The JALLC is always keen to support its civilian staff in their personal and professional development.  In this article we take a look at one of NATO’s development programmes is designed specifically for NATO civilians at mid-management levels, with the aim to build and develop a network of talented international civilians from across the Alliance, and chat to four JALLC staff who have completed the challenging programme over the years.

NATO is committed to investing in its human resource talent and provides training and personal/professional development opportunities for all of its staff. In particular, the NATO international civilian staff hold a slightly different position to the military staff as they are not subject to regular rotation (military staff in and out of position on average every three years) and, as such, provide continuity to the Alliance.  In order to ensure that NATO’s civilian staff are continuously developing their skills and other attributes, there are various courses and programmes available. One such programme is the NATO-wide Executive Development Programme (NEDP) which is designed specifically for NATO civilians at mid-management levels, with the aim to build and develop a network of talented international civilians from across the Alliance.

Each year, around 25 NATO International Civilians are selected from a large pool of hopeful candidates who have applied for the programme across the whole of NATO. The JALLC currently has four staff members who have successfully completed the nine-month-long programme which is designed to enhance the knowledge of NATO, the challenges NATO faces, its identity, and core values, as well as give insight into the skills and competencies equired of NATO leaders in this rapidly changing world. The NEDP also helps participants to better understand their leadership abilities, personal styles of leadership and strengths, and, importantly, recognize areas for self-improvement.

Another important aspect of the NEDP is to build and develop a network of talented international civilians across the Alliance.  In order to maintain that network, the NEDP Alumni organize regular meetings such as the recent annual Alumni meeting.  This was another successful event where representatives from various NATO entities attended and shared their experience, views, and insights about the “life after NEDP.”  The event not only provided an opportunity for the alumni to network and build a common understanding of main work strands and challenges in NATO, but also an excellent opportunity to welcome new Alumni from the current NEDP 15 cohort as they finish their NEDP this year. High-level NATO leadership attended the event, held at NATO HQ in Brussels, including NATO Deputy Secretary, Mr Mircea Geoană, and the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management, Mr Carlo Borghini.

The interaction with NATO leadership emphasized once again the importance of NATO;’s human resources as the main driver for change as well as the psychological safety required in an organization to enable a LL culture leading to change and transformation.

Stefan Olaru, JALLC Research Analyst and the most recent NEDP Alumni, attended the event and noted: “It was a great opportunity to meet in person colleagues from my NEDP cohort.  As our NEDP took place during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we interacted online during the programme.  Attending this event reminded me of the responsibility of the NEDP Alumni to “speak the truth to the power” to ensure that they get the most comprehensive view on what is actually going on in the organization so that they can drive successful organizational changes.”

Jodie Lazell and Jackie Eaton, respectively the JALLC’s Editor and Principal Operational Research Analyst—both NEDP Alumni for several years—attended the recent NEDP Workshop that was help in conjunction with the NATO Lessons Learned Conference 2024 in Lisbon in April this year. The workshop was attended by NEDP Alumni from across the organization, from the NATO Communications and Information Agency to HQ Supreme Allied Command Transformation, and covered a range of topics, including the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC). Jodie noted about holding these types of events, “It’s really important to ensure that the civilian knowledge in NATO is not just retained, but actually continuously developed and used to help drive necessary change in the Alliance. The power of “what has gone before” is incredibly important when considering the “what is to come.”  Civilians provide that thread of continuity, the whole story as it were, that allows our military colleagues to come in every three years and provide fresh perspectives and new ideas. It works in symbiosis and is one of the great strengths of our Alliance.” Jackie said, “I graduated from the first cycle of NEDP 15 years ago, so this workshop was an excellent opportunity for me to meet and connect with new alumni from across the organization, the quality of the presentations and critical discussion of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept truly reflected the high calibre of the staff represented in the room.”

Katie Mauldin, one of the JALLC’s two Senior Operational Research Analysts, noted that her time on the NEDP resulted in real value added for her position in JALLC and in NATO.  The experience further developed her network across the organization, giving her more resources and contacts to reach out to more broadly  in connection with the multiple JALLC analysis projects she oversees.

You can downloand a copy of a JALLC factsheet on one of the JALLC staff NEDP projects here, and you can read about the NEDP experiences in the articles below.

NATO-wide Executive Programme (NEDP) – another alumni from the JALLC :: JALLC - NATO

JALLC staff member, Jodie Lazell, successfully completes NATO-wide Executive Development Programme 2017-2018 :: JALLC - NATO