Principal Assistant, Brussels

**  Open ONLY to candidates who already hold a valid NATO personnel security clearance or a valid personnel security clearance (PSC) at the appropriate level issued by the candidate’s parent National Security Authority (NSA) / Designated Security Authority (DSA) or any other competent security authority. **

** This particular post requires a security clearance at COSMIC TOP SECRET level, issued by the candidate’s parent NSA/DSA or competent security authority. When the selected candidate requires a PSC at a level higher than they currently possess, the appropriate upgrade will be requested from the parent NSA/DSA or competent authority. **

1. SUMMARY 

The Office of the Secretary General (OSG) supports and coordinates the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General’s activities in the performance of their duties, and orchestrates coordinating efforts between the Divisions, Independent Offices and other NATO entities.
The incumbent will carry out the duties of the Principal Assistant, comprising of a wide range of support duties. They will coordinate and supervise the work of three other OSG Assistants and be their back-up during leave/absences. The incumbent will be responsible for ensuring the efficient and smooth operation of the office by coordinating and distributing the work among the assistants of the Chief of Staff (COS) and Director of the OSG, Senior Deputy Director and Deputy directors.
Additionally, the incumbent will act as the Personal Assistant to the COS and Director of the OSG. 
The ability to telework in this post is very limited and the incumbent may be called upon to work outside of normal business hours, including weekends and national holidays.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The incumbent must:

•  have a good general education at least to higher secondary level;
•   have at least five years' experience of senior administrative support duties with a focus on organisation, prioritisation and office/cabinet level administration;
•  have extensive experience of NATO best practices and standards in the field of information and data management, and be familiar with the life-cycle management of documents;
•  be self-confident and demonstrate strong ethics, integrity and confidentiality at all times; and
•  possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; III (“Intermediate”) in the other.

The following would be considered an advantage:

•  experience in protocol duties, especially when organizing events with senior stakeholders;
•  have experience with Information and Technical systems and tools and their application to document processing, in particular experience working with NATO IKM Tools (HYDI, Divisional Team Sites and Committee Portals); and
•  a level higher than III (Intermediate) in the other official language.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES           

Planning and Execution: Assist with the day-to-day administration of the COS’s schedule: arrange meetings, answer enquiries and incoming calls, travel arrangements and mission coordination, etc. Organise own workload to ensure the accurate and timely execution of duties. Monitor the work flow of the OSG, ensuring deadlines are met, for both the SG and the DSG whilst working in close co-ordination with other staff in the OSG. Coordinate and supervise th work of the other OSG Assistants. Ensure that proper financial procedures are followed for budget expenses. Track and prepare financial documents as necessary.

Information Management: Draft and format various documents. In coordination with the OSG Support & Knowledge Management Unit, assist in the screening and distribution of incoming mail to the appropriate Deputy Director, and coordinate timely response and actions. Collect, categorise, and track relevant information required for various tasks and projects. Maintain well-structured paper and electronic filing systems.  

Stakeholder Management: Maintain all lists of internal and external contacts and liaise with them to ensure efficiency in daily management of workload and processes. Serve as first point of contact for requests of various nature directed to the COS. Be prepared to receive and assist visitors of all levels on behalf of the COS. As a representative of the office, you must be well-presentable and exercise discretion at all times.

Expertise Development: Proactively develop skills in areas such as planning and organising, new technology, in particular, languages and effective communication. Liaise with other Assistants across the International Staff (IS), International Military Staff (IMS) and national delegations to leverage knowledge and keep abreast of generic NATO policy issues and corporate knowledge. Find ways to be faster, better and more effective in managing information and using NATO IS IKM and office tools.                                
Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Reporting line: The incumbent reports to the COS, through the Senior Deputy Director.
Interactions: The incumbent maintains a close working relationship with the other assistants throughout the OSG. They deal with senior members of Allied Delegations and Partner Missions, the IS, the IMS, Strategic Commands and international organisations.

Direct reports: 3
Indirect reports: N/a.

5. COMPETENCIES

The incumbent must demonstrate:
•     Clarity and Accuracy: monitors others' work for clarity.
•     Customer Service Orientation: takes personal responsibility for correcting problems.
•     Empathy: reads non-verbal cues and understands meanings.
•     Flexibility: acts with flexibility.
•     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’ duration; possibility of an indefinite duration contract thereafter. 

Contract clause applicable:
In accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations, the successful candidate will receive a definite duration contract of three years, which may be followed by an indefinite duration 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 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:

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When submitting your application, please ensure that your Taleo Candidate Profile is updated and that your CV is correctly uploaded in the Taleo attachments section.

More information about the recruitment process and conditions of employment, can be found at our website (

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 reference documents without proper quotes (plagiarism), or any tools available on internet, including but not limited to translation facilities, or generative artificial-intelligence (AI) 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 tools will be rejected without further consideration, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.

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.

NATO is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible working environment, where all candidates living with disabilities can fully participate in the recruitment and selection process. If you require reasonable accommodation, please inform us during your selection process.

Candidates will be required to provide documented medical evidence to support their request for accommodation.

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.

NATO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. For more info please click here .