Deputy Director and Chief of Staff

Role summary

Deputy Director and Chief of Staff is a role at NATO in Paris, Ile-de-France, France (on-site). Posted 2026-10-18. Salary: EUR 12,555 per month. Experience level: 10+.

Job title

Deputy Director and Chief of Staff

Company

NATO

Location

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Work arrangement

on-site

Category

Software Engineering

Salary

EUR 12,555 per month

Experience level

10+

Date posted

2026-10-18

Job description

You are an ambitious person looking for a challenging but also rewarding job in a meaningful environment. Why not joining NATO and its Collaboration Support Office? We offer a thrilling perspective in a unique setting and location. Let's together turn your dreams into reality when onboarding our multinational team in a leadership position.

1. POST CONTEXT AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO) is a NATO subsidiary body to the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and is governed by the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB). The STB reports to the NAC through the Military Committee (MC) and the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD).

The mission of the STO is to help position the Nations and NATO Bodies’ S&T investments as a strategic enabler of the knowledge and technical advantage supporting the defence and security posture of Allies and partner Nations. As described in the STO Charter, the STO Collaboration Support Office (CSO) is one of the three Executive Bodies of the STO.

Within the framework of the STO Collaborative business model, the CSO provides executive and administrative support to the S&T activities conducted through the nine STO Scientific and Technical Committees (STCs). The CSO facilitates the world’s largest and most vibrant scientific network for defence and security. More than 6 000 scientists and engineers from NATO and Partner Nations are engaged in approximately 460 carefully selected S&T Activities in the Collaborative Programme of Work (CPoW). Together, they work to solve real-world problems that Nations face today, and to better prepare their Armed Forces to meet future challenges. In its areas of expertise, the CSO provides assistance and support to the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB), its Chair, the Chief Scientist, and his/her office.

CSO is currently and for the coming years facing a very exciting and challenging period with the implementation of a new ambition decided by NATO Nations and reflected in a 2030 vision and strategy.

The Science & Technology Organization (STO) Collaboration Support Office (CSO) is looking for its Deputy Director and Chief of Staff. The Deputy Director is second in authority in the Office; the post holder is also Chief of Staff. He has a pivotal role in the CSO, internally and externally oriented, advising the Director on strategic managerial issues, coordinating with the STO/OCS and key partners for strategic direction, policy and planning, while providing the CSO Offices and Branches with guidance to execute the missions/tasks given to the CSO and to meet the objectives given by the Director. The Deputy Director also brings continuity in the CSO leadership. The function Chief of Staff is supported by the COS Office made up of four people (COS, Policy & Outreach Officer, Staff Officer Plans & Coordination, Assistant COS Office). The Deputy Director is the Security Officer and the Information Management Senior Official of the Office.

This position is likely to evolve in the mid-term with a split of the functions Deputy Director and Chief of Staff. In that case, the incumbent will remain Deputy Director and CSO will recruit a separate Chief of Staff. Consequently, the functions attached to the COS as described below will move totally or only partly from D-Dir and COS to COS and the Deputy Director will be in charge of additional strategic missions on the request of the director.

Functions include:

As Deputy Director, he/she:

· R epresents the Director when and where needed;

Organizes, contributes to, and supervises the coordination with the OCS to provide assistance and support to the STB, the Chief Scientist, his/her staff, as well as to address strategic direction, policy and planning issues;

Orients and supervises the coordination with the primary stakeholders (the OCS, the CMRE, ACT) to prepare and execute the main STO events (e.g., the STB meetings, P&PW and the annual ACT coordination meeting);

Organizes, contributes to, and supervises the coordination with partners (such as ACT, the STO/CMRE, the Centers of Excellence, etc.) for strategic direction, policy, and planning of activities of common interest;

Represents the STO, the CSO or the Director, as requested, in seminars, meetings, conferences, or any other S&T event of interest, within the overall STO Outreach framework;

Attends Scientific and Technical Committees Plenary Meetings on behalf of the CSO Director;

Liaises with the CSO Host Nation civil and military authorities to obtain the appropriate support needed from the Host Nation, including the security coordination and support;

Facilitates the cooperation with the French S&T, industry and military organizations to strengthen their involvement into the STO activities;

As Security Officer, and in relation with the host nation authorities and the NATO Office of Security, the incumbent is responsible for the security of the personnel and of the premises.

As Chief of Staff, he/she:

· Oversees and coordinates the work of all branches and office. This includes also workload management, supervision of training and education program, supervision of the facility management plan process, the risk management and business continuity program and the health and safety function

· Supervises the internal administrative management of the CSO and ensures the global coherence of the actions taken by the different Offices and Branches;

· Provides the Operations & Coordination Office (OCO) with policy guidance and prioritization to manage the support dedicated to the CPoW activities and other S&T activities supported by the CSO; in particular he/she proceeds to the signature of contracts related to the Collaborative Program of Work (CPoW) with the Director’s permanent delegated signature authority;

· Oversees the effective and efficient preparation and execution of the CSO budget and the procurement processes;

· Oversees the preparation a