Requirement: Strategic Decision Support, Communication, and Reporting Capability
Location: Brussels, BELGIUM
Full Time On-Site: Yes (Occasional Remote (teleworking) from a NATO country, and travel on duty (TDY) to other NATO sites.)
Not to Exceed: 2026 BASE: NTE 130,410 EUR
2027 OPTION: NTE 173,880 EUR
Period of Performance: 2026 BASE: 7 April 2026 with the possibility to exercise following option:
01 January 2027 - 31 December 2027
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
Introduction:
- The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) herewith the Purchaser is responsible for delivery of secure, coherent, cost effective and interoperable communication and information systems and services in support of consultation, command & control and enabling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, for NATO, where and when required.
- In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, unplanned obsolescence has emerged as a critical challenge for organizations reliant on complex, long- lifecycle systems. Within NATO, the
- accumulation of significant technical debt over the years has led to increased cybersecurity risks, operational vulnerabilities, and a growing risk of service deterioration.
- The lack of a structured, proactive approach to handling obsolescence has extending these challenges, resulting in reactive and inefficient responses when critical components, software, or infrastructure reach end-of-life unexpectedly.
- A key issue contributing to this challenge is the lack of awareness and clarity on how obsolescence should be managed. While some individual initiatives address aspects of obsolescence, they remain disconnected, lacking a cohesive framework that links obsolescence to its operational and financial impacts. Decision-makers often struggle with prioritization, eligibility assessment, and securing funding to mitigate obsolescence risks effectively. In 2024 NCIA, OCIO, ACO and IS-NOR started an Obsolescence Working Group which confirmed and centralized all these challenges. Without a well-defined process, the NCIA as a service provider faces delays in response times, heightened security risks, and increased service disruptions towards NCIA customers and partners.
- Recognizing these challenges, governing bodies such as DPC and RPPB have already taken steps to establish policy and funding mechanisms for obsolescence management. The DPC Framework for ICT Obsolescence (Ref. A) provides guiding principles for managing obsolescence, while the RPPB Policy (Ref. B) outlines potential funding mechanisms. However, the frameworks establish the basic definitions and expectations, and practical implementation remains for OCIO, ACO, IS-NOR and NCIA to finalize. Priority is given in addressing unplanned obsolescence—where failures, security threats, or vendor discontinuations occur with little to no advance notice.
- The objective of this SOW is to provide Strategic Decision Support, Communication, and Reporting capability supporting the institutionalization of Obsolescence Management through the OMEGA (Obsolescence Management Executive Guidance and Advisory) initiative.
The Contractor shall interpret operational and analytical data originating from the OMEGA initiative and translate such information into actionable insights, governance reporting, and decision-support artefacts for internal and external stakeholders.
The Contractor shall transform data and operational information into structured analytical views, dashboards, and communication outputs enabling risk-informed governance and executive oversight.
This capability shall support:
- governance and institutionalization of Obsolescence Management.
- analytical interpretation of data originating from the OMEGA initiative and related systems;
- executive and operational reporting supporting decision-making;
- structured governance cadence and stakeholder engagement.
The Contractor shall not assume decision authority, risk ownership, or governance approval responsibilities, which remain with NCIA.
The Contractor shall:
- Operate within the Agency-provided collaboration and reporting environment.
- Ensure all artefacts are formally documented, version-controlled, and stored in the designated repository.
- Align all reporting outputs with the approved OMEGA risk model and governance framework.
- Deliver services in an iterative manner while meeting fixed milestone and acceptance criteria.
- Ensure consistency between strategic narrative, executive reporting, and operational dashboards.
Roles and Responsiblities:
The work shall be conducted in close collaboration between the Contractor and NCIA Technology Roadmaps and Obsolescence within CTO DIT (NCIA TRO DIT).
Schedule and Practical Arrangements:
- Period of performance will be, for the base period, as soon as possible but not later than 27 April 2026 through 31 December 2026. I f the options are exercised, the period of performance will run from 01 January to 31 December 2027.
- The work location will be agreed with the project manager as:
- Primarily on-site at the NCIA, Brussels, Belgium;
- Contractor's remote location (teleworking) in a NATO country;
- NATO locations, specifically Mons, Belgium and The Hague, The Netherlands or conferences in travel on duty (TDY) as occasionally required.
- This SOW should include up to 24 visits per year to NCIA The Hague (twice per month) for a maximum of one working day each visit, and 12 visits per year to NCIA Mons (one a month). The travel, lodging and associated expenses for travel are included in the price of the bid (NTE), such that the purchaser shall not be invoiced.
- Extraordinary Travel (Purchaser Directed Travel) may be required to other NATO or non-NATO locations as necessary. In the event of such unforeseen meetings being called, the cost of all travel and subsistence will be addressed through a contract amendment.
- Travel on Duty (TDY): This work requires scheduled travel. This travel will need to be estimated by the contractor and included within the contractor's bid.
- Travel arrangements will be the responsibility of the contractor.
- The contractor shall participate in a kick-off meeting within one working week after the signing of this contract.
- This will be a virtual meeting executed via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities or in person in NCIA offices.
- During the kick off meeting, the contractor will provide and discuss a plan for executing the tasks under this statement of work. Purchaser and Contractor will discuss the plan and confirm amendments where appropriate.
- The contractor shall participate in regular weekly status meetings, either in-person (where possible) or via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities.
- The rhythm for these meetings will be decided at the kick-off meeting.
- The contractor shall follow all general rules, terms and conditions as applicable for working in NCIA locations.
NATO will retain the intellectual property rights for all products developed in relation to this project
Requirements:
Key Personnel Required Qualifications:
MANDATORY Requirements:
- Proven experience supporting executive-level governance processes, including preparation of decision-ready briefing materials and structured documentation of actions, risks, and decisions.
- Minimum 4 years of professional experience in data analytics, business intelligence, governance reporting, or decision-support roles.
- Proficiency in Power BI for development of analytical dashboards and reporting. At least 2 assignments involving analytical dashboards or business intelligence reporting.
- Experience in data analysis and interpretation for operational, managerial, or strategic reporting, demonstrated through at least 2 relevant assignments.
- Experience preparing executive-level reporting, briefing materials, or decision-support artefacts, demonstrated through at least 1 relevant assignment.
- Experience supporting workshops, working groups, governance meetings, or stakeholder coordination activities, demonstrated through at least 1 relevant assignment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English with the ability to communicate analytical insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- A university degree in data science, engineering, information systems or business administration or equivalent professional experience.
- Experience maintaining stakeholder interaction logs, action trackers, and controlled information repositories (specifically SharePoint intranet).
- Candidate must have the nationality of one of the NATO nations.
- Excellent command of spoken and written English.
- Must hold a valid NATO Secret Security Clearance.
- Experience defining or implementing KPI / KRI or performance reporting frameworks.
- Experience supporting governance processes, executive briefings, or strategic reporting environments.
- Proven leadership skills
- Knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organization, including ACO and ACT.
