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Senior Special Advisor for International Affairs at SHAPE, overseeing strategic political‑military advice in Southern Europe, Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Lead advisory role to SHAPE leaders, with deployment up to 180 days, responsible for policy development, air/missile defence and partnership coordination.
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) delivers a unified strategic framework that supports NATO’s full spectrum of activities — from routine operations to the highest levels of military effort. SHAPE enables the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to carry out his responsibilities as directed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC).
The Command Group (CG) provides strategic ‑ level command and control to support SACEUR’s decision ‑ making and leadership.
Within the Command Group, the Office of the Strategic and International Affairs Advisor (OSIA) directly supports SACEUR, DSACEUR, COS and VCOS. It provides senior leaders across Allied Command Operations — including deployed NATO commanders — with integrated strategic advice, policy insight, and international affairs expertise related to operations, transformation, defence planning, and partnerships.
Principal Duties
- Strategic Political ‑ Military Advice — Provide guidance on NATO political ‑ military issues, especially concerning Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea.
- Regional Expertise — Serve as lead advisor on security, policy, and operational matters in the East/South Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Black Sea region.
- Policy Development Support — Contribute to major NATO policy and planning initiatives, shaping Command decisions with expert political ‑ military insight.
- Integrated Air & Missile Defence Advice — Provide political ‑ military guidance related to NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence.
- Maritime Policy Expertise — Advise on maritime security issues, policies, and initiatives relevant to NATO operations.
- Strategic Environment Analysis — Assess European and global political ‑ military developments and identify implications for ACO and ongoing NATO operations.
- Partnership & Regional Engagement — Serve as principal advisor on NATO’s relationships with MD, ICI, AU, and other global partners; coordinate directly with regional General Staffs.
- High ‑ Level Coordination & Representation — Represent OSIA in engagements with NATO HQ, national missions, governments, and subordinate commands to harmonize strategic military advice.
- Operational & Crisis Support — Support ACO political ‑ military engagement, lead negotiations when required, contribute to crisis management, and develop strategic assessments and recommended courses of action.
- Strategic Communication & Diplomacy — Draft high level briefs, maintain diplomatic and military networks, and support senior level visits and outreach across NATO and partner nations.
Special Requirements and Additional Duties
The incumbent may be required to undertake deployments in support of military operations and exercises, and/or TDY assignments, both within and without NATO boundaries up to 180 days. The employee may be required to perform a similar range of duties elsewhere within the organization at the same grade without there being any change to the contract.
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.
Essential Qualifications
a. Professional/Experience
1. Advanced political‑military and international affairs expertise: Experience analyzing complex geopolitical environments, advising senior leaders, and developing policy in areas such as defense, diplomacy, security studies, or international cooperation.
2. High‑level policy development and strategic planning experience: Demonstrated ability to shape policy, produce strategic assessments, and support decision‑making at senior government, intergovernmental, or organizational levels.
3. Diplomatic engagement and stakeholder coordination: Experience representing an organization in international or intergovernmental settings, negotiating, and maintaining relationships with governments, international organizations, or regional partners.
b. Education/Training
University Degree in political science, public administration, international relations or related discipline and 6 years post related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 6 years post related and 2 years function 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
Good working knowledge of English SLP (3333)
Desirable Qualifications
a. Professional Experience
1. Previous experience working in a military environment.
Attributes/Competencies
a. Personal Attributes
o Strategic judgment — Able to analyse complex political and security issues and provide clear, high ‑ level advice to senior leaders.
o Diplomacy & tact — Comfortable engaging with senior officials in multinational political and military environments.
o Strong communication — Excellent written and oral communication skills; able to brief clearly and persuasively.
o Critical thinking — Skilled at problem analysis, identifying implications, and shaping strategic options.
o Resilience & flexibility — Able to work under pressure, respond quickly to emerging issues, and operate in demanding or remote environments when required.
b. Professional Contacts
o High ‑ level representation — Represents senior leadership in meetings with government officials, military leaders, and international organisations.
o Interagency coordination — Maintains working relationships with national missions, military delegations, international staffs, and policy bodies.
o External engagement — Interfaces with academic institutions, think tanks, and expert communities relevant to international security.
c. Contribution to Objectives
o Influential strategic advice — Provides assessments and recommendations that directly shape senior ‑ level decisions on political ‑ military issues.
o Policy alignment — Ensures political considerations are integrated into military planning and operational objectives.
o Support to senior leadership.
Remarks:
Duration of contract: Serving staff members will be offered a contract according to the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPR). Newly recruited staff will be offered a definite duration contract of three years normally followed by an indefinite duration contract.
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.
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.
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.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A NATO CIVILIAN POST AT SHAPE:
Applications are to be submitted using NATO Talent Acquisition Platform (NTAP) ( https://nato.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobsearch.ftl?lang-en ). 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.