Senior Staff Officer (Concept Development)

NATO

About The Position

ACT contributes to preserving the peace, security and territorial integrity of Alliance member states by leading, at Strategic Command level, Warfare Development required to enhance NATO’s posture, military structures, forces, capabilities and doctrines. The Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (SPP) acts on behalf of SACT to formulate policies, strategies, engagements, ACT contributions to NDPP, and analytical practices that enable the Commander to provide strategic foresight, planning, strategy and policy advice, concepts, and strategic engagement to NATO’s political and military leadership. Principal outputs include, but are not limited to: long term strategic foresight, strategic level concepts, situational awareness/strategic anticipation, Minimum Capability Requirements, Draft Capability Targets, Suitability Assessment of Allies and NATO Defence Plans, and regional and functional to security related environments. The Concept Development Branch is ACT’s lead for the development of ACT, Bi-SC and NMA concepts. It provides guidance, advice, and coherence on conceptual development. It develops strategic and operational concepts applying NATO’s CD&E process. The Concept Development Lead is responsible for initiation, coordination, development, coherence and management of the Concept Development & Experimentation (CD&E) Programme, CD&E Projects and Activities and other Programmes, Projects and Activities related with CD&E.

Requirements

University Degree and 6 years post related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 6 years post related and 2 years function related experience.
6 years’ experience in the application of Concept Development, Strategic and Operational Research/Analysis, Systems Analysis, Experimentation or related techniques.
Practical experience of managing programs & projects concerned with the conduct of studies that address the impact of military capability change.
Expertise in applying analytical methods to defence domain issues. Methods may include: war gaming, computer modelling and simulation, mathematical modelling, optimization techniques, process mapping, and soft systems methods or social science techniques.
Proven ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with good briefing skills.
English - SLP 3333 - (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

Nice To Haves

Substantial ability on the development and application of new concepts.
Ability to study and understand emerging technologies and visualize their application to current and projected operations.
Familiarity with politico-military, technical and capability related topics affecting Alliance interests.
Demonstrated ability to communicate orally and in writing and to articulate, negotiate, and obtain acceptance of new/revised concepts.
Competency in practicing teamwork in a diverse social environment.
Project Management: PRINCE 2 certification (or equivalent Project Management training/ experience).
Programme Management: MSP certification (or equivalent Programme Management training/ experience).

Responsibilities

Serves as Section Head (Concept Development / Programme Manager) directing the activities of the assigned Staff Officers/Project Managers.
Directs and manages the development of specific NATO concepts.
Leads Working Groups as required.
Directs and manages the support provided by the assigned Staff Officers/Project Managers in terms of: Research to develop solution-oriented transformational ideas that address capability gaps.
Liaising with appropriate communities of interest;
Concept and implementation plan drafting;
Solicitation of comments from the identified communities of interest;
Finalization of expected documents; and
Follow-on actions.
Supports the Branch head for the following activities: Analysis of NATO’s strategic and operational environment;
Identification of capability needs;
Ongoing exercises and experimentations; and
Refinement of concepts under development.
Coordinates at Programme level the cross functional collaboration with other branches, NATO entities (NMA, CoEs, JWC, JFTC etc), International organizations and national entities on Programme related issues.
Supports the Branch Head in all engagement activities related to NATO’s CD & E process.
Ensures coherence of concepts inside the Programme.
Provides support in mentoring, formatting, and staffing concepts.
Acts as OPR/ instructor for NATO Concept Development & Experimentation training and education, as required.
Acts as Deputy Concept Development Branch Head.
Budget Authority - Directs and manages budget issues for Programmes. Acts as COTR for contracts under the Concept Development programme.