Head of Marketing and Communications

ROLE REQUIREMENTS, QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

ESSENTIAL

The incumbent must have:

• A Master’s degree at a nationally recognised University in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, International Relations or a related discipline and 5 years post-related experience OR a Bachelor’s degree with 8 years post related experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of work experience in senior roles with a combination of marketing and communications.
• Demonstrated knowledge of defence and military innovation.
• Demonstrated experience leading a communications, marketing, public affairs, or stakeholder engagement function, including the leadership and development of multidisciplinary teams and the management of external suppliers or agencies, within a complex, fast-paced, high-profile, or multinational environment.
• Proven experience developing and executing integrated marketing and communications strategies for diverse audiences.
• Strong media relations and issues management experience, including the ability to advise senior leaders on reputational risk and public messaging.
• Experience overseeing digital channels, social media, websites, campaign content, multimedia products and/or brand assets;
• Experience using measurement, analytics or audience insights to assess communications impact and inform future activity;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing and reviewing strategic communications, speeches, presentations, and materials for senior leadership and external stakeholders.
• Possess the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; and I (“Beginner”) in the other. NOTE: Most of DIANA’s internal work is conducted in the English language.

DESIRABLE

The following would be considered an advantage:

• Experience communicating innovation, emerging and disruptive technologies, dual-use technology, start-up ecosystems or defence technology;
• Experience working within an international organisation, multinational environment, national government, defence department, military organisation, or similarly complex stakeholder environment.
• Knowledge of NATO institutional framework, policies and procedures.

COMPETENCIES

The incumbent must demonstrate:

• Organizational and Environmental Awareness: Understands the wider mission and considers the impact of their actions on others.
• Initiative & Responsibility: Takes ownership and accountability.
• Adaptability & Flexibility: Embraces change, adjusts priorities as needed, and continues to deliver results in evolving environments.
• Impact & Influence: Builds trust and buy in through confident and persuasive communication.
• Stakeholder Management: Builds strategic relationships and drives collaborative outcomes.
• Leading & Developing Other: Leads and develops others through coaching, empowerment, and feedback.
• Self-awareness and a Learning Mindset: Seeks opportunities to learn, reflects on experience, and applies learning to improve outcomes.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Genuinely meaningful work as part of the newest unit within the most successful alliance in history.
• Tax-free salary.
• Household and children’s allowances and privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and educational allowances (where applicable) and additional home leave.
• Excellent private health insurance scheme.
• NATO pension scheme.
• Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays.
• Flexible working conditions and a smoke-free office in London.
• Opportunities for learning and development.

CONTRACT

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 extension.

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.

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 the e-recruitment system, and any documents sent through other formats will not be reviewed (including email, social network, etc).

Before you apply to any position, we encourage you to click here and review how to apply.

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

After review of your online application, successful candidates will be invited to a pre-recorded video interview. Shortlisted candidates from that will then be invited to the final assessments, which include: a language proficiency test, a job-related written test, and a panel interview.

Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate) and approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser.

NOTE: DIANA 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, Copilot, Claude, etc.), or other language generating tools. DIANA 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 will be rejected without further consideration at DIANA’s sole discretion, and DIANA reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.

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 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 along with documented medical evidence to support your request.

All NATO DIANA personnel are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the current NATO Code of Conduct as agreed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and thus display the core values of integrity, impartiality, loyalty, accountability, and professionalism.

The incumbent is required to be a resident in the host nation for the duration of their contract. DIANA has a flexible teleworking policy to permit working in office, at home, and across NATO Allied Nations subject to managerial approval.

For more information on DIANA, please visit our website.