We are

The European External Action Service (EEAS) supports the work of the High Representative in defining and implementing an effective and coherent EU foreign policy. The EEAS supports his/her tasks of conducting the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy and chairing the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in his/her capacity as Vice President of the Commission with regard to his/her responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field including the coordination of other aspects of the Union’s external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with Member States, the Council and relevant services of the European Commission.

The main mission of EEAS Digital Solutions division is to assist the European External Action Service and EU’s Delegation worldwide network in achieving its strategic objectives by supporting administrative and core business processes with modern Information and Communication Technology tools. The unit is composed of 55 officials and more than 200 experts and is organised in four sections: Management, IT Operations, Services and Security.  

We propose

The position of IT Service Officer – IT Operations Restricted Communication in the IT Operations section, contract agent FGIV as per article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS)[1].

Place of employment: EEAS Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Post available: immediately

We look for

We look for a dynamic, proactive and highly motivated colleague with very good communication and organisational skills, a developed sense of service, as well as several years of experience in the field of system administration and IT operations. A colleague who wants to take a next step in their career and use their technical background to participate in the design, contracting, and implementation of ICT components.

The IT Service Officer will be responsible for managing operational and technical aspects of IT systems and IT security related to restricted communication. The job is a key position for an experienced technical IT Officer, with a strong understanding of security protocols and compliance standards, looking for a dynamic working environment and challenging projects within a friendly, motivated and supportive team. 

We offer easy access to training facilities to improve skills and to keep staff at the top of technology and methodology evolutions. Main working language is English. 

The IT Service Officer will be entrusted with the following main tasks:  

• Manage and maintain IT systems and infrastructure related to restricted communication, ensuring optimal performance and reliability;
• Assist with the distribution and staging of IT equipment on a demand-based manner, ensuring timely provision of resources to support organizational needs;
• Provide ad-hoc assistance to end-users, offering technical support and troubleshooting guidance to resolve issues in a timely manner and minimize disruption to operations;
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify and address IT-related challenges and requirements; Initiate and follow projects;
• Stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices in IT security and restricted communication technologies, recommending improvements and enhancements as necessary;
• Document processes, procedures, and system configurations to ensure comprehensive knowledge transfer and maintain system integrity; Draft operational procedures, work instructions;
• Deal with sensitive operational activities of the restricted communication classified system, manage secure components, carry on administrative activities;
• Support the IT Operation and Helpdesk in the context of restricted communication related incidents/problems as a level 3 support;
• Act as a service owner on a list of IT services, lead on resolutions and further development;
• Proactively manage the lifecycle and drive the direction of the services that he/she is responsible for;
• Supervise the operational activities of the external contractors, mainly the project team; 
• Contract management, negotiating, ordering, follow-up. 

A proven ability to manage and co-ordinate several services simultaneously are important. 

Excellent oral and written command of English is essential.

Legal basis

The vacancy is to be filled in accordance with the conditions stipulated under the CEOS, in particular Article 82 thereof.

Subject to having passed the CAST exam, the successful candidate will be offered a contract agent position (Function group IV), on the basis of a contract with an initial duration of one year that may be successively renewed for a maximum duration of 6 years.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates for this contract agent IV post should:

• - (i) have passed a valid EPSO CAST in FG IV;

or

• - (ii) be registered in the EPSO Permanent Contract Agent Selection Tool (CAST) for FG IV (https://epso.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/open-for-application). In that case, while the registration will render the candidate eligible for the selection procedure, the recruitment of a candidate on this vacant post will be subject to their successfully passing the CAST exam that this candidate will be called to attend.
• have completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma, or where justified in the interest of the service, professional training of an equivalent level.
• have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP (English/French) and external relations necessary for the performance of their duties. Knowledge of other EU languages would be an asset;
• be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Applicants should ideally have the following soft skills required for the job: 

• Ability to work in group; 
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail;
• have strong drafting and analytical skills combined with sound judgement; 
• have the ability to communicate clearly on complex issues and the capacity to perform with accuracy and in a flexible manner a diversity of tasks in a complex institutional environment; 
• have strong service attitude; 
• be fluent in English (C1 level, both orally and in writing); 
• be a flexible team player.  

Candidates should have the following technical skills: 

• Education and domain of expertise relevant to the job; Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field;
• Proven experience in IT operations, with a focus on security and restricted communication systems;
• Strong knowledge of networking principles, protocols, and technologies;
• Familiarity with security frameworks and compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001);
• Experience related to the operational aspects of systems handling EUCI (European Union classified information);
• Overall understanding of secure IT infrastructure design principles;
• Good level of understanding of IT Security standards, rules, procedures related to systems handling EUCI;

• Professional experience in at least four or more of the following domains: 

• Virtualization (Nutanix, VMware)  
• SINA technologies (Secunet)
• Boolebox cybersecurity solutions
• Splunk
• Hyperconverge technology (Nutanix, VMware vSAN) 
• Storage (SAN, NAS, CIFS) 
• OS management (Windows 2012/2016/2019, Linux, Redhat, CentOs) 
• Active Directory, GPO's, Identity and Access Management  
• Databases & reporting (MS-SQL, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL) 
• SCCM, SCOM 
• Scripting (PowerShell, Python, Perl, other) 
• (Mobile) telephony and smartphones 
• Cisco Unified Communications products (Cisco Jabber, Webex, Cisco UCM, etc.) 
• VDI technology 
• Containerization technology (Kubernetes, VMware Tanzu) 
• Automation (VMware Aria) 

Furthermore:   

• Relevant certifications (e.g., CISSP, CompTIA Security+, SANS);
• experience of working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment; 
• experience in working with or within other EU institutions; 
• Fluent in French or other EU language  

would be considered as strong assets.  

Specific conditions of employment

The signature of the contract will be subject to prior favourable opinion of the Medical Service.

The requested level of security clearance for this post is: SECRET UE/EU SECRET. A description of the EU classified information levels is available under Article 2 of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS[2].

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC)[3] issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned.

Candidates who do not already have a valid PSC will be required to go through the security clearance vetting procedure of their Member State to obtain this clearance in accordance with national laws and regulations and with the procedure laid down in the Decision ADMIN(2019)7 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS of 08 March 2019 and in Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS[4]. Until the PSC is issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned, the selected candidate will not be authorised to access EUCI at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, or to participate in any meetings or workflow where EUCI is processed.

Please note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.

In case of failure to obtain or renew the required PSC, the AACC may take the appropriate measures in accordance with Article 3(3) of the Decision ADMIN(2019) 7 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS of 08 March 2019.

Equal Opportunities

The EEAS is committed to an equal opportunities policy for all its employees and applicants for employment. As an employer, the EEAS is committed to promoting gender equality and to preventing discrimination on any grounds. It actively welcomes applications from all qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and from the broadest possible geographical basis amongst the EU Member States. We aim at a service, which is truly representative of society, where each staff member feels respected, is able to give their best and can develop their full potential.

Candidates with disabilities are invited to contact CONTRACTAGENTS-HQ@eeas.europa.eu in order to accommodate any special needs and provide assistance to ensure the possibility to pass the selection procedure in equality of opportunities with other candidates.  If a candidate with a disability is selected for a vacant post, the EEAS is committed to providing reasonable accommodation in accordance with Art 1d.4 of the Staff Regulations.

Application and selection procedure[5]

Please send your CV and cover letter (with your EPSO CAST number), in English or in French via email, with reference to the Vacancy number in the subject field, to: RM-SCS-5-HR@eeas.europa.eu

Deadline for sending application: 21 June 2024 at 12:00 midday (CET).

Candidates shall draft their CV using the Europass CV , which can be found at the following internet address: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae.

Late applications will not be accepted.

The selection panel will make a pre-selection on the basis of the qualifications and professional experience described in the CV and motivational letter, and will produce a shortlist of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for the post. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be informed about the outcome of the pre-selection phase.

The candidates who have been preselected will be invited for an interview by a selection panel.

The selection panel may decide, in addition to the interview, to organise written tests, either for all pre-selected candidates or to the best ranked ones, after the interview. The content of such written tests will be defined by the selection panel and may include, but not be limited to, multiple choice questions, open questions and/or topics for a short essay.

Pre-selected candidates shall be invited to sit the CAST exam before or after the interview stage by the selection panel (in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out above).The panel will recommend a shortlist of candidates for a final decision by the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC). The AACC may decide to interview the candidates on the final shortlist before taking this decision.

If, exceptionally, on the date of recruitment, the successful candidate has not yet had the opportunity to pass the tests necessary to obtain the CAST, the latter will be engaged on condition that he obtains the CAST within six months of taking up his duties. Failure to obtain the required CAST will give the EEAS the right to terminate the employment contract.

It is recalled, that the selection procedure may be terminated at any stage in the interest of the service.

In the interest of the service, after identifying the candidate that best fulfils the requirement of the post as set out in the vacancy notice and that has successfully passed the CAST exam, the AACC may also establish a reserve list of candidates. These candidates shall be informed that the reserve list shall remain valid for a period of one year from when it is established and that it may be used to fill the same post or an equivalent post in the EEAS having the same job profile.

[1]    Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (SR) and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140501&from=EN

[2]    OJ C 126, 10 April 2018, p.1.

[3]    The ‘Personnel Security Clearance’ is defined under point 2 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS as “a statement by a competent authority of a Member State which is made following completion of a security investigation conducted by the competent authorities of a Member State and which certifies that an individual may, provided his ‘need-to-know’ has been determined, be granted access to EUCI up to a specified level (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above) until a specified date; the individual thus described is said to be ‘security cleared’.”

[4]    OJ C 126, 10 April 2018, p.1.

[5]    Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as implemented by ADMIN(2019) 8 Decision of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The privacy statement is available on the Europa website: (https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eeas-privacy-statement-data-protection-notice-purpose-processing-personal-data-related-public_en) and on the EEAS Intranet:(https://intranet.eeas.europa.eu/page/eeas-work/data-protection/privacy-statements-dp-notices)