VACANCY NOTICE - CONTRACT AGENT

About us

Within the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Directorate E is responsible for advancing and supporting high-quality labour mobility within the EU by promoting free movement of workers and by facilitating the coordination of social security systems. It also coordinates the International and Enlargement dimension of EMPL policies and relations with external policy DGs.

Unit EMPL.E.4 is the geographical unit responsible for the efficient and effective programming and monitoring of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) programmes and the Social Climate Fund (SCF) plans and assisting Italy, Denmark, and Sweden with their implementation.

The Unit acts as the main source intelligence on labour market, social policies and skills and VET policies in the Member States aforementioned and is a key actor in the European Semester process, providing input to the annual cycle of analysis and assessment of Medium-term Fiscal Structural Plans and policies and to the formulation and monitoring of the country specific recommendations and promoting and monitoring the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and the respective national targets.

The unit is also in charge of leading the negotiations for the future National and Regional Partnership Plans 2028-34 in relation to Employment, Social Inclusion and Skills and representing DG EMPL in the interservice group established by DG REFORM to this regard.

We are a team of 22 people, enjoying our work individually and as a team, with particular attention given to maintaining a friendly work environment and a good work-life balance.

About the role

Unit EMPL E.4 is looking for a Policy and Programme Assistant.

The successful candidate will contribute to the analysis and monitoring of the employment and social policies primarily in Italy and their impact on job creation, skills development and social inclusion in the framework of the European Semester process. He/she will also contribute to the management of ESF+ programmes, monitor the implementation of the interventions, participate in annual meetings with the managing authorities, assess performance, assist in preparation and negotiation of relevant updates of programmes, check expenditure claims and contribute to the various evaluations foreseen in the Regulations. The colleague will contribute to the negotiations for the Social Climate Plans and the National and Regional Partnership Plans and assist in the preparation of internal reports and briefings and replies to requests from various stakeholders (hierarchy, auditors - DG EMPL/IAS/ECA-, European Parliament, citizen's requests, etc.).

Qualifications, experience and skills

We are looking for a highly motivated policy and programme assistant with strong analytical capability for policy analysis in the areas of employment, social inclusion, skills and education and training and a good knowledge of developments in the Member States covered by the Unit in this respect. An experience of at least two years with management of programmes and/or projects would be an advantage.

The new colleague is expected to have very good drafting skills, to be able to quickly identify key issues and deliver quality outputs under tight deadlines. It is also important for the new colleague to be a good team player and have a good sense of initiative and responsibility.

Good communication and negotiation skills are essential. Proficiency level in Italian will be a strong asset as well as a good command of English and/or French.

The candidate should be available to travel occasionally to participate in monitoring committees and other relevant fora.

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-E4-UNIT@ec.europa.eu

indicating the selection reference EC-2026-EMPL-225773

Eligibility

For eligibility, please consult this page with all the information needed.