Deadline Date: Friday 25 April 2025

Requirement: Intelligence System Architect / Software Engineer

Location: Brussels, BE

Full Time On-Site: Yes

Time On-Site: 100%

Not to Exceed: 75 Euro

Total Scope of the request (hours): 1292

Required Start Date: No Later Than 2 June 2025

End Contract Date: 31 December 2025

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

Note: For all Level-of-Effort and Completion-Type requests processed outside of the IWC Value Stream, and for which the contractor will not be reimbursed directly by NCIA for travel expenses, additional travel funding shall be allocated on a Not-to-exceed basis when the yearly Option is exercised.

Annex A – Special Terms and Conditions

The contractor will be responsible for complying with the respective national requirements for working permits, visas, taxes social security etc. whilst working on site at NATO HQ- Brussels, Belgium.

No special status is either conferred or implied by the host organisation, NATO HQ-Brussels, Belgium on to the contractor whilst working on site.

If the successful candidate is allowed to work remotely, travel to NATO HQ for meetings, while expected to be infrequent, will be at the candidate’s expense. Travel to other locations will be reimbursed as if the travel originated in Brussels. Attendance at meetings are mandatory.

1. INTRODUCTION

The NATO Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is responsible for fostering information and communication technology coherence across the NATO Enterprise. In this regard, the OCIO develops Enterprise directives and advice on the acquisition and use of information technologies and services. The OCIO also provides Enterprise oversight on cybersecurity issues, and, in close coordination with all relevant NATO civil and military bodies, works towards the continual improvement of the cyber hygiene and cybersecurity posture in the NATO Enterprise. As part of this task, the OCIO plans to enhance the ability of NATO’s Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU) within the Joint Intelligence & Security Division (JISD) to improve cyber threat data, information and intelligence sharing processes. The contractor will work for the OCIO, but will directly support SPU.

The SPU is responsible for the provision of the strategy, policy and plans to meet North Atlantic Council and Military Committee intelligence requirements. This includes providing advice on Intelligence Policy and Capability Development.

The contractor will support the work of the OCIO and the Strategy and Policy Unit by designing a secure, user-friendly and adaptable common portal for the NATO Intelligence Enterprise.

2. TASKS

In providing Intelligence System Architecture/Software Engineering services, the contractor will be responsible for the development of the system architecture, visual design and functionality of the NATO Intelligence Enterprise Portal. The responsibility will also include the management and organization of the data ingests.

Specific tasks include:

Defining requirements:

‐ Organise regular engagements with the various target users to discuss client requirements;

‐ Map existing portals and underlying infrastructure;

‐ Define initial, as well as longer-term requirements as the process evolves.

Identifying solutions & developing the portal:

‐ Develop the design, applications and user groups of the portal, including developing mock up designs of the portal architecture;

‐ Develop advanced search and visualisation functions;

‐ Integrate and collate data from existing NATO Intelligence Enterprise databases into the portal, leaving room for the scalability of the portal and taking into consideration interaction with tools and databases that might be developed in the future;

‐ Administer content management, including version control and migrations between multiple environments;

‐ Administer, maintain, develop and implement use, policies and procedures for ensuring the security and integrity of the portal environment (Measurement: a document describing the Standard Operating Procedure);

‐ Document and keep records of every step in the portal design development process (Measurement: Technical document which will ensure business continuity in case of personnel changes);

‐ Performing trials, testing and quality checks to ensure strong functionality and optimisation.

3. PROFILE

[See Requirements]

4. LOCATION

The work will be executed on site at the NATO HQ offices in Brussels, Belgium.

5. TIMELINES

The services of the contractor are required to start a s soon as possible but not later than 27st May 2024 until 31 st December, 2024. An earlier start date is possible, if feasible by the contractor. A later start date may be considered for the right contractor.

6. SPECIFIC WORKING CONDITIONS

Secure environment with standard working hours, with the exception of working in non-standard working hours up to 360 hours annually.

In addition, it may exceptionally be required to work non-standard hours or on a shift system for a limited period due to urgent operational needs.

7. TRAVEL

Occasional business travel may be required. Travel expenses will be reimbursed to the individual directly (in addition to the hourly rate) under NATO rules.

8. SECURITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

The contracted individual must be in possession or capable of possessing a security clearance of NATO Secret and be a citizen of a NATO nation.

A signed Non-Disclosure Agreement will be required.

3. PROFILE

• The contracted individual must be in possession or capable of possessing a security clearance of NATO Secret and be a citizen of a NATO nation.
• A university degree from a nationally recognised/certified University in a technical subject with substantial Information Technology (IT) content and 3 years of specific experience. Exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of the service provider’s particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to the OCIO; that is, at least 6 years extensive and progressive expertise in the tasks related to providing software engineering services.

Advanced level of knowledge and experience in the following areas:

• Experience in various areas of System Architecture/ Software Engineering including:
• SharePoint, development using the Server Side Object Model, Client Side Object Model and SharePoint Framework (SPFx);
• Software design, implementation and testing;
• Programming languages (such as JavaScript, .NET languages), techniques and methodologies associated with the duties described above;
• Knowledge and experience in C#, HTML5 and modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks (React), Web Services, XML, JSON, ASP.NET;
• Developing tools, interfaces and dashboards.

• Experience in designing search methodologies and visualisation tools, including the design of the system architecture and integrated visualisation dashboards;
• Recent experience in software integration;
• Experience with Application Programming Interfaces (APIs);
• Proven ability to write user manuals and technical documents;
• Knowledge of commonly used standards and best practices for software engineering, including design patterns;
• Experience in using debugging software (such as Fiddler) and other debugging features, such as the browser’s default debugging functionalities that are essential for a stable deployment;
• Experience in stakeholder management, collecting user requirements, and proposing technical solutions based on user requirements.

Desirable

• Experience developing multi-threaded applications using C#;
• Experience using enterprise search applications such as Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Solr or Splunk;
• Database knowledge – experience in securing a database and backup data to preserve a company’s information during unforeseen circumstances;
• Knowledge and experience in Microsoft Server family of operating systems;
• Knowledge and experience in Microsoft SQL Server installation, configuration, programming and troubleshooting;
• Previous experience in intelligence software development;
• Previous experience in cyber threat intelligence analysis;
• Understanding of NATO and its intelligence environment.