NATO
Lead Governance Officer for CIS Federations
NATOBelgium2 days ago
Full-timeOther
Primary Location

Belgium-Brussels

NATO Body

NATO International Staff (NATO IS)

Schedule

Full-time

Application Deadline

12-Apr-2026, 11:59:00 PM

Salary (Pay Basis)

8,272.12

Grade

NATO Grade G17-G20

  • SUMMARY


The Cyber and Digital Transformation Division (CDT) oversees all aspects of cyber and digital transformation across the entire NATO Enterprise, advancing the Alliance’s agenda on those issues. As a fully integrated civilian-military Division, it combines the strategic insight of the International Staff (IS) with the operational expertise of the International Military Staff (IMS), enabling coherent, credible, and actionable advice to NATO’s senior decision-making bodies.

Within the Readiness and Operations Directorate, the incumbent leads and oversees the governance of NATO’s Alliance Federation of Services (AFS) and Alliance Federation of Networks (AFN). The incumbent will ensure effective governance frameworks for the federated CIS systems that serve NATO’s operational goals and foster collaboration among NATO’s Allied Command Operations (ACO), NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), and NATO Allies. In addition to governance leadership, the incumbent will play a pivotal role in leading the operations of the AFS Secretariat.

The post holder may be required to travel occasionally and work beyond standard office hours when required.

  • QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE


The incumbent must:

  • possess a university degree in a relevant field;
  • have at least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in governance, policy development, secretariat management, or coordination within multinational organizations, defense, or public-sector settings;
  • expertise in governance frameworks and processes related to federated networks, interoperability, cybersecurity, and CIS systems;
  • experience organizing and driving success in the operations of executive-level committees;
  • possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other.


The following are considered an advantage:

  • knowledge of NATO’s Digital Policy Committee (DPC) substructure, roles, and processes;
  • Familiarity with Federated Mission Networking (FMN), Alliance Federation of Services (AFS), and Alliance Federation of Networks (AFN) initiatives and governance frameworks; and
  • Professional certifications in areas such as ITIL, COBIT, PRINCE2, PMP, or CIS governance.
  • MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES


Policy Development: Contribute to the development of policies, directives, guidance and administrative documents relating to AFS. Provide advice to the DROP Section Head on matters relevant to CIS operations. Propose, plan, keep oversight on, assess and follow-up Working Group and Executive Group activities following the direction and guidance of the DPC and in close coordination with the relevant NATO Enterprise and Allies stakeholders. Plans and manages the Programme of Work supporting AFS Governance activities in close coordination with the CDT Portfolio Management Team.

Expertise Development: Continuously develop expertise in the governance of multinational federated systems. Stay informed on the latest best practices in CIS governance models, interoperability standards, cybersecurity, and digital transformation initiatives. Ensure alignment between existing systems, policies, and emerging technologies. Be the source of expertise for NATO bodies. Mentor staff and contribute to expertise-sharing initiatives within NATO and with Allied nations.

Stakeholder Management: Build and maintain strong partnerships with NATO’s key entities. Manage complex relationships, foster collaboration, and ensure alignment of governance priorities, liaising closely with working groups, the Executive Group, and the DPC Steering Group. Coordinate their input and outputs while addressing diverse national perspectives and concerns.

Knowledge Management: Develop mechanisms to capture, store, and disseminate institutional knowledge generated by the AFS and AFN working groups and Executive Group discussions. Share outputs across NATO entities and Allied nations.

  • INTERRELATIONSHIPS


Reporting Line: The incumbent reports to the Section Head Digital Readiness and Operations and to the Chair of the AFS Executive Group and the DPC.

Interactions: The incumbent works in close cooperation with all AFS stakeholders (Working Groups of the Management Structure AFS, and with Allied Command Operations (ACO), Allied Command Transformation (ACT), NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA), Allies and others as appropriate) in CIS operations mattes.

Direct reports: N/A

Indirect reports: N/A

  • COMPETENCIES


The incumbent must demonstrate:

  • Analytical Thinking: makes complex plans or analyzes.
  • 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.
  • Organizational Awareness: understands organisational climate and culture.
  • Teamwork: solicits inputs and encourages others.
  • 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.

NOTE: Irrespective of previous qualifications and experience, candidates for twin-graded posts will be appointed at the lower grade. Advancement to the higher grade is not automatic, and will not normally take place during the first three years of service in the post.

Under specific circumstances, serving staff members may be appointed directly to the higher grade, and a period of three years might be reduced by up to twenty four months for external candidates. These circumstances are described in the IS directive on twin-graded posts.

  • 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.

  • 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 .

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