Deadline Date:
Monday 13 October 2025
Requirement:
Release and Deployment Manager
Location:
Mons, BELGIUM
Full Time On-Site:
Yes
Time On-Site:
100%
Not to Exceed:
2025 BASE NTE: 5 weeks (3,285 EUR * 5) = 16,425 EUR
2026, 2027, 2028 options
Period of Performance:
BASE period: 17 November 2025
Required Security Clearance:
NATO SECRET
Please do NOT
apply for any NATO contract positions unless you meet ALL the following criteria:
- Current National or NATO SECRET clearance
- Nationality of one of the NATO member countries
- Current work visa for the specific location if applying for an in-country position
Any applications that do NOT meet all the above - and do not CLEARLY show these on the CV - will be deleted.
Introduction:
This effort will take place within the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency), an organization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NCI Agency - PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud Project:
The PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud project is organized under the NCI Agency Cloud Portfolio. The project aims to transition roughly 15.000 staff within the NATO Enterprise form the on-premises Public Access Network (PAN) to the NATO Public Cloud (NPCL). At the time of this engagement, the first major site (Norfolk VA, USA) will have transitioned and the project will continue to transition an additional 18 sites across various locations in the alliance.
Migration Support:
One of the core objectives of the project is to ensure new and updated software products are approved for use inside NCIA owned networks through the NCIA Release and Deployment process. (upgrade)
Under the direction of the NCIA Service Management Change Control Authority (SMC CCA) the Consultant Release and Deployment manager will focus on managing, planning and scheduling Release testing with the Testing teams for Software Changes ensuring controlled coordination of deployment from test through to the live environment is in place. As well as ensuring the integrity of the live environment is protected.
Objectives:
The NCI Agency is embracing cloud services by transitioning to Microsoft 365 with a security-centric design. This shift aims to enhance operational efficiency, collaboration, and security across the organization. We are looking for individuals with strong knowledge, a willingness to learn, and a desire to grow as part of this new challenge.
The main objectives of this statement of work can be summarized as follows:
Provide Release and Deployment expertise:
Under the direction / guidance of the Release & Deployment Team permanent staff, the consultant Release and Deployment Manager will execute their assigned responsibilities in accordance with documented processes.
Release and Deployment Lifecycle Support:
Provide support to the Service Delivery Managers, Project Managers on how to coordinate and communicate software releases and to the System Managers on how to plan the releases according to the given process or procedure.
The contractors shall participate in weekly and/or daily status update meetings, activity planning and other meetings as instructed, physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to the project manager or implementation manager instructions.
For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of the service during the sprint for each individual. The format of this report shall be a short email to the NCIA Point of Contact mentioning briefly the service held and the development achievements during the sprint.
Practical Arrangements:
This is a deliverables-based contract.
The contractor will be required to provide the service 100% ON SITE, NCI AGENCY MONS
NCI Agency will provide access to relevant networks and resources as required by the project.
The work depicted in this SOW is expected to be carried by a single contractor.
In exceptional circumstances there may be a requirement to perform out-of-hours work to support emergency maintenance activities or delivery of critical services as well as to provide on-call support outside regular business hours, for these exceptional cases, the sprint price remains unchanged.
NCIA IT equipment will be provided (one NPCL laptop will be provided). This equipment can be used by one person only and associated to that individual.
The contractor will be required to provide the service on-site at Mons, BELGIUM as part of this engagement. There is no possibility to telework during this engagement - unless otherwise agreed with the project manager or implementation manager.
This individuals providing services under this RFQ will be part of the PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud (NPCL) project.
Requirements:
Qualification:
This service requires the following qualifications:
Technical Proficiency:
NCI Agency - PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud Project:
The PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud project is organized under the NCI Agency Cloud Portfolio. The project aims to transition roughly 15.000 staff within the NATO Enterprise form the on-premises Public Access Network (PAN) to the NATO Public Cloud (NPCL). At the time of this engagement, the first major site (Norfolk VA, USA) will have transitioned and the project will continue to transition an additional 18 sites across various locations in the alliance.
Migration Support:
One of the core objectives of the project is to ensure new and updated software products are approved for use inside NCIA owned networks through the NCIA Release and Deployment process. (upgrade)
Under the direction of the NCIA Service Management Change Control Authority (SMC CCA) the Consultant Release and Deployment manager will focus on managing, planning and scheduling Release testing with the Testing teams for Software Changes ensuring controlled coordination of deployment from test through to the live environment is in place. As well as ensuring the integrity of the live environment is protected.
Objectives:
The NCI Agency is embracing cloud services by transitioning to Microsoft 365 with a security-centric design. This shift aims to enhance operational efficiency, collaboration, and security across the organization. We are looking for individuals with strong knowledge, a willingness to learn, and a desire to grow as part of this new challenge.
The main objectives of this statement of work can be summarized as follows:
Provide Release and Deployment expertise:
- In line with the NCIA Release and Deployment (RDM) SOP verify all products submitted for A2SL approval meets the approval criteria.
- Manage all change request/tasks within the ITSM system assigned to RDM
- Process all Emergency request within the agreed timelines as per the Change Management (ChM) SOP.
- In line with the RDM SOP verify successful products for consideration on the weekly Release Governance Board (RGB).
- Working with the RDM Lead support in identifying product prioritisation for testing.
- In line with the ChM and RDM SOP review applications for deployment to the Agency networks and submitted to the Enterprise Change Advisory Board (ECAB) for approval to deploy.
- Attend the weekly RGB to provide SME on products for review.
- Provide RDM SME support to the weekly Enterprise CAB.
- Attend the relevant Distributed Change Advisory Board to provide RDM SME support.
- Monitor products identified for testing through the testing cycles.
- Review Testing outputs for consideration for approval or rejection to the A2SL. Working with the testing teams ensure full documentation of any finding/outputs to support safe deployment to the networks.
- Document and track any Risk Acceptance request from submission to conclusion.
- Carry out post implementation reviews and document finding for future reference.
Under the direction / guidance of the Release & Deployment Team permanent staff, the consultant Release and Deployment Manager will execute their assigned responsibilities in accordance with documented processes.
Release and Deployment Lifecycle Support:
Provide support to the Service Delivery Managers, Project Managers on how to coordinate and communicate software releases and to the System Managers on how to plan the releases according to the given process or procedure.
- Assesses and analyses release components for input to release scheduling.
- Maintains and administers tools and methods for software delivery, deployment and configuration.
- Maintains release processes and procedures.
- Carry out all assigned ITSM tasks related to the RDM processes.
- Validate and track any requests identified for testing through the testing cycle.
- Process emergency requests issued by ChM within three working days of submission.
- Provide a weekly report for consideration by the RGB.
- Provide weekly report to the Enterprise CAB for request for deployment.
- Provide weekly reporting on Risk Acceptance request and outputs.
The contractors shall participate in weekly and/or daily status update meetings, activity planning and other meetings as instructed, physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to the project manager or implementation manager instructions.
For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of the service during the sprint for each individual. The format of this report shall be a short email to the NCIA Point of Contact mentioning briefly the service held and the development achievements during the sprint.
Practical Arrangements:
This is a deliverables-based contract.
The contractor will be required to provide the service 100% ON SITE, NCI AGENCY MONS
NCI Agency will provide access to relevant networks and resources as required by the project.
The work depicted in this SOW is expected to be carried by a single contractor.
In exceptional circumstances there may be a requirement to perform out-of-hours work to support emergency maintenance activities or delivery of critical services as well as to provide on-call support outside regular business hours, for these exceptional cases, the sprint price remains unchanged.
NCIA IT equipment will be provided (one NPCL laptop will be provided). This equipment can be used by one person only and associated to that individual.
The contractor will be required to provide the service on-site at Mons, BELGIUM as part of this engagement. There is no possibility to telework during this engagement - unless otherwise agreed with the project manager or implementation manager.
This individuals providing services under this RFQ will be part of the PAN Migration to NATO Public Cloud (NPCL) project.
Requirements:
Qualification:
This service requires the following qualifications:
Technical Proficiency:
- Minimum 2 years practical experience in a Release and deployment function in a large IT setting.
- IT Change Manager - minimum 2 years.
- ITSM Tooling working experience with work orders and change requests - minimum 2 years.
- Excellent working knowledge of IT Release and Deployment processes.
- Good working knowledge of IT Change Management process.
- AN Understanding of the work undertaken by the NATO Communications and Information Agency.
- Strong troubleshooting skills to diagnose and resolve hardware, software, and network issues.
- Ability to guide users through problem-solving steps effectively.
- Experience with PowerShell scripting to automate routine support tasks.
- Proficiency in using Power Automate to create workflows and automate repetitive processes.
- Ability to identify and implement automation opportunities to enhance efficiency.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Full proficiency in English.
- Ability to communicate technical information to non-technical users in a clear and concise manner.
- Strong customer service focus with a commitment to user satisfaction.
- Patience and empathy when dealing with user issues and concerns.
- Ability to manage multiple support tickets and prioritize tasks effectively.
- Attention to detail in documenting support activities and maintaining accurate records.
- Ability to work effectively as part of a team and share knowledge and resources.
- Willingness to collaborate with colleagues to solve complex issues.
- The candidate has strong customer relationship skills, including negotiating complex and sensitive situations under pressure.
- Full proficiency in the English language. French language proficiency is of advantage.
- The candidate must have the nationality of one of the NATO nations.
- The candidate must possess a NATO Secret Security Clearance or national equivalent that can be transferred to a NATO Secret Security Clearance.