Staff Officer (China Strategic Policy), Mons

POST CONTEXT

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) provides an integrated Strategic Effects framework, employing a multi-domain and multi-region focus to create a 360-degree approach, with the flexibility to enable, upon direction, a seamless transition from Baseline Activities and Current Operations (BACO) up to the Maximum Level of Effort (MLE). SHAPE supports SACEUR in fulfilling his terms of reference, as directed by the North Atlantic Council.

The Plans Directorate is responsible for the development, review and maintenance of Strategic Planning, Advanced Planning and Crisis Planning products for ACO.

The J5 Division leads the overarching strategic campaign and operations planning processes to prepare for and respond to crises and conflicts that threaten the security and integrity of the Alliance.

The Strategic Policy Branch is responsible for the development of strategic policy and concepts in its area of expertise for ACO.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES

The incumbent's duties are:

- Conduct preliminary research and data compilation on Chinese military strategy and PLA (People’s Liberation Army) modernization to inform reporting and briefings.
- Track developments in NATO’s China-related policies, maintaining a living reference repository to support policy harmonization across J5 and related branches.
- Support the development of reports and relevant material about China. 
- Pre-screen documents and stakeholder inputs for relevance, consistency, and implications before review.
- Support the management of tasking calendars and deliverable timelines to ensure alignment and plan and coordinate internal meetings on China.
- Support representation at working-level engagements when required, providing reliable follow-up and continuity.
- Track and update China-related Lessons Identified and Lessons Learned across NATO stakeholders.
- Maintain task trackers and calendars, ensuring alignment of deliverables with deadlines and internal dependencies.
- Support the coordination of working-level policy harmonization by identifying overlaps or divergence in perspectives, and flagging issues for escalation.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND ADDITIONAL DUTIES
The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere within the organisation at the same grade without there being any change to the contract.

The work is normally performed in a Normal NATO office working environment.

Normal Working Conditions apply.

The risk of injury is categorised as No risk / risk might increase when deployed.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

a.    PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 
- Minimum of two years of professional experience in a national or international defense organization, focused on China-related issues in a strategic or operational capacity.

- Academic or policy experience related to China’s military strategy with demonstrated ability to connect analysis to operational or doctrinal implications.

- Understanding of NATO’s political-military processes, including NAC-MC direction, strategic planning cycles, and coordination mechanisms.

- Experience integrating China-related intelligence, foresight, and trend analysis into actionable military assessments and recommendations.

- Ability to communicate, negotiate and liaise with relevant stakeholders to achieve optimum outcomes.

b.    EDUCATION/TRAINING
University Degree and 2 years function related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 4 years post related experience.

In case of ambiguity the required job specific experience have priority over the standard education and training levels and experience described here.

c.    LANGUAGE
English - SLP 4444 - (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

a.    Professional experience
- Previous work experience in a Joint environment and/or NATO environment.
- Previous work experience in political/military advisory role.

b.    Education/Training
Master’s degree in international relations, political science, security studies or similar.

ATTRIBUTES/COMPETENCIES

• Personal Attributes: The incumbent is expected to approach problem solving from a comprehensive inter-disciplinary perspective. The incumbent must be capable of multitasking. The incumbent may be required to work outside normal working hours and must show a high level of maturity and ability to work under pressure and tight timelines. The incumbent requires proactivity, results orientation and ability to prioritize competing demands to maximize productivity and efficiency. He/ she must be capable of translating general guidance into workable proposals and deliverables. The incumbent must be willing to work unusual hours in a multinational environment.

• Professional Contacts: The incumbent will the required to coordinate with personnel from across SHAPE and ACO commands.

• Contribution To Objectives: As operations assessment collective training has never been properly conducted in NATO, this post will have direct impact on the way this will be established and conducted over the next period. The work of this post will impact operations assessment collective training across NATO.

REMARKS:
Duration of contract: The successful candidate will fill this post as a Project Linked NATO International Civilian (PLN) with a three-year definite duration contract within the NATO 2030 Agenda. On expiry of this term the PLN will be deleted or absorbed into the ceiling pending approval or will exceptionally be considered for extension.

The salary will be the basic entry-level monthly salary defined by the NATO Grade of the post, which may be augmented by allowances based on the selected staff member’s eligibility, and which is subject to the withholding of approximately 20% for pension and medical insurance contributions.

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.

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.

Applicants who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment in another post of a similar nature, which might become vacant in the near future, albeit at the same or lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.

We believe that all people are capable of great things.  Because of this, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the criteria listed within this job description.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A NATO CIVILIAN POST AT SHAPE:
Applications are to be submitted using NATO Talent Acquisition Platform (NTAP) (  Applications submitted by other means (e.g. mail, e-mail, fax, etc) are not accepted.

More information to be found on these links:
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Application Process  

Shortlisted candidates will be requested to provide original documentary evidence and a set of copies supporting statements in their applications. Appointment is subject to obtaining a NS security clearance and a medical certificate.

Remarks:
a)    Only nationals from the 32 NATO member states can apply for vacancies at SHAPE.  
b)    Applications are automatically acknowledged within one working day after submission. In the absence of an acknowledgement please make sure the submission process is completed, or, re-submit the application.   
c)    Qualified redundant staff of the same grade interested in this post should inform this office, via their HR/Personnel Office by not later than vacancy’s closing date.
d)    Candidates’ individual telephone, e-mail or telefax enquiries cannot be dealt with. All candidates will receive an answer indicating the outcome of their application.
e)    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.