Project Manager

Post Context

The mission of the JATEC as one of the strategic pillars of the NATO - Ukraine evolving jointness is to provide for the NATO - Ukraine interoperability, to contribute to the development of NATO and Ukraine's transformation in defence, deterrence, crisis prevention, crisis management and cooperative security, and helping Ukraine achieve membership of NATO. By fostering a Joint civilian-military and Joint NATO - Ukraine approach, the JATEC aims to strengthen the overall defence capabilities and strategic alignment of NATO and Ukraine, ensuring they are better prepared to face current and future challenges.

The Office of the Director Program Implementation (O/DPI) is responsible for implementing approved projects, integrating Capacity Development, Doctrine, interoperability, and Standardization, Analysis and Lessons Learned, Education and Training, Concept Development and Experimentation.

The Project Office (PO) is a specialized structure within Programme Implementation responsible for executing projects. It plays a dual role: it can provide support to other JATEC units during the execution of their projects, offering guidance, resources, and expertise to ensure successful implementation; and at the same time, the PO is fully capable of independently managing and executing projects from start to finish, overseeing all stages of the project lifecycle, including planning, execution, monitoring, and completion, ensuring alignment with JATEC's strategic goals and objectives.

The incumbent is a project manager within the JATEC Project Office, responsible for portfolio management, project reporting, prioritisation, monitoring and review.

Principal Duties:

• Develop and maintain project reporting process for JATEC.
• Incorporate governance's reporting requirements into management reporting processes.
• Ensure quality of reporting is in line with reporting requirements.
• Report portfolio status to boards - timely and accurate information focused on decision-making.
• Develop and maintain a single comprehensive picture of the portfolio (portfolio management dashboard, balanced scorecard).
• Maintain a register for current and potential programmes and projects (may be separate registers, subdividing current from potential activity).
• Establish a framework for assessing and comparing programmes and projects against strategic, financial and risk value parameters.
• Establish and manage a gated review process, including portfolio entry criteria (elements that must be met or commented on prior to an idea being submitted).
• Undertake periodic reviews of progress (outputs/outcomes) against strategy and portfolio plans.
• Identify and report deviations (forecast and actual) - advise and trigger exception reports.
• Provide strategic oversight support for SROs and management boards (horizon scan for impending policy/strategy changes/new business initiatives and assess impact on portfolio).
• Identify over-commitment of resources.
• Monitor risks and issues.
• Monitor dependency log.

Essential Qualifications / Experience:

• University Degree in management information systems, accounting, economics, finance, business administration, public administration, operations research, project management or related discipline and 2 years function related experience, or Higher Secondary education and completed advanced vocational training in that discipline leading to a professional qualification or professional accreditation with 4 years post related experience.
• Two to Four years' experience within programme and project management field (Prince2 and MSP Preferred) in a relevant industry.
• Minimum 2 years' experience planning, organizing, and overseeing all aspects of a project, ensuring it is completed on time, within budget, and according to specifications by effectively managing resources.
• Experience communicating with stakeholders, and mitigating risks throughout the project lifecycle.

Language:

English – SLP 3333 - (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

Desirable Qualifications / Experience:

• Prior experience working in project/programme management at NATO.
• Knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organization, including ACT, ACO and NATO agencies.
• Knowledge and experience from Programme management programmes.
• Experience in government or military research agencies, NATO or national HQs.
• Prior experience of working in a multi-national environment.
• Advanced knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet and graphics presentation software.
• Qualified Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) (AXELOS) or equivalent.
• Qualified PRINCE2 (AXELOS) or equivalent.
• Qualified Management of Risk (MoR) (AXELOS) or equivalent.
• Resource Management Education Programme (RMEP) Course (ETE-FI-2708) provided by NATO - School Oberammergau (NSO).

Attributes/Competencies:

Personal Attributes:

• Work will require high degree of external coordination and collaboration on different projects. Ability to select appropriate course of actions from applicable project methodology, tools and applications. Communicates and presents complex information fluently to a wide range of stakeholders, often at senior level. Good interpersonal and communication skills are required. The ability to adapt to flexible work patterns and to work as part of a team, or teams, will be a routine feature of work. Ability to communicate clearly in writing in order to properly articulate project progress and risks.

Professional Contacts:

• The incumbent will deal with a wide range of internal and external contacts in order to manage JATEC projects. These contacts will primarily be with JATEC and ACT departments and may include staff at all levels within NATO and the Nations including senior decision makers. The incumbent will interact routinely with staff in other sections, branches and divisions within JATEC.

Contribution To Objectives:

• The activity of the Section is central to the core work and objectives of the JATEC. These outcomes will have a major impact on the exercise planning process and execution and influence improvements for operational commanders.

Security Clearance:

The successful applicant will be required to apply for and receive a NATO SECRET Security Clearance prior to final confirmation of contract and commencement of employment.

Contract:

Serving NATO International Civilian staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations. Newly recruited staff will be offered a three year definite duration contract.

Notes for Candidates:

The HQ SACT web site gives full details on the eligibility criteria and application processes to be adopted by all candidates. However, candidates should particularly note:

Please answer each of the pre-screening questions completely in English. Expressions such as: "please see attached CV, please see annex, please see enclosed document, etc" are not acceptable; this is a cause of immediate rejection of the application.

Particular attention should be given to Education and Experience section of your application form, which should be populated with details of your career to date and educational achievements and certifications as they relate to your application.

The candidature of NATO redundant staff at grade G15 will be considered with priority.

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.

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.

This vacancy will close on 14 March @ 17:59 hrs (EDT)/11:59 hrs (CEST).