NATO Internship - NATO Office of Resources (NOR)

Internship Call - NOR - Vacancy Notice 

The NATO Office of Resources (NOR) provides independent and integrated expert advice to the Secretary General, NATO Resource Committees, Allies, and other stakeholders on the planning, allocation and utilisation of NATO common funding to provide major capabilities, enabling deterrence, defence and interoperability, and supporting consultation and decision-making at the highest levels.

NOR advice is based on sound judgement underpinned by facts, figures expertise and knowledge.  It follows NATO policies, procedures and standards, and is independent of external stakeholder’s viewpoints. It supports efficient and effective use of public funds by assessing the policy compliance, eligibility, affordability, technical viability, and lifecycle implications of military requirements and proposed solutions.

The NATO Office of Resources comprises the Office of the Director and Front Office, the Resource Committees’ Secretariat, the Systems Support and Digital Transformation (SS&DT) Section, and five branches: Plans and Policy (PP), Resource and Portfolio Management (RPM), Operations and Strategic Capabilities (OSC), CIS and Cyber Capabilities (CCC) and Multi-Domain Capabilities (MDC).

The NOR is currently offering a 6-month traineeship in the following branches and Section: 

The Policy and Plans (PP) Branch is responsible for the initiation and development of common funding resource strategies and policies and for developing mid- to long-term planning documents such as the multi-annual Common Funded Resource Plans.  The Branch also provides expert support on NATO-wide issues relating to resource policy and planning.

The Operations and Strategic Capabilities (OSC) Branch advises on the efficient and effective use of NATO common funding by assessing policy compliance, eligibility, affordability, technical viability, and lifecycle implications of proposed solutions for common funded capability programmes and projects that fulfil military requirements in the areas of static command facilities, logistics, and maritime, land and air operations, and Alliance Operations and Missions.

The CIS and Cyber Capabilities (CCC) Branch covers various domains of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) including security, cyber-defence and service management and control aspects.  The work of the Branch is focused on implementation, operation, administration, and maintenance of modern digital Communication and Information Systems (CIS), including CIS security and Cyber aspects, as well as on ICT service provisioning in support of the NATO Command Structure in both static and deployed environments.

The SSDT Section oversees and manages the full lifecycle of the Common Funded Resource Information Systems (CIRIS) required to fulfill the NOR mission. This encompasses the implementation and maintenance of CIRIS as well as the integration of the digital services and models offered in the context of the digital transformation of NATO. This Section provides functional and technical support to the user community, leads the design and development of CIRIS through project management, functional, data analysis and change management processes.  The Section also delivers learning opportunities to stakeholders and ensures quality, security and accessibility of data to the Common Funded stakeholders.  In addition to the required competencies listed below, the candidate must be systems-oriented and customer-centric.

How the daily work will look like?

The NOR team will foster and hone the skills of our Interns and offer opportunities to acquire new skills through daily engagement with our experts and stakeholders as we work together on NOR projects.  As NATO has entered a new era of collective defence, the role of common funding has also been modernised to keep up with the Alliance’s evolving political-military objectives and needs. At the 2021 Brussels and 2022 Madrid Summits, NATO Leaders took historical decisions to adjust and broaden the use of common funding, and subsequently, to increase it starting in 2023 through 2030.  These decisions have re-framed and re-energised the importance of common funding at NATO.  Common funding is an important element of burden-sharing, demonstrating the effective sharing of responsibilities, risks and benefits among Allies. In a unique, dynamic and multicultural environment, our interns will gain an in-depth knowledge of NATO common funding and see how decision-making by consensus really works through their interactions with Resource Committees. 

What do we offer?

• A 6-month traineeship at NATO Headquarters, in Brussels, starting in March / September 2027. 
• A full-time traineeship (38 hours a week).
• A monthly grant of 1,334.96 € and a travel reimbursement upon joining and leaving the organisation.
• Teleworking subject to business requirements.
• A rich programme of activities, attending regular events and participating in meetings with several stakeholders.
• NATO HQ Staff Centre which promotes employee well-being and foster a healthy work environment (click here for more info, special membership price for NATO interns)

Selection Criteria

Please note that you can apply for up to three (3) different vacancies!

Apply until 30/04/2026 [23.59, Brussels time]

Essential:

The candidate must:

1.     be a national of a NATO member state,

2.     be at least 21 years old,

3.     have at least two years of university level studies OR equivalent education OR be currently a student OR a recent graduate (degree obtained no longer than 12 months ago),

4.     have proficiency in one of the two official NATO languages (English/French).

Desirable:

The following criteria will be considered an advantage:

1.     have a Bachelor's degree or in the final stage of a Master’s degree relevant to the requested area of expertise,

2.     elementary knowledge of the second official NATO language (English/French),

3.     be an advance user of IT tools including Microsoft Office, SharePoint;

4.     previous experience with other international organizations, national administration, research or industry.

Competencies required:

The candidate must demonstrate the following competencies:

·       Achievement: Works to meet standards.

·       Analytical thinking: Breaks down problems and see basic relationships.

·       Clarity and accuracy: Shows general concern for order and clarity, and checks own work.

·       Customer service orientation: Responds appropriately, maintains clear communication.

·       Empathy: Listens actively.

·       Flexibility: Acts with flexibility.

·       Initiative: Reacts to short-term opportunities or problems.

·       Organizational awareness: Understands the Organization’s structure.

·       Teamwork: Cooperates, shares information and knowledge freely, offering support and cooperation.

Our Values:

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 (please click here for more information).

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.

Special Notice:

In order for the Internship Office to assess your eligibility for the Internship Programme, please attach the following documents:

1.     Copy of university qualifications you have completed and/or

2.     Proof of ongoing studies with the dates clearly mentioned if you are still studying.

We prefer that these documents are in one of the NATO official language (English or French). If you don’t have these documents in English or French, please attach a self translation.

Please ensure that all information is complete and accurate before submitting your application.

Please note that the application cannot be updated after the relevant deadline. 

The pool of candidates will be available to all NATO IS / IMS Divisions, Offices and NATO Bodies in case there is a need for a similar profile.

Due to the broad interest in NATO and the large number of potential candidates, telephone or e-mail enquiries cannot be dealt with.

Read more about the Internship Programme, including terms and conditions, and what we offer at our website.

Kindly note that 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.