Phishing Campaign Specialist

Role Overview Nextlink is seeking an experienced Phishing Campaign Specialist to support the coordination, management and execution of enterprise-wide phishing simulation campaigns across NATO entities. The successful candidate will play a key role in strengthening NATO's cybersecurity awareness and improving its overall human-risk management capabilities by designing realistic phishing simulations, managing campaign delivery, analysing results and providing actionable recommendations.

The role involves coordinating with multiple NATO entities, managing phishing simulation platforms, developing reusable phishing templates, monitoring emerging phishing and social engineering threats, and producing consolidated campaign reports for operational and management stakeholders. The specialist will act as a central point of contact for phishing campaign services, ensuring consistency, quality, effectiveness and continuous improvement across participating NATO entities.

Key Responsibilities

A. Phishing Campaign Planning and Execution Plan, coordinate and execute phishing simulation campaigns across NATO entities. Define campaign objectives, target audiences, scenarios and execution schedules. Configure, test and validate campaigns before deployment. Monitor campaign execution and evaluate results against defined security awareness objectives.

Recommend improvements based on campaign outcomes and organisational requirements. B. Phishing Template Development and Management Develop, maintain and manage an approved library of reusable phishing simulation templates. Create realistic phishing scenarios based on current cyber threats and social engineering techniques.

Adapt templates to different audiences, languages, organisational contexts and business environments. Support NATO entities in developing and customising their own phishing simulation templates. Ensure templates are reviewed, validated and maintained in accordance with agreed standards. C. Threat Intelligence and Scenario Development Monitor emerging phishing, email-based attacks and social engineering techniques.

Identify relevant cyber threat trends and translate them into realistic simulation scenarios. Recommend new campaign themes and scenarios aligned with current threat landscapes. Share threat insights, campaign findings and lessons learned with participating entities. D. Phishing Simulation Platform Administration Administer the phishing simulation platform and manage user access, roles and permissions.

Coordinate platform whitelisting activities across NATO entities. Liaise with the platform service provider to resolve technical issues and service requests. Track vendor support activities, platform changes and service updates. Communicate relevant platform updates and operational guidance to stakeholders. E. License and Contract Management Support Monitor software licence usage and availability.

Maintain records of contractual dates, licence allocations and renewal requirements. Identify opportunities to optimise licence utilisation. Coordinate renewal preparation and provide relevant information to designated commercial and procurement stakeholders. Support contract administration while leaving commercial and approval decisions with authorised organisational owners.

F. Reporting, Analytics and Performance Monitoring Prepare entity-level, consolidated and management-level phishing campaign reports. Analyse campaign performance using consistent metrics and reporting definitions. Identify trends, vulnerabilities, risk indicators and areas requiring improvement. Develop dashboards and performance indicators using Excel, Power BI or similar reporting tools.

Provide actionable recommendations to improve cybersecurity awareness and reduce human-related security risks. G. Stakeholder and Service Coordination Act as the primary point of contact for phishing campaign support across NATO entities. Provide guidance and campaign support based on individual entity requirements. Coordinate with cybersecurity teams, technical stakeholders and non-technical business users.

Promote consistent campaign practices, knowledge sharing and collaboration. Manage multiple campaigns, stakeholder requests and competing priorities. H. Documentation, Governance and Continuous Improvement Maintain campaign procedures, operational documentation, standards and deliverables. Ensure documentation is stored in agreed repositories and formats.

Follow applicable NATO security, privacy, data protection and governance requirements. Identify opportunities to improve campaign effectiveness, service delivery and operational processes.

Requirements

Essential Skills and Experience Demonstrated experience managing or supporting enterprise-level phishing simulation campaigns. Hands-on experience with phishing simulation and cybersecurity awareness platforms. Strong understanding of phishing attacks, social engineering techniques and email technologies. Knowledge of relevant email security controls and environments.

Ability to design realistic phishing scenarios, email templates and campaign strategies. Experience configuring, testing, validating and monitoring phishing campaigns. Strong analytical skills with the ability to consolidate campaign results and generate meaningful reports. Experience managing stakeholders and coordinating with external service providers.

Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple campaigns, entities and deadlines. Excellent written and verbal English communication skills. Ability to work independently, take initiative and proactively identify operational issues. 4. Desirable Skills and Experience Experience delivering phishing simulation and security awareness programmes across large, multinational or federated organisations. Knowledge of threat intelligence and emerging phishing and social engineering trends. Familiarity with mail security gateways and enterprise email security environments. Experience developing dashboards, KPIs and security awareness metrics using Excel, Power BI or similar tools. Knowledge of automation, scripting, APIs and platform integrations. Understanding of privacy, data protection and employee-related considerations in phishing simulations. Exposure to software licensing, procurement and contract management processes. Relevant cybersecurity certifications or professional qualifications. 5. Educational Qualifications Option 1 – Standard Requirement: Bachelor's degree from a nationally recognised/accredited university in a relevant discipline. Minimum 3 years of post-related professional experience. Option 2 – Exceptional Equivalency: Candidates without a university degree may be considered if they demonstrate particular abilities and extensive relevant professional expertise. Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in duties related to the Statement of Work. 6. Key Deliverables and Expected Outcomes The successful candidate will be expected to deliver: Planned and successfully executed phishing simulation campaigns across NATO entities. An approved and reusable phishing simulation template library. Realistic phishing scenarios aligned with current threat intelligence. Effective administration and operational support of the phishing simulation platform. Platform access, whitelisting and vendor issue coordination. Licence utilisation and renewal tracking documentation. Entity-level and consolidated phishing campaign performance reports. Management dashboards, KPIs and analytical insights. Updated operational procedures, documentation and service improvement recommendations. 7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Performance will be evaluated based on: Timely planning and successful execution of phishing campaigns. Quality, relevance and effectiveness of phishing simulation scenarios. Accuracy and consistency of campaign reporting. Effective platform administration and vendor coordination. Stakeholder satisfaction and service responsiveness. Timely maintenance of licence and contract tracking records. Compliance with applicable security, privacy and governance requirements. Continuous improvement in phishing awareness and campaign effectiveness. 8. Working Conditions and Location The position is based at NCIA in Mons, Belgium. The role is primarily on-site. Remote working may be permitted for up to 20% of total working time from another NATO nation, subject to prior approval from the Resource Manager and Section Head of AE. Teleworking from the candidate's home in the duty location may be permitted under NCIA's teleworking policy. NCIA IT equipment will be provided for processing restricted information. For remote working, the contractor must provide suitable IT equipment for public and unclassified information and Microsoft-based video collaboration. Occasional travel to NCIA locations in Belgium may be required, with reimbursement under applicable NATO travel regulations. 9. Security Clearance NATO SECRET security clearance is mandatory. The candidate must meet NATO security clearance requirements and comply with all applicable security, confidentiality and information-handling policies.