Assistant (Situational Awareness)

1. Post Context/Post Summary

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) provides an integrated Strategic Effects framework employing a multi-domain and multi-region focus to create a 360-degree approach with the flexibility to enable upon direction a seamless transition from Baseline Activities and Current Operations (BACO) up to the Maximum Level of Effort (MLE). SHAPE supports SACEUR in fulfilling his terms of reference as directed by the North Atlantic Council.

The Cyberspace Directorate directs monitors and coordinates all Cyberspace Operations (CO) Electronic Warfare (EW) Electro Magnetic Spectrum (EMS) activity and Communications and Information Systems (CIS) functional area activities and staff functions across ACO.

The Cyberspace Operations Centre (CyOC) is NATOs only Theater Component for cyberspace providing persistent centralised and comprehensive cyberspace situational awareness Command and Control (C2) and execution. The CyOC is within the SHAPE establishment but with different roles and responsibilities.

The Cyberspace Situational Awareness Branch is to provide the Cyberspace Operations Centre (CyOC)s ability to incorporate the various aspects of cyberspace situational awareness from all sources which creates the theatre-wide cyberspace situational awareness and integrate the cyberspace perspective into a single coherent dimension of the 360-degree approach.

The Cyberspace Situational Awareness Support Section analyses technical cyberspace vulnerability assessments and instigates consequence mitigating activities.

The incumbent provide Situational Awareness support to the teams that are planning and conducting of CIS/Cyberspace Operations

2. Principal Duties

The incumbents duties are:

a) Review the available information regarding Alliance infrastructures (i.e. Technical Descriptions Security Audits Reports Vulnerability Assessment Reports Penetration testing Reports etc.) in order to develop a deep understanding of its exposure towards Cyberspace;

b) Contribute to the development and maintenance of the a Recognized Cyberspace Picture (RCP) by providing information about the exposure of Alliance Infrastructures towards Cyberspace;

c) Support the Cyberspace Incident handling for the operational assessment both as an Officer of Primary Responsibility (OPR) and/or Situational Awareness Subject Matter Expert (SA SME);

d) Disseminate information about the Recognized Cyberspace picture via the approved Cyberspace C3 Tools. Cyberspace C3 Tools may include but are not limited to Cyber Defence Situational Awareness (CDSA) Cyberspace Situational Awareness System (CySAS) TOPFAS (CPAL) JChat JOCWatch and IntelFS;

e) Provide Situational Awareness support to the teams that are planning and conducting of CIS/Cyberspace Operations both as a team member or external Situational Awareness Subject Matter Expert (SA SME);

f) Support the development of CyOC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) both as a document owner and/or contributor;

g) Participate to workshops meetings and working groups in order to provide Situational Awareness support in line with the Directions and Guidance provided by the CyOC SA Support Section Head.

3. Special Requirements and Additional Duties

The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere within the organisation at the same grade without there being any change to the contract

- May be required to undertake deployments in support of military operations and exercises and/or TDY assignments both within and outside of NATO boundaries for up to 30 days

- May be required to undertake operational assignment/secondment within the Multi Domain Strategic Operations Center (MDSOC) (may require shift work for the duration of the assignment)

- May be required to formally represent the Section Head at meetings.

The work is normally performed in a Normal NATO office working environment / Secure office environment with artificial light and air (e.g. Bunker).

Normal Working Conditions apply.

The risk of injury is categorised as No risk / risk might increase when deployed.

4. Essential Qualifications

a. Professional/Experience

• Minimum 3 years of experience in Cyberspace Operations;
• Minimum 3 years of working experience related with cyber security Vulnerability and cyberspace Risk Capturing;
• Minimum 3 years of experience with activities involved in providing cyberspace support to a large international governmental or military organization.
• Minimum 3 year of experience within Cyber Operational Centre and/or Computer Incident Response Centres within a large international governmental or military organization.

b. Education/Training

Higher Secondary education and intermediate vocational training in Information technology computer science computer networking and communications. criminology police public or business administration administration of justice criminal law comparative general management political theory behavioural or social psychology or related discipline which might lead to a formal qualification with 2 years experience or Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 4 years post related experience.

c. Language

English - SLP 3333 - (Listening Speaking Reading and Writing)

NOTE: The work both oral and written in this post and in this Headquarters as a whole is conducted mainly in English.

5. Desirable Qualifications

a. Professional Experience

• Recent knowledge and operational experience including experience in Cyber Operational Centres of higher formations;
• Recent experience of planning and oversight of the delivery and employment of communications and information services systems include their cyber defence;
• Knowledge/experience of CIS cybersecurity risk management and incident management;
• University degree in relevant discipline;

b. Education/Training

• NATO Open Source Intelligence Course (INT-AS-3859);
• NATO CIS Operational Planning (CCC-SM-32208);
• Integrating Cyberspace Considerations into Operational Planning (COP-CD-31954);
• NATO Comprehensive Operations Planning Course (COPC) (JPL-OP-36813).

6. Attributes/Competencies

Personal Attributes: The incumbent of the post should be:

- Self-starter and analytical able to explain complex technical matters with clarity and accuracy.

- Team worker team builder and leadership provider.

- Conceptual thinker who must adapt/ react to the realities of the rapidly changing nature of the cyber domain.

Professional Contacts: This incumbent of the post must be able to collaborate with various technical cyber experts at different NATO entities counterparts in National cyberspace operations centers and industry. He/she maintains liaison with NATO HQ NCIA ACO ACT and other various Host Nations as well as CIS Operating authorities.

Contribution To Objectives: Analyses technical cyber vulnerability assessments and instigates consequence mitigating activities to include liaises with industry partners. Works with NCIA Cyber Security Service Line cyber analysts and technical leads to synthesize fuse and analyze cyber indicators of compromise and warning for cyber SA dashboards reporting and future cyber requirements.

REMARKS:

Duration of contract: Serving staff members will be offered a contract according to the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPR). Newly recruited staff will be offered a definite duration contract of three years normally followed by an indefinite duration contract.

The salary will be the basic entry-level monthly salary defined by the NATO Grade of the post which may be augmented by allowances based on the selected staff members eligibility and which is subject to the withholding of approximately 20% for pension and medical insurance contributions.

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.

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.

Applicants who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment in another post of a similar nature which might become vacant in the near future albeit at the same or lower grade provided they meet the necessary requirements.

We believe that all people are capable of great things. Because of this we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the criteria listed within this job description.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A NATO CIVILIAN POST AT SHAPE:

Applications are to be submitted using NATO Talent Acquisition Platform (NTAP) ( Applications submitted by other means (e.g. mail e-mail fax etc) are not accepted.

More information to be found on these links:

6 Tips for Applying to NATO

Application Process

Shortlisted candidates will be requested to provide original documentary evidence and a set of copies supporting statements in their applications. Appointment is subject to obtaining a NS security clearance and a medical certificate.

Remarks:

a) Only nationals from the 32 NATO member states can apply for vacancies at SHAPE.

b) Applications are automatically acknowledged within one working day after submission. In the absence of an acknowledgement please make sure the submission process is completed or re-submit the application.

c) Qualified redundant staff of the same grade interested in this post should inform this office via their HR/Personnel Office by not later than vacancys closing date.

d) 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 NATOs sole discretion and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.