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NATO Internship Programme

NATO Divisions and Views of Interns

Internships are being offered in the following Divisions:

Defence Investment Division (DI)

The Defence Investment Division focuses on the development of military capabilities and oversees investment in NATO common-funded assets, thereby ensuring that forces assigned to the Alliance are properly equipped and interoperable to undertake the full range of military missions.

It provides policy, technical, financial and procedural expertise relating to armaments, air defence, airspace management, and security investment. The Division also plays a significant role in developing co-operation with partner countries in the context of the Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, as well as the special relationships with Russia and Ukraine.

The Division consists of three principal directorates: Armaments Directorate (ARM), Air Defence and Airspace Management Directorate (ADAM) and Security Investment Directorate (SID). In addition , it includes the International Staff element of the NATO HQ C3 Staff (NHQC3S), the office of the Chairman of the Senior Resource Board (SRB), and a Resource Policy Coordination Section (RPCS).

What could an internship at DI be like?

As an intern in the Armaments Directorate of NATO’s Defence Investment Division, I completed a wide range of tasks, touching a broad spectrum of work in the area of international armaments co-operation. In particular, I managed and coordinated the preparations and successful execution of NATO’s fall 2006 Conference of National Armaments Directors’ Exhibition on “NATO Special Operations Forces” conducted at NATO Headquarters, which brought together Allied defense companies showcasing their latest innovative technologies to NATO and partner nations’ top procurement officials. In addition, I attended meetings of the North Atlantic Council, drafted documents, presentations and speeches for the Assistant Secretary General (DI) on NATO transformation, Alliance policy initiatives regarding long-term capability efforts and NATO’s Defence Against Terrorism Programme of Work. Since I have a background in political science, I also conducted research on current European Affairs with special focus on the development of a European Security & Defence Policy as well as NATO Russia / Ukraine Relations.

Matthias Eichenlaub

Defence Policy and Planning Division (DPP)

The DPP Division has the lead role on the defence-related aspects of NATO's fundamental security tasks. It is organised in four Directorates and two other sections.

Major responsibilities:

  • Defence Policy and Capabilities Directorate (including NATO-EU cooperation and management of the PCC)
  • Force Planning Directorate (including force planning for the Alliance and the PfP Planning and Review Process for Partners)
  • Nuclear Policy Directorate
  • Weapons of Mass Destruction Centre
  • Logistic Planning Section
  • Defence Cooperation Section

What could an internship at DPP be like?

While working in the Nuclear Policy Directorate/Weapons of Mass Destruction Center there are a number of projects made available to interns.  My tasks have included: speech writing, speaking note preparation, updating of NATO reports/documents, attending various committee meetings, note taking, event analysis, research and policy analysis, as well as the production of materials for internal distribution around NATO Headquarters.  An ongoing project for interns is the creation and constant updating of the “Practical Handbook of Current Non-proliferation and Security-related Initiatives.”  The Handbook is meant to provide a quick reference to NATO HQ staff on the dozens of ongoing initiatives and treaties in place regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and their means of delivery.

Andie da Ponte

Executive Management Division (EM)

The role of Executive Management (EM) is to provide professional and support services to the North Atlantic Council (NAC), its subordinate committees and to the International Staff (IS). EM provides operational, procedural and administrative support to the NAC, Defence Planning Committee (DPC) and Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) consultations at Ambassadorial, Ministerial and Summit levels at NATO HQ and abroad. EM provides financial services to the IS and delivers NATO-wide human resource policy support and services. EM is charged with the duty to maintain, enhance and control the efficiency and effectiveness of the execution of IS and other budgets, and ensures the co-ordination of policy on salaries, pensions and Civilian Personnel Regulations.

What could an internship at EM be like?

For some time now, Executive Management Division has been studying the problem of business continuity, to ensure that the decision-making process within NATO continues to function in any eventuality. That entails diversified work within a well-knit team to develop a very specific response plan, which in turn means a new culture at NATO. I was able to take part in site visits and was tasked to study plans, organize diagrams concerning the general development of the project, establish its requirements, its organization and its stages on the basis of crisis assumptions. In addition, I was able to provide input from research and knowledge of the latest developments in this field. Coordination and frequent meetings – all of which I attended – with the other divisions (media, security, human resources, technical services etc) are of course also necessary, since it is also a matter of safeguarding NATO's staff and operational capability.

Guillaume Moisant

NATO Office of Security

The NATO Office of Security (NOS) is responsible for the overall coordination of NATO security among Member, Partner and Mediterranean Dialogue nations and NATO civil and military bodies. In this connection it is responsible for ensuring the correct implementation of NATO security policy NATO wide.  

The NOS is divided into three Branches, Policy Oversight (POB), Security Intelligence (SIB) and Protective Security (PRB).

What could an internship at NOS be like?

I’m a 24 years old Italian student, with an academic background in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies.

During my internship at NATO I was seconded to the NATO Office of Security - Policy Oversight Branch for a period of 6 months.

During the time spent with my division I had the chance to conduct research on topics of NATO interest from a security point of view and to participate in numerous high level meetings, thus providing me with a well rounded approach of not only NATO’s security interests but also the Alliance’s mechanisms and work methods. The material I produced was then used to prepare reports used by NOS officers. All my supervisors within POB were always extremely helpful and ready to provide me with the best advice and the most interesting viewpoints about the hottest topics on the international scene.

This has been a unique learning opportunity in a stimulating and multicultural environment.

But my internship has not only been a constructive working experience. I also built several nice friendships among other interns and within my division.

Mauro Lovecchio

Operations Division (OPS)

Operations will provide the operational capability required to meet NATO's deterrence, defence and crisis management tasks. Responsibilities include NATO's crisis management and peacekeeping activities and civil emergency planning and exercises.

The Division consists of two Directorates: the Planning Directorate and the Operations Directorate.

The ASG/Operations has two deputies, with the following responsibilities between them for:

  • Crisis Management, deterrence and defence operations
  • Peacekeeping
  • Civil emergency planning
  • Council exercises
  • Situation Center

What could an internship at OPS be like?

Working as an intern for NATO’s Operations Division means having a hand on the pulse of the transatlantic Alliance.

Once designed to protect and if necessary to defend Western Europe from the threat of Soviet expansionism NATO has changed significantly after the end of the Cold War and is still in a process of transformation and adaptation to the new international security environment.

Today, in its dedication to safeguard the security of its members in Europe and North America the Alliance also runs operations in countries far away from its own territory, like in Afghanistan and supports efforts of the African Union to bring an end to the ongoing crisis in Dafur.

Being able to have an eye on these developments, having access to information regarding the different operations in detail and finding out how NATO works from the inside of NATO Headquarters in Brussels, provides me with the unique opportunity to learn about the challenges the Alliance is facing in the 21st century.

The bulk of my time is committed to writing a comprehensive fact-finding report on the evolving peace and security architecture of the African Union.

Therefore part of my daily routine is monitoring current developments regarding NATO’s operations in Dafur and current events with respect to conflicts in Africa as well as conducting interviews with experts at NATO HQ and SHAPE.

Furthermore I support my supervisor in organizing senior-level meetings and I also draft the related meeting reports for the group and Info Memos for the Private Office.

Whatever the concrete tasks will be in the Operations Division a professional, demanding and hence stimulating work atmosphere with experts from many different member countries, willing to share their experience awaits you.

Albrecht Braun

Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (PASP)

The Division leads on the political aspects of NATO's fundamental security tasks, with responsibility for:

  • EAPC and Enlargement Policy
  • Multilateral Policy, especially with the European Union
  • Russia and Ukraine Relations
  • Partnership for Peace
  • Regional Affairs and the Mediterranean Dialogue
  • Conventional Arms Control Policy
  • Speechwriting
  • Defence and Security Economics
  • Political aspects of non-proliferation and arms control

What could an internship at PASP be like?

As an intern with the Multilateral Affairs Section of the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (NAMA/PASP), I was regularly called upon to prepare files for NATO committee and ministerial meetings and for the weekly political briefing on the Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan for the North Atlantic Council.  I was also afforded an opportunity to express myself, on behalf of the PASP Division, at certain meetings of the special Partnership Team.

In addition to these activities, I worked more specifically on improving NATO's relations with the international organizations by conducting a daily analysis of developments within the European Union, the United Nations, OSCE and the African Union, and by preparing policy recommendation documents for senior NATO officials, speaker's notes and lists of items to be addressed at meetings.  As far as NATO-United Nations relations in particular are concerned, I did research and prepared a background paper outlining the existing possibilities for improving these relations as a result of the current crisis in Darfur.

Finally, my internship with the PASP Division also enabled me to work in coordination with the Euro-Atlantic Integration and Partnership Directorate (EIPD) on evaluating progress achieved in the area of human rights and democracy in Georgia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Croatia, as part of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PFP) 2006 annual stocktaking.

My experience within the PASP Division was extremely educational and I recommend this internship to anyone interested.

Alexandra Bottemanne

Public Diplomacy Division (PDD)

NATO's Public Diplomacy Division fulfils three key roles :

  • Communicating with the public

First and foremost, the Division plays a pivotal role in explaining NATO's policies and activities to the public and, as such, is NATO's main public interface with audiences world-wide. The division works to raise NATO's profile and to bring NATO's achievements into public knowledge and debate.

  • Promoting security cooperation

The second key role of the Division is to promote security cooperation through science and environmental projects, as well as through a variety of other communication activities. That way, the Division also contributes to a continuous process of international security debate and policy creation.

  • Coordinating NATO's public diplomacy activities

Last but not least, the Division also acts as coordinator for public diplomacy activities undertaken by other Divisions at NATO Headquarters, as well as by other entities belonging to the NATO structure.

What could an internship at PDD be like?

As an intern in the NATO Countries Section of the Public Diplomacy Division my primary responsibility was organizing seminars for Danish and Norwegian visiting groups. This included setting-up all the logistical matters prior to the visit, preparing a programme, welcoming the group and attending to any financial matters. For the first half of my internship, I collected all of the NATO visitor feedback sheets for 2006 and prepared a final statistical report, which assessed the demographics and quality of visits and included suggestions for improvements.  I was responsible for submitting daily media analysis to the Media Operations Centre and I also drafted memos on current political and media issues for the Secretary General's bilateral meetings in Denmark. In addition, I assisted the section's Acting Head in other outreach activities such as: the Afghanistan student forum, the Secretary General's Annual Successor Generations' Conference on Global Security in London and the Breakfast Discussion with Think-Tank Representative on the Agenda for the Riga Summit. Since I have a journalism background, I was also able to conduct video interviews of NATO officials and military personnel for NATO web cast and I wrote an article for the Staff Association Bulletin and the Executive Management Newsletter.

Heather Young