usually conducted at national headquarters/ Ministry of Defence/ General Staff level and is distinct from and should not be confused with operational planning which focuses on planning for the conduct of actual operations. Further information about the NDPP can be found under the following link: Experience:
Unclear Seniority
