Contract Specialist (Agile)

Job Description

McBride has an exciting opportunity to support Allied Command Transformation (ACT) which 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 organizations. ACT therefore leads Alliance concept development, capability development, training and lessons learned initiatives and provides unfettered military support to policy development within NATO.

You will be responsible for the following :

• Identify opportunities to align with, or recommend changes to, policies that govern the operations of the ACT Innovation laboratory.
• Work with NATO Contracting, Budget, and Finance (BUDFIN) mechanisms to identify the best acquisition solutions that meet ACT Innovation requirements.
• Track and manage ACT Innovation software applications and infrastructure to ensure the environment supports agile software development.
• Collaborate with ACT Innovation team members and NATO BUDFIN to ensure agile methodologies apply to all product development and enabling functions as defined during onboarding.
• Support drafting, management, and execution of acquisition strategies, RFPs, SOWs, and evaluation criteria tailored for agile, modular, and outcome-based contracts.
• Promote modern technologies and approaches to inspire compliance with NATO’s acquisition processes while enabling innovation.
• Facilitate vendor engagement and support transparent evaluation processes in line with NATO acquisition rules.
• Perform additional acquisition or contracting-related tasks as directed by the COTR.

Requirements

Required Qualifications :

Proven experience managing acquisition and contract strategies in defense / government institutions.

Demonstrated understanding of Agile practices and ability to translate and apply them in NATO or national defense environments.

Education and Clearance :

Benefits

For U.S. residents only :

Requirements

Essential Qualifications : Minimum 3 years’ experience working in contract / acquisition-related fields. Familiarity with NATO-specific acquisition publications, regulations, and requirements documents. Proven experience managing acquisition and contract strategies in defense / government institutions. Demonstrated understanding of Agile practices and ability to translate and apply them in NATO or national defense environments. Experience working closely with cross-functional teams and facilitating collaboration across technical, financial, and operational domains. Demonstrated ability to facilitate meetings and drive outcomes. Ability to break down complex acquisition / contracting problems into measurable, manageable parts. Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to adapt communication style to audience. Experience promoting modern technologies in acquisition approaches to achieve creative compliance with NATO processes. Some experience with modern software technologies and cloud-based infrastructure. Fluent in English (written and oral). Education and Clearance : University degree with at least 24 semester hours of business or management-related courses, OR DAWIA certification in Contracting / Acquisition, or equivalent. Active NATO SECRET-level security clearance or valid national SECRET clearance issued by a NATO member nation.