2025-0232 System Support for NATO Core GIS (NS) NETHERLANDS - 5 Aug

Please do NOT apply for any NATO contract positions unless you meet ALL the following criteria:

Any applications that do NOT meet all the above - and do not CLEARLY show these on the CV - will be deleted.

Introduction:

• The JISR Centre's Vision is to assure information superiority for NATO. Our Mission is to deliver, support and protect valued Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, expertise and services, to maximise operational effectiveness for NATO.
• The GeoMetOc Services Branch within the JISR Centre is responsible for the full lifecycle support of the NATO Core GIS Application Service, which provides customers with a suite of data, services and products that ensure all phases of military operations are conducted on the same spatial reference.
• The NATO Information and Communication Agency (NCI Agency) located at The Hague, Netherlands, is currently providing GIS Services to the NATO community. These services are delivered via Core GIS Application Service, which is based on Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) software that uses the Esri ArcGIS software product suite in a NATO-specific configuration in the light of these activities, the JISR Centre is looking for an experienced system administrator and support engineer.

Objectives:
The GeoMetOc branch requires the support of a multi-disciplinary team (follow on mentioned as Contractor) to execute a set of tasks that allows the upgrade of the current Core GIS system used in support of NATO operations. These tasks will come in a set of deliverables that the contractor shall provide.
Under the direction of the Core GIS Senior Service Delivery Manager, the contractor will require to perform the following tasks:
2nd and 3rd level support for Core GIS:

• Performs daily Operation and Maintenance (O&M) activities for NATO Core GIS;
• Acts as a technical expert and takes responsibility to monitor the enterprise incident management system, manage incident resolution, diagnose faults, determine root causes, and provide technical expertise to resolve incidents and their causes.
• Supports problem management in order to identify and resolve the underlying root causes for incidents related to NATO Core GIS, and supports other GIS engineers in the development of solutions in response to problems;
• Daily use of the ITSM Incident management tool to properly identify and solve incidents, service and change requests and problem management.
• Assists in the roll-out of system changes in the current Core GIS software baseline;

Operation and Maintenance of Core GIS:

• As an IT administrator, operates and maintains the Core GIS Reference System, Staging Environment, and Support domains for NATO Core GIS;
• Supports the development and systematic testing of new Core GIS baselines;
• Keeps Core GIS instances up to date and in line with the latest approved Core GIS baselines;
• Installation and configuration of new Core GIS instances where required;
• Manages the testbed equipment (hardware and software);
• Assists all Core GIS engineers in technical operations and ensures optimal utilization of the Core GIS instances;
• Automates recurrent processes in the maintenance and operation of the instances.
• Installation, configuration and deployment of the Core GIS instances for trainings conducted at NCI Academy.

Scope of Work:

• Scope of this project is to provide services in the area of NATO Core GIS System Support and development of GIS training packages.
• The Contractor will be part of a team under the supervision of the NCIA Senior Service Delivery Manager (SDM) and will provide services using an agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints.
• The services shall be carried out in sprints, where each sprint is always set for a duration of one week, and the work to be executed can be translated into multiple sprints.
• The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the SDM and technical staff during the sprint-planning meeting, in writing.
• The services shall be provided in close collaboration between the Contractor and NCI Agency Core GIS SDM as described in table below:
• NCI Agency JISRC/GeoMetOc/Core GIS Senior Service Delivery Manager: Project lead and main stakeholder
• Contractor: To provide services and deliverables as identified above
• Close coordination of all activities with the NCI Agency Core GIS Service Delivery Manager (SDM) as well as strict adherence to agreed timelines is mandatory.

Practical Arrangements:
The following arrangements will be required:

• NCIA will provide access to relevant networks and resources as required by the project.
• NCIA will take the required procedures to create accounts that will allow contractors to access the NATO/NS/MS network environments.
• Services are to be provided during NCIA Recognised Business hours/Holidays:  NCIA-The Hague official holiday schedule applies and will be provided to the contractor.
• NCIA Hours of Operations: Monday to Friday 0830 - 1700 (CET)
• Contractor Furnished Services: Contractor shall furnish everything required to perform the contract except for the items specified and covered under NCIA Furnished Property and Services below.
• NCIA Furnished Property and Services: Access to relevant networks can be provided by NCIA as agreed in sprint meetings. To be provided by NCIA, a NATO Restricted (NR) Automated Information System (REACH-Laptop) to the Contractor to assure secure normal project communication exchange and reporting.

Security:
Under the NATO Physical, Personnel and Industrial Security Directives, Contractor's personnel visiting or working, unescorted, and have access to classified information NC and above, at NCI Agency/NATO premises, in connection with this Contract shall hold a NATO SECRET security clearance valid for the duration of the Contract. For this reason, the Contractor shall have the appropriate facility Security Clearance (FSC) and obtain the necessary Personnel Security clearances (PSC). This requirement applies to all subcontracts issued by the Contractor for the effort under this prime Contract.
 
Qualification:
The consultancy support for this work requires that for each of the presented profiles all qualifications are to be met by the contractor.

• MSc degree at a nationally recognised/certified in a GIS, IT, Computer or Software related discipline and a minimum of 6 years post-related experience.
• Or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate's particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to NCI Agency, that is, at least 10 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post;
• Professional experience with direct customer contact and the direct interaction with customers, preferably in a support environment.
• Strong knowledge of ArcGIS software including installation, configuration, optimization and creation of all currently available service types;
• Strong experience with implementation of ArcGIS Enterprise GIS solutions;
• Expertise in MS SQL Server (or other RDBMS) and geodatabases;
• Proficiency with Python, ArcPy, Powershell or other scripting tools;
• Proven experience in the operation & maintenance of a GIS Enterprise solutions based on ArcGIS 10.8.1 or higher, in the areas of troubleshooting of errors and problems, implementation, and documentation of solutions;
• Detailed technical knowledge in the installation, configuration, and maintenance of all Esri products (server and client side) that are required in the NATO enterprise GIS environment;
• Expertise in IT infrastructure and platform services (such as databases, virtualization platforms, network components) to the extent as it is required for the operation, maintenance and diagnosis of an enterprise GIS;
• Very good overview of the current ArcGIS software suite desktop/server/web components.
• Expertise in developing GIS System training materials.
• Prior experience of working in an international environment comprising both military and civilian elements;
• Proven ability to integrate and work in a multinational team;
• Fluent business English;