Head of Press

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Brussel Hoofdstad; Sur place; EUR 90 000 - 130 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

NATO is seeking a Head of Press within the Office of Strategic Communications (OSC) to guide media strategy, oversee the press office, and coordinate messaging for the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General. The role involves handling journalists’ inquiries, coordinating media engagements, and managing a team of press staff.

Travel may be required; occasional work beyond standard hours is possible. The ideal candidate will have a university degree, 7+ years in media/communications, and

Qualifications

• University degree in a relevant field.
• At least 7 years’ experience in a media / communications environment.
• Experience in managing or leading teams.
• Excellent drafting, editing and communications skills and political judgement.
• NATO official languages: English and French with Proficiency/Beginner levels.

Responsabilités

• Ensure timeliness, quality, consistency and newsworthiness of media products; handle media queries and press issues.
• Draft and review press materials, transcripts, and statements for senior NATO leadership.
• Represent the OSC Press and Media Section in internal/external meetings and assist with press conferences and media engagements.
• Provide mentoring and direction to staff; manage the section’s budget in line with NATO regulations.

Connaissances

Team leadership

Media relations

Excellent drafting

Political judgement

English/French proficiency

Formation

University degree

Description du poste

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Job Description - Head of Press (261336)

Head of Press - 261336

NATO Body

NATO International Staff (NATO IS)

Salary (Pay Basis)

Grade NATO Grade G20

Schedule

Full-time

Application Deadline

13-Sep-2026, 9:59:00 PM

1. SUMMARY

The Office of Strategic Communications (OSC) provides communications direction and guidance to stakeholders across the NATO enterprise and coordinates strategic communications activities across all NATO civilian and military bodies. The Office carries out full-spectrum communications, analysing the information environment, designing and creating content, managing communications technology and platforms, overseeing media relations, and engaging audiences through a wide range of channels.

Within the Press and Media Section in the OSC, the post holder manages the work of the Press Office. The Head of Press supports the OSC leadership, by overseeing the drafting of media products for the NATO Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General, handling journalists’ queries, and supporting the organisation of media engagements together with the Head of Media Operations and Monitoring.

The post holder may be required to travel occasionally and work beyond standard office hours.

2. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• have a university degree in a relevant field;
• have at least 7 years’ experience in a media / communications environment;
• have experience in managing or leading teams;
• have excellent drafting, editing and communications skills and political judgement;
• have the following minimum levels of NATO’s official languages (English/French): VI ("Proficiency") in one; I ("Beginner") in the other.

The following would be considered an advantage:

• familiarity with the international press corps;
• familiarity with or experience in international organisations and/or the security and defence sector.

3. MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

Expertise Development.

Ensure the timeliness, quality, consistency and newsworthiness of media products. Deal with media queries, corrections and rebuttals in a proactive and accurate way within the news cycle. Keep up-to-date with NATO’s political agenda and help to craft key messages for the media. Ensure timely and accurate transcripts of media engagements by the Secretary General and other NATO officials. Brief on media issues and travel with the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and the North Atlantic Council, as required.

Knowledge Management.

Draft and review press conferences and statements for the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and the Spokesperson demonstrating sound political judgement, organisational awareness and newsworthiness. Write and review products and updates for the NATO website and relevant social media channels. Support the delivery of the OSC’s communications strategy and plans.

Representation of the Organisation

Brief journalists, visitor groups and other audiences on NATO's policies, responsibilities and activities. Represent the Press and Media Section in internal and external meetings. Support the organisation of press conferences, briefings, press tours and media interviews together with the Head of Media Operations and Monitoring.

People Management.

Ensure that all staff under their responsibility are clear on organisational and OSC objectives. Create a motivating and effective workplace. Provide mentoring, coaching and training opportunities, and direct the work of the team. Provide regular and fair feedback on performance.

Financial Management:

Oversee the management of the section’s budget in compliance with NATO’s financial regulations and procedures.

Perform any other related duty as required.

4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS

• Reporting Line: The Head of Press reports to the Deputy Director, OSC.
• Interactions: The post holder works closely with the leadership and team members across the OSC, other IS and IMS Divisions/Offices, the military chain of command, members of national delegations, other NATO entities, service providers, and representatives from the media.
• Direct reports: 12
• Indirect reports: N/a

5. COMPETENCIES

• Achievement: Creates own measures of excellence and improves performance;
• Change Leadership: Personally leads change;
• Clarity and Accuracy: Monitors data or projects;
• Conceptual Thinking: Applies learned concepts;
• Flexibility: Adapts own strategy;
• Impact and Influence: Takes multiple actions to persuade;
• Initiative: Plans and acts up to a year ahead;
• Leadership: Promotes team effectiveness;
• Organisational Awareness: Understands organisational climate and culture;
• Self-Control: Responds calmly.

6. CONTRACT

Contract to be offered to the successful applicant (if non-seconded): Definite duration contract of three years; possibility of renewal for up to three years, during which the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite duration contract.

Contract clause applicable:

In accordance with the contract policy, this is a post in which turnover is desirable for political reasons in order to be able to accommodate the Organisation's need to carry out its tasks as mandated by the Nations in a changing environment, for example by maintaining the flexibility necessary to shape the Organisation's skills profile, and to ensure appropriate international diversity.

The maximum period of service foreseen in this post is 6 years. The successful applicant will be offered a 3-year definite duration contract, which may be renewed for a further period of up to 3 years. However, according to the procedure described in the contract policy the incumbent may apply for conversion to an indefinite contract during the period of renewal and no later than one year before the end of contract.

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 also to the agreement of the national authority concerned. The maximum period of service in the post as a seconded staff member is six years.

Serving staff will be offered a contract in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Régulations.

7. USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING APPLICATION AND RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries.

8. 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 welcomes applications of nationals from all member Nations, and strongly encourages women to apply.

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.

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

Applicants who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment to another post of a similar nature, albeit at the same or a lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.

The nature of this position may require the staff member at times to be called upon to travel for work and/or to work outside normal office hours.

The organization offers several work-life policies including Teleworking and Flexible Working arrangements (Flexitime) subject to business requirements.

Please note that the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium is a non-smoking environment.

For information about the NATO Single Salary Scale (Grading, Allowances, etc.) please visit our website. Detailed data is available under the Salary and Benefits tab.

NATO does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process.

Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate), approval of the candidate’s medical file by the NATO Medical Adviser, verification of your studies and work experience, and the successful completion of the accreditation and notification process by the relevant authorities.

NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared, in whole or in part, by means of reference documents without proper quotes (plagiarism), or any tools available on internet, including but not limited to translation facilities, or generative artificial-intelligence (AI) 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 tools will be rejected without further consideration, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.