Staff Officer (Science & Technology)

Post Context 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 Capability Development Directorate (CAPDEV) comprises two Divisions - Requirements and Capabilities. The Directorate supports SACT in his Capabilities Requirement Authority (CRA) role. It is responsible for a holistic through lifecycle Capability Development approach that infuses innovation and transformative efforts that are an integral part of the Warfare Development. This includes responsibilities for elicitation, development, capture and collection, quality review, traceability and visibility of capability requirements. The Requirements Division executes requirements management for NATO capabilities. It develops capability requirements, provides traceability and quality assurance of capability requirements, performs gap analysis and supports interoperability and implementation options across the DOTMLPFI spectrum. The Innovation Branch science and technological trends, and contributes to the development of innovative, cost-effective and interoperable capability solutions to current and anticipated capability shortfalls and priorities, thereby contributing to NATO’s military advantage against potential opponents. Staff Officer (Science and Technology) supports SACT in his roles, responsibilities, and in achieving his Commander’s objectives acting as staff member responsible for the execution of processes, projects, activities, initiatives and events descending from the Branch’s core tasks in the field of Science and Technology (S&T), with particular reference to those related to the effective outreach, influence and collaboration with S&T entities, the delivery of the sustained technology watch function in support of ACT foresight and capability development processes and the translation of capability requirements into S&T research requirements.

Principal Duties:

The incumbent's duties are:

• Influence and exploit NATO Science and Technology Organization’s (STO) projects that address identified capability shortfalls.
• Contribute to the delivery a sustained technology watch function in support of ACT foresight and capability development processes, scanning, identifying, monitoring, analysing, assessing and proposing for exploitation those S&T research areas that can potentially be leveraged by NATO and the Allied Nations, with a particular focus on disruptive technologies, game changing solutions, potential innovative, cost-effective and interoperable opportunities to address the identified capability shortfalls.
• Contribute to the production and delivery of S&T advice that informs the strategic foresight analysis efforts (SFA, FFAO), NATO defence planning (e.g., NDPP step 2) and subsequent capability and force development efforts, including capability requirements formulation, concept development and experimentation and Analysis of Alternatives (AoA).
• Ensure and coordinate, with the NATO Science and Technology Organisation, the implementation of the ACT-STO Structured Partnership and annual Implementation Plan.
• Represent ACT before the STO Panels and Group and other relevant national and international entities (at the appropriate level) discussing S&T and innovation matters.
• Identify capability shortfalls by analyzing the NDPP products, the operational Lessons Learned and in coordination with other ACT staff.
• Contribute to the planning and execution of the ACT S&T Program of Work.
• Educate HQ SACT staff on the opportunities available from the NATO Science and Technology Organization’s Panels and Group.
• Organize the development of necessary web-based applications for managing and exchanging S&T information between ACT, NATO and national S&T bodies.
• Execute tasks and duties as directed by the Section Head Science and Technology or his superiors with regards to the projects, activities, and outputs related to the Branch core tasks in the field of Science and Technology.

Essential Qualifications / Experience:

• University Degree in managrment information systems, accounting, economics, finance, business administration, public administration, operations research, project management or related discipline and 2 years function related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 4 years post related experience.
• Two years' experience in the acquisition, assembly and interpretation of research & technology information.
• Knowledge of S&T information sources in nations, for example defence research laboratories, academic institutions, media and defence ministries.
• Experience in interpreting information on future S&T in order to measure the effect of these technologies on military capability.
• Practical experience with PC office automation products, including the use of internet for information research.

Language:

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

Desirable Qualifications / Experience:

• Participation in the management and conduct of science and technology programs.
• Expertise in the development of web-based information sources.

Attributes/Competencies:

Personal Attributes:

• Personal integrity & sense of responsibility.
• Professionalism and ability to structure, organize and prioritize work.
• Ability to take initiative and to work independently.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Must be able to capture complex problems, breakdown thoughts and ideas to their individual elements, recognise connections between these elements, and provide verifiable descriptions of implications.
• Ability to work under time pressure and deal with multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to work harmoniously and communicate strongly and coordinate in the diverse international environment – horizontally and vertically.
• Must be able to mediate amongst stakeholders and resolve conflicting points of view to achieve solutions.
• Must be a strong negotiator able to construct common learning processes within a group.

Managerial Responsibilities:

Responsible for daily work priority setting and results of work may affect higher level work prioritization. Work involves synchronization with other work strands and cross-functional planning.

Professional Contacts:

The incumbent must develop and maintain professional contacts across the Command and externally on functional matters. Must be able to liaise effectively both within and outside the HQ with military and civilian personnel. Must be adept at relationship building, negotiation and conflict resolution to achieve results.

Contribution To Objectives:

The incumbent provides essential S&T input to the development of solutions to meet capability requirements to enable the execution of the capability delivery process in NATO. The incumbent has experience/knowledge of requirements and the application of S&T. The delivery of the incumbent’s outputs directly impacts SACT’s ability to meet strategic intent. Security Clearance The successful applicant will be required to apply for and receive a NATO SECRET Security Clearance prior to final confirmation of contract and commencement of employment. Contract Serving NATO International Civilian staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations. Newly recruited staff will be offered a three year definite duration contract. Notes for Candidates The HQ SACT web site gives full details on the eligibility criteria and application processes to be adopted by all candidates. However, candidates should particularly note: Please answer each of the pre-screening questions completely in English. Expressions such as: “please see attached CV, please see annex, please see enclosed document, etc” are not acceptable; this is a cause of immediate rejection of the application. Particular attention should be given to Education and Experience section of your application form, which should be populated with details of your career to date and educational achievements and certifications as they relate to your application. The candidature of NATO redundant staff at grade G15 will be considered with priority. 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. 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. This vacancy will close on 23 November 2026 @ 17:59hrs (EST)/11:59hrs (CET).