Deadline Date: Friday 4 September 2026

Requirement: Cyber Security Firewall Support

Location: Mons, BE

Full Time On-Site: Yes

Time On-Site: 100%

Total Scope of the request (hours): 418

Required Start Date: 1 October 2026

End Contract Date: 31 December 2026

Required Security Clearance: NATO COSMIC TOP SECRET

Duties & Role:  

Tasks performed by a contractor include:

• Build, implement, maintain, and support Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) (System Administration).
• Configure, maintain and review security policies on Next-Generation Firewalls (System Configuration)

Under the direction / guidance of the NCSC Point of Contact, a contractor will be the part of the NCSC SEC011 Team supporting the following activities:

1. Central system administration of NGFWs to ensure continuing functionality and availability.

• Initial systems installation (software, application and threat signatures) and configuration
• Adding system to central management capability
• Assign initial template and device group settings
• Configure date/time/DNS settings
• Configure high-availability settings
• Update system software/signatures during pre-defined maintenance windows

2. Central configuration of NGFWs

• Implementation and verification of firewall rulesets/policies
• Adaptation of firewall rulesets/policies
• Adaptation of email attachment types
• Configuration of additional firewall rulesets/policies

3. Documentation of Firewall systems

• Development of SOPs and other documentation for repetitive activities
• Produce and maintain comprehensive documentation for all implemented systems
• Review and update security documentation

4. Support of Firewall systems

• Technical support in troubleshooting infrastructure and operational issues
• Collaborate with other teams for a successful resolution;
• Provide technical support and guidance by answering end-user requests to identify issues in secure cross-domain data exchange

The measurement of execution for this work is sprints, with each sprint planned for a duration of 1 week.

Central administration of NGFWs

The purpose of daily Central administration and configuration of NGFWs is to ensure continuing functionality and availability of those critical systems in order to support a wide range of end-user facing services.

The Service Provider will:

• Support the team by routinely reviewing the tickets queue to ensure 4 hours response time for normal events and 1 hour response time for high/critical events
• Provide multi-channel support (phone, email, internal chat)
• Develop and maintain a repository of scrips to automate recurring systems administration activities.
• Ensure correct logging and log forwarding configurations to support availability of system events in central log database.
• Provide pro-active system administration and maintenance to prevent system failures
• Escalate critical events to appropriate channels within 4 hours
• Support system upgrading/patching during established maintenance windows

GSS contractor is expected to be a knowledgeable firewall administrator and should have sufficient knowledge in Networks, and Cyber Security Tools.

Central configuration of NGFWs

The Service Provider will:

• Support the team by routinely reviewing the tickets queue to ensure 4 hours response time for normal events and 1 hour response time for high/critical events
• Provide multi-channel support (phone, email, internal chat)
• Update the configuration of firewall rules/policies based on changing requirements.

The primary purpose of Central configuration of firewalls is to ensure that all configuration requests are properly prepared (investigated, evaluated and risk assessed) for consideration, documented and implemented.

Documentation of firewall systems

The Service Provider will:

• Document the setup, configuration, installation specifics into the GSS documentation repository
• Attend internal meetings within GSS team to provide hands-on demonstration and familiarization of firewall system

Specific Working Conditions: The contractor will be required to provide the service 100% on-site at NCIA Mons, Belgium. Exceptional off-site activities to support service delivery can also be arranged with the line manager's coordination and approval.

There may be limited travel required (max.3 times/per year, each travel up to 3 working days), specifically to Brussels, Belgium, The Hague, Netherlands or Brunsum, Netherlands. No additional cost for travel (including accommodation, per diem, travel expenses, etc.,) will be claimed separately. All travel arrangements are the responsibility of the contractor.

Requirements

Skills, Knowledge & Experience:

Contractor who is going to perform the identified tasks as Cyber Security Firewall Support must have demonstrated skills, knowledge and experience as listed below. Activities performed by the contractor include facilitation of all lifecycle aspects of Boundary Protection Components deployed within and on the edge of NATO networks.

Services under current SOW are to be delivered by ONE resource that must meet the following experience, qualities and qualifications:

• The candidate must have a currently active NATO COSMIC TOP SECRET security clearance
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field Or equivalent experience.
• Official firewall certification (such as PCNSA,)
• Official Network Management certification (such as Network+)
• Official Service Management certification (such as ITIL Foundation)
• 2+ years of experience in IT security, with a focus on Security Tools Management in large organisations.
• Strong understanding of security best practices
• Good engineering skills including programming
• Demonstrable experience of analysing and interpreting system, security and application logs in order to diagnose faults and spot abnormal behaviours.
• More than 2 years of experience in Palo Alto Networks Firewalls and Palo Alto Networks Panorama for Enterprise level deployments
• More than 2 years of experience in firewall installation and management of other vendors
• More than 2 years of experience in Scripting/Automation (Bash, Python, Ansible)
• More than 2 years of experience in system monitoring and troubleshooting Experience with network protocols and traffic analysis
• Ability to troubleshoot complex network security issues
• More than 2 years of experience in LAN/WAN networking including protocol network architecture
• More than 2 years of experience in TCP/IP protocols and services
• Profound communication abilities, both written and verbal, with the ability to clearly and successfully articulate complex issues to a variety of audiences and teams

Additionally, the following experience, qualities and qualifications are desirable:

• Understanding of Information Security Practices; relating to the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information (CIA triad.)
• Possession of Industry leading certification in the area of Cybersecurity such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, GSNA, SANS GIAC

In addition to the above, it is desirable for the contracted individual to have working experience and knowledge in the following areas:

• Experience in working with NATO.
• Experience of working with NATO Communications and Information Agency.
• Experience of working with national Defence or Government entities.
• Previous work in an international environment comprising both military and civilian elements.