Deadline Date: Friday 16 October 2026

Requirement: Network and Communication Technician

Location: Brussels, BE

Full Time On-Site: Yes

Time On-Site: 100%

Total Scope of the request (hours): 1672

2028: Up to a maximum of 1672 hours per year (price per hour will be determined by applying the price adjustment formula as outlined in CO-115786-AAS+ Special Provisions article 6.5)

Period of Performance: 2027 BASE period: 1st January 2027 until 31st December 2027

2028 OPTION period: Possibility to exercise this option from 1st January 2028 until 31st December 2028.

Required Security Clearance: NATO COSMIC TOP SECRET

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 to the contractor whilst working on site.

1. INTRODUCTION

The BICES (Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation Systems) is an association of independent elements to enable the sharing and exchange of timely intelligence-related information between all NATO member nations, associated partner nations and the NATO organization. BICES capabilities are intended for national, NATO or coalition use, during peace, crisis and war, supporting decision-makers, deployed force commanders and tactical users. The BICES Group Executive (BGX) works as a facilitator maintaining the core network and coordinating the community-wide provision of capabilities and services operated at national/organisational level. BICES offers a number of services to support BICES users using mainly commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), open source but also an in-house developed software.

Within BGX, the BICES Support Unit (BSU) is responsible for managing the BICES services across the BICES NATO HQ Element that includes the following CIS functional areas by providing daily operational support: BGX Service Desk, Networking/Communications, Secure Voice & Video telecommunications platforms and Systems/Applications services, SharePoint, Call Manager support. Additionally, the BSU provides general maintenance functions, and quality assurance, and manages customer feedback. The BSU provides support related to IT Incidents, problems and service requests to the BICES NATO HQ Element users.

The purpose of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to engage external contractor to staff the BSU.

2. JOB DESCRIPTION

Under the supervision of BSU Chief, the incumbent's primary role is to provide operational support for complex CIS technical resolutions and process requests. This includes a broad range of IT related elements of networking, secure Voice, Video and Teleconferencing (VTC) IP, Crypto support and other related services. S/He contributes to the technical documentation for the resolution of day-to-day incidents and processes problems and service requests by performing recovery, troubleshooting, maintenance and operational activities. S/He interfaces daily with internal and external BICES customers, and perform Service Desk functions as required. S/He contributes to the investigation of possible security vulnerabilities by performing in-depth analyses and provides reports to SOSB with recommended actions for CIS security risks. The incumbent may be required to undertake operational deployments and/or travel duty assignments both within and beyond NATO's boundaries. The work is performed in a typical Secure Facility environment where slightly undesirable conditions may apply. The risk of injury is categorised as: Light Risk of Injury.

3. LOCATION OF DUTY

The location of duty is on-site at the NATO HQ offices in Brussels, Belgium.

4. TIMELINES

The contractor's services will commence upon contract signature and will continue until 23rd December 2027. Contract extensions are subject to performance of the contractor, budget availibility and related NATO regulations.

5. 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.

6. SECURITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

The contractor must be in possession of a NATO COSMIC TOP SECRET security clearance.

A signed Non-Disclosure Agreement will be required as per Annex C.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

The incumbent must:

• Possess higher secondary education with at least 3 years post related experience and at least 1 year post-related experience as Network Technician of IP networks and cryptographic materials;
• Possess at least 1 year of experience in providing networking and communications services support to users;
• Possess at least 1 year of experience of LAN/WAN communications, router/switch-based networks and routing protocols, with specific expertise on TCP/IP, MPLS and Cisco products/technologies;
• Possess at least 1 year of experience in configuring, connecting and cabling network devices with detailed knowledge of relevant interfaces;
• Possess at least 1 year of experience in implementation and operation of the IT networking and communications infrastructure and the resources required to plan, develop, deliver and support properly engineered IT services and products;
• Have the ability to understand, assess and solve technical issues in a troubleshooting environment and under pressure and time constraints;
• Demonstrate experience in preparing and maintaining documentation of a technical nature (e.g. configuration guides, diagrams, training materials, requests for change);
• Be flexible to work outside regular office hours;
• Possess level V (Advanced) of the English language.

Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• Experience with national BICES and NATO networking and communications infrastructure, technologies, policies and implementation;
• Knowledge of NATO and/or national information technology security policies;
• Experience in the installation, configuration and maintenance of network-based systems in accordance with NATO and/or national security regulations;
• Experience with IP Cryptographic devices (e.g. Thales IP TCE family);
• Experience in providing networking and communications services support to Military and Coalition Operations;
• Experience with storage, access, problem reporting and change control of Configuration Items (Cls);
• Experience with status accounting and auditing, in line with recognized standards, such as the ISO 9000 series, throughout all stages of the Cls' lifecycle;
• Experience with instant messaging and group chat service based on XMPP protocol (e.g. openfire servers);
• Certification on IT industry/service provider standards, (e.g. ITIL, eTOM);
• Knowledge of CISCO CCNA/CCNP;
• Formal training in call managers and/or in the use and maintenance of cryptographic materials;
• Working knowledge of email Clients/Web Browsers and/or Web Content Management and/or Chat Services.

SECURITY AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

• The contractor must be in possession of a NATO COSMIC TOP SECRET security clearance.