Provision of Operational Acceptance support to SHAPE

Duties

• Monitor and analyse CIS projects and services, tracking project milestones, requirements, scope, timelines, costs, dependencies and changes.

• Prepare project progress reports, dashboards and dependency matrices to support management oversight and decision-making.

• Identify, assess and monitor operational risks, project issues and critical dependencies, recommending corrective and mitigation actions.

• Maintain project risk registers and conduct periodic risk assessments and reviews.

• Develop and maintain Operational Acceptance Criteria (OAC) based on operational requirements, functionality, performance and user needs.

• Plan, coordinate, execute and assess User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Operational Acceptance Testing (OAT) for new or modified CIS systems and services.

• Review test plans, test cases, requirements traceability matrices and test documentation to ensure acceptance requirements are met.

• Conduct or witness service-based testing, operational testing and evaluation, performance, availability, failover and end-to-end service testing.

• Establish service baselines and assess readiness for site acceptance, user acceptance, operational acceptance and transition to service.

• Identify, document and track defects, acceptance deficiencies and residual risks, ensuring corrective actions or acceptable workarounds are implemented.

• Support the transition of delivered systems and services into operational use, ensuring they meet agreed requirements with minimal mission impact.

• Coordinate with NCIA Project Managers, ACO Senior Requirements Owners, operational requirements managers and other technical and business stakeholders.

• Produce and contribute to project review reports, operational acceptance reports, test reports, corrective action reports and acceptance dashboards.

Requirements

• Master of Science (MSc) degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline from a nationally recognised or certified university, with at least 5 years of relevant post-degree experience.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in CIS project and service analysis, monitoring and reporting.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in planning and executing acceptance testing activities.

• Minimum 3 years of experience with ITIL v3.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in CIS projects involving core communications and IT infrastructure.

• Knowledge of NATO responsibilities, organisation and operational environment.

• Knowledge of software, system and service lifecycle management and quality management, preferably within a PRINCE2 and ITIL environment.

• Working-level knowledge of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project, Visio and SharePoint.

• Working knowledge of JIRA.

• Strong analytical, reporting, coordination and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify risks, assess dependencies and recommend corrective actions.

• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, including preparing reports and delivering briefings.

• Valid NATO Secret security clearance, maintained in accordance with the contract requirements.

Desirable qualifications

• PMP certification.

• PRINCE2 Foundation or Practitioner certification.

• ISTQB Foundation Level certification.

• Experience with NATO CIS projects involving software applications for the Operational Digital Workplace.

• Experience working in an international environment comprising military and civilian personnel.

• Knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organisation, including Allied Command Operations (ACO) and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).

Location: Primarily on-site at SHAPE Headquarters, Mons, Belgium, with possible activities in The Hague and other ACO locations.

Contract duration: 1 January–31 December 2027, with a possible one-year extension into 2028.