Officer, Accreditation Support

The Officer, Accreditation Support is responsible for tracking the accreditation backlog and monitoring the status of unaccredited systems across the NATO Enterprise. The role involves contributing to the security accreditation process for traditional and cloud-based CIS solutions, coordinating Security Audits, performing gap analysis, and supporting remediation planning in line with NATO risk management frameworks. The incumbent also provides strategic advisory support to senior stakeholders on cybersecurity posture, accreditation readiness, and risk acceptance.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development of policies, directives, and guidance documents related to enterprise security accreditation.
• Advise the section head on NATO Enterprise security accreditation processes and procedures.
• Support and contribute to policy changes related to CIS security and its management, in coordination with the Security Accreditation Authority (SAA) and the Communication and Information Systems Provider (CISP).
• Assess and verify risks, and develop proposals to strengthen existing CIS security policies related to accreditation at the enterprise level.
• Develop high-level strategic documents and advice to enhance enterprise security accreditation and support interoperability within the Alliance.
• Participate in project management boards as required, contributing to accreditation and cybersecurity risk perspectives.
• Maintain and contribute to enterprise-level cybersecurity programme execution within assigned responsibilities.
• Identify, monitor, and proactively mitigate cybersecurity and accreditation-related risks across programmes; provide expertise and leadership to resolve exceptions and issues.
• Coordinate and lead accreditation and risk management activities, including remediation planning and prioritisation based on business impact, across traditional and cloud-based CIS solutions for classified and unclassified capabilities and services.
• Coordinate and develop mitigation and remediation actions with other members of the Cyber Operations Section to ensure a coherent and consistent approach.
• Establish and maintain a network of key experts across the NATO Enterprise, with a specific focus on enterprise-wide security accreditation.
• Develop close cooperation with the NATO operational community across the lifecycle of enterprise security processes and practices, with emphasis on accreditation management.
• Provide advisory support to senior leadership on enterprise cybersecurity risk posture, accreditation readiness, and accreditation-related decisions.
• Draft background briefs, progress reports, presentations, and other materials for high-level meetings.
• Track accreditation status and support enterprise situational awareness by contributing relevant information to appropriate NATO bodies and boards (e.g., CyOC, CRMG, BCISOAs).
• Provide advice on evolving security programmes across NATO nations, NATO civilian and military bodies, and non-NATO entities.
• Perform any other related duty as assigned.

Requirements

• Possess a university degree relevant to the position.
• At least 5 years of experience in the cyber operations field, including experience in leading remote teams effectively.
• Strong experience in cybersecurity risk assessment, compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST, GDPR), and security accreditation processes for both traditional and cloud-based solutions, including aspects addressed during cybersecurity inspections.
• Experience designing, implementing, and improving cybersecurity governance programmes, including ISMS, audit readiness, and enterprise security controls within traditional and cloud-based CIS capabilities and services.
• Minimum levels in NATO’s official languages (English/French): V (“Advanced”) in one; I (“Beginner”) in the other.
• Professional certifications relevant to the position such as security certifications (CISSP, CCSP, CISM), audit certifications based on international standards (ISO 27001 Lead Auditor), project management and IT service management certifications (PRINCE2, ITIL v4) are considered an advantage.
• Experience providing executive-level reporting and cybersecurity briefings, and coordinating multi-stakeholder environments across large organisations is an advantage.
• Experience developing, executing, coordinating, and improving accreditation processes for a large organisation is an advantage.

Skills

• Cybersecurity risk assessment
• Compliance Frameworks
• ISO 27001
• NIST standards
• GDPR
• Security Accreditation Processes
• Cloud Security Architecture
• Cyber Governance
• Information Security Management System
• Audit Readiness
• Enterprise Security Controls
• CIS Capabilities
• Remote Team Leadership
• Safety Audits
• Gap Analysis
• Remediation Planning
• Financial Risk Frameworks
• Executive Reporting
• Cybersecurity Briefings
• Accreditation Process Management
• CISSP Certification
• CCSP
• CISM Certification
• ISO 27001 Auditor
• Prince2
• ITIL v4 certification

Languages

English, French