VACANCY NOTICE - CONTRACT AGENT

| Job title | Programme Management Officer |
| Reference | EC-2026-EMPL-469706 |
| Application deadline | 16.10.2026 - 12.00 (noon, Brussels time) |
| Directorate-General (full name) | DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion European Commission |
| Unit | Unit EMPL.C.5 - Romania, Bulgaria |
| Place of assignment | Brussels |
| Domain* | Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction |
| Contract type and

Function Group | Contract Agent 3b

FG IV |

*please use one of the standardised domains that can be found here

| About us |
| Directorate EMPL.C – “Quality Jobs, Working Conditions and Social Dialogue”, within DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, works towards promoting social dialogue and improving working conditions through effective labour law and safe and healthy working environments. The Directorate is also responsible for the programming and implementation of a series of funds in Spain, Malta, Romania and Bulgaria. It coordinates these funds with other European funding streams, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Unit EMPL.C.5 “Romania, Bulgaria” is located in Brussels. Its mission is to contribute to attaining the aims and objectives of the European Pillar of Social Rights, to support fair green and digital transitions as well as to contribute to enhanced economic and social resilience in Member States. It promotes efficient and inclusive labour markets and social protection systems as well as supporting skills development, accessible social services and healthcare for all. To this effect, Unit C5 is the source of country intelligence for DG EMPL in the context of the European Semester and fund management. It ensures, in close cooperation with the Member State and stakeholders (such as the social partners, civil society, etc.) the programming and implementation of the European Social Fund Plus (2021-2027), the Social Climate Fund (2026-2032), the European Social Fund, the Youth Employment Initiative, the European Fund for the Most Deprived (2014-2020), and the preparation and implementation of the National and Regional Partnership Plans (2028-2034). It coordinates these funds with other European funding streams to which it contributes to assess and monitor.

The person recruited on this post will work on negotiating Romania’s Social Climate Plan and will be reallocated at a later stage to the DAC (audit). |
| About the role |
| Unit EMPL C5 is seeking to hire a Programme Manager. The successful candidate will contribute to the negotiation of Romania’s Social Climate Plan and the management of the Social Climate Fund. S/he will be in charge and provide policy steering to Romania in their Social Climate Fund preparation phase and for horizontal areas of expertise in the fields of energy and transport poverty as well as general and specific impact of the implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System 2 on vulnerable households, transport users and micro-enterprises. S/he will contribute to the units’ analysis for the preparation and negotiation of the Plan and monitoring of policy and political developments in these areas in the Member State as well as the progress in the implementation of the Social Climate Plan. The jobholder will have regular contacts with the national authorities and other stakeholders, prepare negotiation and monitoring meetings and travel on regular missions to the Member State.

The successful candidate will work on a large variety of tasks aiming at:

  1. Providing policy analysis on the themes above, in particular in relation to the Social Climate Fund and the Social Climate Plan, including an assessment of proposed costing estimates.
  2. Coordinating with other services at policy and technical level and producing reports to the attention of other institutions, as well as developing and contributing to the various studies undertaken by the Commission in the areas above.
  3. Providing guidance to the Member State in relation to their Social Climate Plan on the implementation, procedures, evaluation, and reporting.
  4. Providing contributions to briefing requests and replies to Parliamentary questions related to the Social Climate Fund and the coordination with other funds supported programmes.
  5. Assisting in the representation of DG EMPL in internal and external meetings with stakeholders, as well as EU inter-institutional relations.
  6. Checking the delivery by Member States of “milestones” and “targets” and taking the necessary administrative steps towards payments. | | Qualifications, experience and skills | | We are looking for a highly motivated candidate, results-oriented and proactive. She/he should have strong analytical skills and a solid understanding of EU funding instruments, preferably through work experience at project, programme or EU level. Good relevant policy knowledge is also required for this position. Experience and knowledge about EU level policy developments in the areas of climate action, energy and transport poverty are strong assets.

The future colleague is expected to have good organisation skills, a good sense of initiative and responsibility as well as strong social and diplomatic skills. He/she must be a good team player, be able to quickly identify key issues and deliver quality outputs.
Fluent knowledge of Romanian is a big advantage. Good drafting skills in English are an asset. |
| How to express your interest?

You should send your documents in a single pdf in the following order:

  1. Your CV 2. Completed application form

Please send these documents by the publication deadline to empl-C5-vacancies@ec.europa.eu indicating the selection reference EC-2026-EMPL-469706 |
| Eligibility |
| For eligibility, please consult this page with all the information needed. |

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.