Job Details

Job Overview

This role focuses on advancing NATO’s partnerships by shaping policy, integrating partner perspectives into capability development, and delivering strategic insights to senior leaders. The officer will coordinate across NATO entities and partner institutions to enhance interoperability, education, training, and defence planning, while also identifying innovative and cost-effective solutions from industry, academia, and emerging domains like cyber and space. Success in this position requires strong analytical and diplomatic skills, with the ability to brief senior stakeholders, build consensus in multinational settings, and translate complex policy issues into actionable recommendations. Candidates should bring recent experience in international security, NATO operations, or defence affairs, supported by a relevant advanced degree and active SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

General Responsibilities

  • Contribute to Partnerships Branch/IPT activities and products; deliver briefs to senior officers and decision makers.
  • Support policy/directive development and process refinement related to partnerships.
  • Provide inputs to strategic foresight and capability gap analysis, reflecting partner perspectives in NATO guidance.
  • Collaborate across NATO entities to maintain coherent and effective partnership approaches.
  • Travel to meetings/conferences inside and outside NATO boundaries, up to ~30 days per year.

Specific Responsibilities Per Focus Area

27a — Partner Capabilities

  • Integrate NATO capability-development processes (full lifecycle) into Partner efforts; align with NDPP, standardization policy, and doctrine.
  • Feed emerging cross-domain capabilities (space, cyber) into DCB packages, Partner plans, and ITPPs; drive resilience and interoperability.
  • Develop Partner capability requirements using DOTMLPF-I; run gap analyses, concept work, wargaming/experimentation; validate federated standards/exercises.
  • Surface innovative, cost-effective solutions via S&T, industry, and academia.

27b — Partner Education & Training Coordination

  • Liaise between NATO Education & Training Facilities (NETFs) and Partner institutions; support course certification and institutional accreditation.
  • Program Partner ETEE using PCM and ePRIME; advise on training strategies; act as ACT POC for PCM/ePRIME/eITEP.
  • Conduct front-end analysis of training solutions; coordinate COE/PTEC opportunities in support of MCCB; serve as Integrated Security Discipline POC.

27c — Partnerships Concept Development & Analysis

  • Advise on partnership opportunities; lead concept work for strategic engagements and the annual CD&E Conference.
  • Develop the NWCC “out-partnering” concept and ensure ACT’s partnership approach is coherent across NATO.
  • Build relationships and coordinate collaborative projects to enhance interoperability; provide geopolitical analysis and key-leader engagement on PfP nations.

27d — Defence Planning Integration

  • Serve as lead Staff Officer for ITPP & PARP military integration; analyze NATO policy/strategy to shape a multi-cycle ITPP approach.
  • Connect warfare-development outputs to ITPPs; support all ITPP steps with inputs, documentation, and bi/multilateral engagements; stay current on NDPP policy.

27e — Partnerships Strategy & Policy

  • Draft policies, reports, and studies on long-term NATO military partnerships and their interaction with defence policy/cooperative programmes.
  • Capture lessons learned and evolve concepts, policies, and procedures (Bi-SC/ACT directives).
  • Identify partner-engagement opportunities in ACT’s Programme of Work; perform AO duties or provide inputs for PfP-related Bi-SC tasks; build partnerships IKM and QA processes.

Qualifications

  • Clearance
    • Active SECRET clearance and nationality of a NATO member nation.
  • Education
    • Master’s degree (or NATO/national staff college at OF-3+) in a relevant field such as IR, international security/development, military studies, foreign policy, public affairs, or political science.
  • Experience
    • Experience in foreign/international security, defence, or military affairs or relevant experience with NATO or a national mission, delegation, or embassy.
    • Working knowledge in at least one area: NATO Partnerships, security-sector reform, defence planning, or capability development/research.
  • Understanding
    • Understanding of NATO’s structure, environment, and decision processes.

Ideal Candidate

  • Analytical & Strategic: Strong ability to synthesize complex policy and operational issues into clear recommendations.
  • Diplomatic Communicator: Experienced at briefing senior leaders and building consensus across multinational environments.
  • Security-Minded Professional: Holds (or is eligible for) NATO SECRET clearance and demonstrates discretion in handling sensitive information.
  • Multinational Expertise: Familiar with NATO structures, partnership frameworks, or defense/foreign policy organizations.
  • Hands-On & Adaptive: Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-stakes environments with incomplete data and evolving requirements.

Red Flags:

  • Lack of recent operating experience within NATO, defense, or international policy environments.
  • Limited exposure to multinational/multicultural teams.
  • Overly theoretical backgrounds without practical delivery in policy or operations.

Must-Have Requirements

  • Active SECRET clearance (NATO nation)
  • Eligible to work on-site at Norfolk, VA
  • Master’s degree (or staff college OF-3+) in a relevant discipline
  • Professional experience in defence/security partnerships, planning, or capability development

Screening Questions

1. Which Staff Officer type are you applying for? (27a Partner Capabilities, 27b Education & Training, 27c Concept Development & Analysis, 27d Defence Planning Integration, 27e Partnerships Strategy & Policy)
2. Briefly summarize your most relevant experience for that focus area.

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