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 Policy Coordination Division (SG.COORD) plays a central role to support the HRVP, the EEAS Secretary General and senior management in achieving EEAS policy priorities. Through a joined-up approach to inter-institutional issues and coordination, the Division contributes to the effective and efficient conduct of policy and decision-making processes within the EEAS and with regard to the work of the Council and Commission.

In particular, the Legislative Coordination Team within Sector 2 (Commission Team) is responsible for

• handling procedures for legislative/non legislative initiatives where the EEAS is in the lead (planning, interservice consultation and adoption),
• assignment of incoming ISCs from Commission DGs,
• managing the EEAS Register/EEAS Greffe for official documents,
• advising and supporting all services within the EEAS on procedures,
• the coordination of all translation requests from EEAS services.

We propose

The position of Legislative Coordinator – contract agent FGIII as per article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).^[1]

Under the responsibility of the Head of Division, the supervision of the Head of Sector and the Legislative Coordination team leader, we propose an interesting and challenging position for an Assistant.

Place of employment: EEAS Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Post available: immediately

We look for

We are seeking a highly motivated and proactive colleague with excellent organisational and communication skills, very good team spirit and a developed sense of service.

His/her main tasks will be:

• Monitor all the procedural steps taking place in Decide (IT platform) regarding the Commission decision-making process. This implies ensuring high-quality standards and timely handling of EEAS initiatives subject to any adoption procedure.
• Manage the EEAS Register, where official HR and EEAS documents are registered to be transmitted to other institutions and make them accessible, when possible, to the public.
• Validate all EEAS translation requests to be sent to the Commission DGT (via ePOETRY) and to the Council Translation Service.
• Provide guidance to EEAS colleagues regarding procedures and working methods, monitoring the work in progress and ensure quality checks.
• Daily contacts with colleagues from Commission SG and other DGs to have coordinated actions and maintaining constructive working relationships.

The function entails a high degree of autonomy but also very close collaboration with other members of the team as well as colleagues across EEAS, Council and Commission services.

Some degree of flexibility beyond standard working hours may be required in case of urgent files.

Training opportunities are available, including on-the-job training by the team.

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 III), 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 III post should:

• (i) have passed a valid EPSO CAST in a valid FG for this post

or

(ii) be registered in the EPSO Permanent Contract Agent Selection Tool (CAST) in a valid FG for this post (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 a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of three year
• have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP 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

Candidates should:

• Have a good understanding of/an interest in the Commission decision-making rules and legislatives procedures. 
• Demonstrate a good capacity for problem-solving, rapid and robust decision-making and coherent prioritisation.  An eye for detail would be an asset.
• Have very sound computer skills. Good knowledge of IT tools used in EU institutions is essential, mostly the ones linked to legislative procedures: Decide, LegisWrite, Poetry, VISTA, ARES …
• Have good communication skills being able to explain complex procedures to colleagues in the services.
• Be resilient and flexible to respond to the wide variety of tasks faced by the team with a positive approach and be able to work under time pressure.
• have the ability to perform multiple tasks and adjust to changing priorities and respect deadlines, with strong organisational and prioritising skills;
• have strong drafting and analytical skills combined with sound judgement;
• have knowledge of external relations, internal policies and functioning of the Union;
• have excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain a network of contacts both within and outside the EEAS;
• have the ability to communicate clearly on complex issues
• have 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 and in French (both orally and in writing);
• be a flexible team player.

Furthermore: 

• experience of working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment;
• experience in working with or within other EU institutions;
• Proven experience as a “Legislative / Decide coordinator”

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:

Margareta.PLODER@eeas.europa.eu   

Deadline for sending application: 08/11/2023 at 12.00 (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 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, 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)