Cyberspace Concept Validation & Experimentation Officer

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is NATO's leading agent for change: driving, facilitating, and advocating the continuous improvement of Alliance capabilities to maintain and enhance the military relevance and effectiveness of the Alliance. The main objectives of ACT are: providing appropriate support to NATO missions and operations; leading NATO military transformation; improving relationships, interaction and practical cooperation with partners, nations and international organisations. ACT therefore leads Alliance concept development, capability development, training and lessons learned initiatives and provides unfettered military support to policy development within NATO.

The program

Capability Development & Management Support (CDMS)

DCOS Capability Development (CAPDEV) acts as the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation's Director for guidance, direction and co-ordination of the activities and resources of the Capability Development Directorate.

The Requirements Division will execute all tasks and activities needed to support requirements management for NATO capabilities

The Capability Requirements (CR) Branch will develop the Capability Requirements Brief and recommended courses of action to resolve issues associated with through the life cycle management of requirements using matrixed, cross-functional project- specific Requirements Management teams.

The Requirements Forward Branch (Mons) is responsible for conducting requirements development and management representation and engagement related functions in Europe.

The Capability Division coordinates the development of capabilities from capability planning through acceptance and then disposal with management entities, NATO Headquarters staff and the NATO Governance Structure

The Capability Forward Branch (Mons) coordinates with ACO, NCIA, NSPA, NATO HQ, territorial Host Nations, and NATO Centres of Excellence (COEs) in support of the development of capabilities.

Strategic Plans and Policy (SPP) supports Allied Command Transformation in formalizing military advice to shape future military strategy, political guidance, and other policy documents in support of NATO's strategic objectives.

Role Background

The exploitation of cyberspace as a domain of operations presents an increasingly growing challenge for the Alliance. Gaining the ability to plan, conduct and assess military operations in cyberspace requires therefore the development of new concepts and capabilities, notably in the area of cyberspace resilience, mission assurance, Situational Awareness (SA), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) or C3 (Consultation, Command & Control), to name a few.

Cyberspace concepts need to be validated and tested to inform warfare and capability development through different methods/mechanisms such as comparative analysis, demonstration, wargaming and experimentation, based on robust validation methodologies. This Statement of Work (SoW) seeks a Cyberspace Concept Validation & Experimentation officer to support ACT's Cyberspace Branch for the validation of concepts for cyberspace operations as well as related strategies and capabilities. Expertise in network security, cybersecurity, hardware/software integration, technical infrastructure implementation (Virtual Machines, VPNs, server configuration and administration, etc.) is required.

Role Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the Technical Director and the experimentation community in the review and selection of Cyberspace Concepts that require validation/experimentation, with a maximum of, approximately, three or four experiments per year.
• For each of those experiments:
  • Select the appropriate methods/mechanisms for Concept Validation, including, but not limited to, analysis, demonstration, verification or operational/technical validation, to be conducted using a variety of means such as prototypes experimentation, table-top exercises, wargames, among other options.
  • For each experiment, develop the experiment plan, which shall be described in terms of background, objectives, hypothesis, metrics, success criteria, constraints and other applicable considerations. The individual experiment plan will usually have to be coordinated with the hosting exercise/venue experimentation plan.
  • Assemble, coordinate and inform the experiment Community of Interest (which includes NATO organizations, nations, Cyber Range, industry, and academia).
  • Ensure availability of technical knowledge/support and required infrastructure (cyber range, hardware/software, configurations, supplies, etc.) for the successful execution of the campaign.
  • Be responsible or support, as needed, the development of stand-alone or cyber range-hosted infrastructure (HW/SW), centralized or distributed, as well as facilitate or support its configuration, verification and testing. This requires in-depth expertise in working with real servers and virtual machines, VPNs, network configuration and administration, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, SIEMs, etc. f. Prepare relevant briefings and other communication materials (flyers, posters, etc.), and deliver presentations.
  • Coordinate and support the experiment execution, including coordination with the hosting/venue exercises plans and battle-rhythms.
  • Draft the final experiment report, based on achievement of pre-developed metrics and success criteria, with findings, analysis and recommendations.
• Support the Branch Head/Technical Director/Section Heads for other warfare development activities related to experimentation/Concept Validation (feasibility studies, concept to capability translation, capability analysis and systems engineering, etc.).
• Integrate and work along the cyberspace branch concept development Community of Interest, contributing to the development of methodologies and processes and supporting the development of synergies among all concept development activities.
• Attend, as required, meetings and conferences typically within NATO's boundaries for up to 30 days per year, as required.
• Performs additional tasks, related to the contract, as required by the COTR.

Essential Qualifications

• Post-grade education in CIS security and cyber defense disciplines, as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), GIAC Security Expert or ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).
• Minimum of 5 years post-grade (post- CISSP, GIAC Security Expert, CISM) hands-on experience in computer networks design and administration, and network security implementation and enforcement, focusing on cybersecurity aspects of network engineering.
• Minimum of 5 years post-certification (post- CISSP, GIAC Security Expert, CISM) experience as lead/key contributor in the validation/experimentation of operational, technical or organizational concepts, preferably in a military context and on cyberspace-related topics. Experience shall include the implementation of different methods/mechanisms (e.g. comparative analysis, demonstration, wargaming and experimentation), using robust methodologies such as the NATO Concept Development & Experimentation Handbook (see link below) or the Code of Best Practices for Experimentation (see link below), or similar.
• Minimum of 4 years post-degree experience in the process of planning, facilitation and executing workshops for various stakeholders including governmental agencies, academia and industry.
  • https://www.act.nato.int/application/files/1316/2857/5217/NATO-ACT-CDE-Handbook_A_Concept_Developers_Toolbox.pdf
  • http://www.dodccrp.org/files/Alberts_Experimentation.pdf
• Experience working for NATO or similar military structure (i.e. International Organization or National MoD), including in relation to its concept and capability development processes and procedures. Support the Programme Director to ensure that ACT statements are provided to the Investment Committee during the screening process of the projects, funding requests or exception reports.
• Collect and communicate lessons identified from the programme management activities and propose actions to improve the day-to-day performance.
• Perform additional tasks, as required by the Programme Director, related to the labour category.

Education

• Master's degree or similar national academic qualification in systems engineer, computer science, network security or cyber-security. Can be substituted with Bachelor Degree and 5 years of experience in relevant field.

Working Location

• (Norfolk, VA, USA)

Working Policy

• Onsite

Contract Duration

• January 2024 – December 2027 (base 1 year with 3 one year options, total 4 years)

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO personal security clearance

Language

• Professional English
  • Demonstrated proficiency in English as defined in STANAG 6001 (Standardized Linguistic Profile (SLP) 3333 - Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) or equivalent.