NATO Internship - Office of the Secretary General (OSG)
NATO Internship - Office of the Secretary General (OSG)
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Job Description
INFOSESSION ON THE VACANCY AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS
NATO is organising an infosession webinar on the recruitment process for this programme which will take place on11/06/2025 at 4pm CET (Brussels time).
This will be the opportunity for applicants and professionals to gain more insight into
the steps of the recruitment process and to have the opportunity to ask questions to
Talent Acquisition Service. Some interns and/or former interns will also share their experience of the programme with the audience.
Please register using the following link:
The Office of the Secretary General comprises: the Secretary General himself who heads the International Staff as well as the Deputy Secretary General; the Private Office that includes a director and staff; a Women Peace and Security and Human Security (WPS/ HS) Unit headed by the NATO Secretary Generals Special Representative for WPS and HS; the Policy Planning Unit and the Council Secretariat.
As part of the Office of the Secretary General (OSG) the Policy Planning Unit (PPU) offers policy input and advice to the Secretary General and the Private Office with the principal goals of assisting on strategic projects contributing to political communications and developing new policy areas. The Policy Planning Unit is also engaged with policy planners in Allied and partner countries and with outside actors on relevant security policy issues. The team leads as tasked on special strategic projects for the Secretary General such as the 2018 Functional Review the NATO 2030 agenda and the 2022 Strategic Concept and its and its seeks to provide innovative forwardlooking and indepth analysis on future trends and major security and policy developments affecting NATO to the Secretary General and the Private PPU serves also as a second opinion on policy matters and is responsible for reviewing policy providing feedback and suggesting alternative courses of action. Additionally the PPU contributes to the OSGs speech writing process and political messaging. The PPU helps incubate and initiate new policy priorities for NATO with the development of the Climate Change and Security Agenda and Action Plan in 2021 as one example. Finally the teamalso fosters wider strategic debate about NATO and its role in European and transatlantic security policy by maintaining a regular dialogue with policy planners in national Ministries of Foreign Affairs as well partner countries and other international organizations. It also systematically engages with think tanks research institutes and thought leaders to gather relevant policy input including by contributing to their research or conferences or by hosting ad hoc roundtables at NATO.
The Women Peace & Security and Human Security (WPS and HS) Unit operates under the responsibility of the SGSR for WPS and for HS. The SGSR provides guidance and oversight on the implementation of NATOs WPS and HS Agendas across the Alliance by facilitating coordination and integration of gender perspectives and human considerations into NATOs policies and activities.
What will the daily work look like
The interns will have the opportunity to assist the work of the Office of the Secretary General in its function of researching and developing inputs to policy supporting foresight and analysis supporting strategic projects stimulating debate in NATO and beyond and engaging with outside actors on relevant security policy issues.
They could do independent research of articles opinions reports and other open source as well as internal material on related issues; assist in editing and read proofing statements interviews and articles; assist in the preparation and compilation of policy papers for senior staff; take minutes during meetings and conferences and write reports; prepare speaking points; help with the administrative and substantive preparation of meetings seminars events workshops; monitor policy deliberations in Allied committees.
Especially for the Policy Planning Unit the interns will have the opportunity to assist the work of the Office of the Secretary General trough research policy development and drafting of research and policy products on a variety of issues related to the Alliances main geopolitical and security challenges. They will be actively involved in horizon scanning and strategic foresight work. They will also be involved in the PPUs broader engagement with think tanks academia and other relevant interlocutors.
Their day to day work may include conducting independent research and literature reviews; assisting in drafting editing and read proofing relevant policy products; assisting in the preparation and compilation of policy papers for senior staff on strategic foresight; taking minutes during meetings and conferences and write reports; contributing to speechwriting; helping with the administrative and substantive preparation of meetings seminars events workshops; monitoring policy deliberations in Allied committees.
Candidates applying for an internship within this office should demonstrate excellent organizational writing and research skills a teamoriented work approach flexibility excellent communication and interpersonal skills a determination to achieve results and a cooperative attitude in a multicultural environment. The selected intern should be a good team player willing to work dynamically in a team setting. They will be required to support the office with activities ranging from organization research and administrative tasks.
What do we offer
- 6month traineeship at NATO Headquarters in Brussels starting in March / September 2026.
- Fulltime traineeship (38 hours a week).
- Monthly grant of 1286.09 and a travel reimbursement upon joining and leaving the organisation.
- Teleworking subject to business requirements.
- Rich programme of activities attending regular events and participating in meetings with several stakeholders.
- NATO HQ Staff Centre which promotes employee wellbeing and fosters a healthy work environment (click here for more info special membership price for NATO interns)
Selection Criteria
Please note that you can apply for up to three (3) different NATO HQ Internship Programme vacancies!
Apply until 22 June 2025 at 23:59 Brussels time
Essential:
The candidate must:
- be a national of a NATO member state
- be at least 21 years old
- have at least two years of university level studies OR equivalent education OR be currently a student OR a recent graduate (degree obtained no longer than 12 months ago)
- have proficiency in one of the two official NATO languages (English/French).
- be able to conduct research and draft in the English language.
Desirable:
The following criteria will be considered an advantage:
- Bachelors degree or in the final stage of a Masters degree relevant to the requested area of expertise
- elementary knowledge of the second official NATO language (English/French)
- be an advanced user of IT tools including Microsoft Office SharePoint;
- previous experience with other international organizations national administration research or industry;
Competencies required:
The candidate must demonstrate the following competencies:
- Achievement: Works to meet standards.
- Analytical thinking: Breaks down problems and sees basic relationships.
- Clarity and accuracy: Shows general concern for order and clarity and checks own work.
- Customer service orientation: Responds appropriately maintains clear communication.
- Empathy: Listens actively.
- Flexibility: Acts with flexibility.
- Initiative: Reacts to shortterm opportunities or problems.
- Organizational awareness: Understands the organizations structure.
- Teamwork: Cooperates shares information and knowledge freely offering support and cooperation.
Our Values:
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 and those living with disability to apply (please click here for more information).
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.
Special Notice:
In order for the Internship Office to assess your eligibility for the Internship Programme please attach the following documents:
- Copy of university qualifications you have completed and/or
- Proof of ongoing studies with the dates clearly mentioned if you are still studying.
We prefer that these documents are in one of the NATO official language (English or French). If you dont have these documents in English or French please attach a self translation.
Please ensure that all information is complete and accurate before submitting your application.
Please note that the application cannot be updated after the relevant deadline.
The pool of candidates will be available to all NATO IS / IMS Divisions Offices and NATO Bodies in case there is a need for a similar profile.
Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates telephone or email enquiries cannot be dealt with.
Read more about the Internship Programme including terms and conditions and what we offer at our website (please click here).
Kindly note that NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared in whole or in part by means of generative artificialintelligence (AI) tools including and without limitation to chatbots such as Chat Generative Pretrained 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 NATOs sole discretion and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.
Required Experience:
Intern
Employment Type
Full-Time
