JOB DESCRIPTION

1. SUMMARY
The Director General for Management (DGM), on behalf of the Secretary General (SG), oversees the management of NATO Headquarters to ensure the effective functioning of the International Staff (IS) and support to the North Atlantic Council and its subordinate committees. The Director General for Management (DGM) drives operational excellence across all management disciplines to support the Organization’s mission.

The DGM installs a continuous improvement culture and leads the identification and implementation of management reform initiatives on an ongoing basis. The DGM aligns the objectives of enabling and support functions with the priorities of the Secretary General and holds the respective offices under the authority of the Secretary General accountable for performance.

The Budget, Contracts and Change Advisor is a strategic enabler of NATO HQ performance. Anchored in contracts and budget frameworks, the role extends to the design and delivery of cross-cutting strategic projects that improve efficiency, accountability, and organisational resilience. Working in close partnership with the Office of Financial Control (OFC), enabling services, and other senior stakeholders across the International Staff, the Advisor develops frameworks, policies, and roadmaps that improve resource allocation, drive reform, and safeguard NATO HQ’s operational effectiveness.

This position is designed as a platform for growth. Beyond current priorities, the Advisor is expected to identify and lead new strategic initiatives ensuring NATO HQ adapts to evolving challenges and remains fit for the future.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL

The incumbent must:

• possess a university degree from an institute of recognized standing, or an equivalent level of professional qualification;
• have at least five years’ experience in progressively responsible roles related to management, contract management, procurement, budgeting, financial management, strategy development, and/or roadmap delivery in a complex or public sector environment;
• demonstrate experience leading initiatives related to process optimisation, risk mitigation, resource allocation, and strategy design;
• demonstrate ability to conceptualise and deliver initiatives in new areas, and to align short-term reforms with long-term institutional priorities;
• possess strong interpersonal and influencing skills to partner with diverse stakeholders across the organisation;
• demonstrate strategic thinking, analytical skills, and the ability to translate complex requirements into actionable frameworks and policies;
• possess experience working in a reform or transformation environment, ideally within an international organisation.
• possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; III (“Intermediate”) in the other.

DESIRABLE

The following would be considered an advantage:

• Professional qualification in contract management, procurement, or change management
• Familiarity with public sector budgeting frameworks or procurement strategies in an international context.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Planning and Execution
Shape and implement management approaches across NATO HQ, spanning contracts, budgets, and strategic projects. Align organisational needs with strategic objectives, and proactively deliver improvements in efficiency, accountability, and service delivery. Develop and deliver multi-year strategic roadmaps that translate NATO’s priorities into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.

Project Management
Spearhead cross-cutting initiatives that advance NATO HQ’s efficiency agenda, including projects in financial governance, organisational resilience, and digital transformation. Provide structure, governance, and delivery oversight for evolving priorities. Proactively identify, shape, and lead new strategic initiatives as NATO HQ priorities evolve. Serve as a driver of innovation and organisational transformation, ensuring the role adapts to changing institutional needs. Drive and execute cross-divisional projects to implement new contract governance models, guidelines, or policy updates. Coordinate with OFC, enabling services, and programme owners to embed fit-for-purpose change. Ensure progress tracking and delivery against clearly defined milestones.

Expertise Development
Act as a strategic advisor on contracts, budget, and management performance. Integrate insights from audits, reviews, and industry best practices into actionable recommendations that future-proof NATO HQ’s frameworks.

Stakeholder Management
Build coalitions for change across NATO HQ. Partner with divisions and independent offices to align management practices with business needs. Advise senior leaders on the strategic implications of contract, budget, and project decisions. Work with IMS, Agencies and other NATO bodies where appropriate.

Knowledge Management
Develop policies, tools, and training that strengthen management practices across contracts, budgets, and projects.

Policy Development
Promote transparency, compliance, and consistency through clear frameworks and guidance.

Organisational Efficiencies
Support DGM’s reform objectives by advising on outsourcing, resource allocation, and cross-cutting initiatives that enhance value-for-money and operational coherence.

Information Management
Ensure the proper application of NATO procedures and processes. Facilitate and enable inter- and intra- divisional information and data sharing. Identify relevant topics and implement standard methods and regular maintenance to ensure accurate and accessible information.

Perform any other related duty as assigned.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS
The incumbent reports to the Deputy Director General for Management and works closely with directors and managers from independent offices and divisions within the IS, but also with other stakeholders from NATO bodies where appropriate.

Direct reports: N/a
Indirect reports: N/a.

5. COMPETENCIES
The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Achievement: Creates own measures of excellence and improves performance;
• Analytical Thinking: Sees multiple relationships;
• Clarity and Accuracy: Monitors others’ work for clarity;
• Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts ;
• Customer Service Orientation: Makes things better for the customer, addressing underlying customer needs;
• Impact and Influence: Uses indirect influence ;
• Initiative: Is decisive in time-sensitive situations;
• Teamwork: Solicits input and encourages others.

6. CONTRACT

Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years; possibility of renewal for up to three years, during which the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite duration contract.

Contract clause applicable:

In accordance with the contract policy, this is a post in which turnover is desirable for political reasons in order to be able to accommodate the Organisation’s need to carry out its tasks as mandated by the Nations in a changing environment, for example by maintaining the flexibility necessary to shape the Organisation’s skills profile, and to ensure appropriate international diversity.

The maximum period of service foreseen in this post is 6 years. The successful applicant will be offered a 3-year definite duration contract, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years. However, according to the procedure described in the contract policy the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite contract during the period of renewal and no later than one year before the end of 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 also 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 Régulations.

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 ();

 

For all other applications: www.nato.int/recruitment

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More information about the recruitment process and conditions of employment, can be found at our website (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/recruit-hq-e.htm)

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 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.

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.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements