Head, Situation Awareness Integration Team

Job Description - Head, Situation Awareness Integration Team (SAIT) (250102)

NATO International Staff (NATO IS)

Full-time

23-Feb-2025, 10:59:00 PM

Grade NATO Grade G20

1. SUMMARY

The mission of the Operations Division of the International Staff (IS) is to prepare NATO for the defence of Alliance territory, to respond to crises at home and abroad, and to strengthen the capabilities of partners. The Operations Division advances the core tasks of the Alliance (Collective Defence, Crisis Prevention and Management, Cooperative Security) by providing situational awareness, advance planning, well-exercised and executed crisis-response, and outcome-oriented defence and related security cooperation programmes.

Within the OPS Division, the Plans Section has oversight of the Situational Awareness process and of Geospatial Services. The NATO Situation Centre (SITCEN) provides situational awareness and alerting to the North Atlantic Council and the Military Committee in fulfilling their respective functions across the peace-crisis-conflict continuum, and for high level exercises. This is achieved through the receipt, exchange and dissemination of information from all available internal and external sources. The Situation Awareness Integration Team (SAIT) provides support to multiple NATO HQ stakeholders and is situated within the SITCEN.

The incumbent is responsible for the development of situational awareness briefs to senior staff in support of decision making by both civilian and military leadership in HQ NATO. These briefs are provided on a regular and frequent basis to NATO's top civilian and military leaders and support the development of one comprehensive strategic picture. This is accomplished using specialised tools and data services for the delivery of tailored products for customers. The SAIT keeps close links with all other NATO divisions to support timely situational awareness requirements for both the IS and IMS.

The Head, SAIT is responsible for all team activities, tasks and functions. They provide day-to-day prioritisation of tasks and deliver high-quality products to support NATO management and leadership.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

• Possess a university degree or equivalent qualification in political science, international relations, security or defence studies, journalism or related subject;
• Have at least 5 years of relevant professional experience;
• Have the capacity to manage, inspire and engage a diverse and multidisciplinary team;
• Demonstrate a strong ability to grasp complex issues in a time sensitive environment;
• Have knowledge of open-source information and processes;
• Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex situations in a straightforward manner;
• Have meticulous attention to detail;
• Demonstrate geo-political/geo-strategic understanding of the global security environment and of the political and security issues in particular regions;
• Be able to work under pressure and adhere to strict deadlines;
• Possess the following minimum levels of NATO's official languages (English/French): V ("Advanced") in one; I ("Beginner") in the other.

DESIRABLE

• A Master's or PhD degree in a relevant subject;
• Experience drafting products for senior leadership;
• Experience managing the 'information' cycle, including the development of information requirements, and appropriate tasking and production of reports against these requirements;
• Background or training in Operations, Strategy, and/or Intelligence;
• Aware of database and information sharing applications.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Expertise Development

• Coordinate the preparation of the Situational Awareness briefings to senior staff.
• Define, update and communicate information requirements for the briefing products to all stakeholders.
• Contribute to awareness of key functions at NATO HQ regarding the strategic picture including threats, risks and trends based on established analytical requirements.
• Support the development and monitoring of key crisis escalation indicators and contribute to identifying early warning signs or change of trends.
• Ensure the correct application of expertise in the team through benchmarking of other Situational Awareness organisations.
• Ensure the expenditure of allocated IS funds is in line with SITCEN objectives.
• Plan International Staff expenditures under the supervision of Head, Plans Section and in coordination and consultation with the Chief SITCEN.

Information Management

• Act as main aggregator for a number of sources of information, effectively managing, coordinating, aligning and streamlining inputs from all sources of information including data services.
• Develop and update the formats for the briefing products.
• Compile, draft or review reports as appropriate.
• Lead the production of bespoke products in support of briefing requirements from all NATO HQ stakeholders.
• Liaise with all input providers in NATO HQ and coordinate the analysis of the implications arising from the red, white and blue pictures.
• Ensure that SAIT processes and procedures for information management are aligned with overall NATO Information Management policies and with NATO HQ objectives.

Knowledge Management

• Develop Information Knowledge Management Tools (IKM) tools, consolidated information platforms and distribution lists for the distribution of briefs and information to staff and senior management.
• Ensure maximum use of new technologies and data services in gathering information and is trained on tools utilised for in-depth monitoring and visualisation.
• Ensure that the design and implementation of knowledge management systems includes mechanisms to ensure collection and distribution of high-quality content.

Policy Development

• Contribute to enhanced situational awareness and assessment for all NATO HQ stakeholders.
• Oversee and distribute tasks in coordination with International Staff and International Military Staff counterparts relating to requests for information originating in NATO HQ.
• Manage the production of high-quality country/regional or thematic assessments as appropriate.
• Identify innovations to improve performance of the SAIT.
• Identify ways to improve the NATO HQ Situational Awareness process.

People Management

• Ensure a balanced workload and staff development across the SAIT.
• Coach and mentor staff to enhance performance and team cohesion.
• Initiate development plans to meet individual or team objectives.
• Provide regular and fair feedback on performance, informally as appropriate and via the HQ Performance Review and Development (PRD) system.
• Promote integrity, professionalism and accountability through a sound and inclusive leadership culture.
• Introduce changes to ensure the multi-functionality of staff, so all work can be performed when some staff are absent.
• Foster pro-active and customer directed thinking.

Project Management

• Develop training/introductory materials for staff officers preparing to work with the Situational Awareness Process.
• Identify, analyse, design and contribute expertise to relevant projects/programmes.

Stakeholder Management

• Maintain a continuous line of communication with stakeholders in support of the Situational Awareness process.
• Determine how best to enhance and sustain a network of key stakeholders.
• Assess, manage and consolidate the network of key stakeholders.
• Provide options for effective issue management through the monitoring and analysis of current affairs.

Representation of the Organization

• Attend and participate in high level meetings that have a situational awareness component such as the Response Coordination Task Force (and other relevant Task Forces) and the International Military Staff Crisis Management Organization, as appropriate.
• Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

They report directly to the Head, PLANS Section for policy, projects and operational guidance. They consult and coordinate with Chief SITCEN on the day-to-day running of the SAIT. They will interact with senior management across NATO HQ.

Direct reports: 3

Indirect reports: N/A.

5. COMPETENCIES

• 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.

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 Regulations.

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

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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.

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. 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.