MAKE A DIFFERENCE - JOIN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Do you want to help shape the future of the European Union? Make the planet greener, promote a fairer society, or support businesses and innovation across the EU? Then come and work for the European Commission where you can really make a difference!
Commission staff are a diverse group of people, who are motivated to help make Europe – and the world – a better place. They come from the 27 Member States of the European Union. Different nationalities, backgrounds, languages and cultures make the Commission a vibrant and inclusive place to work.
WE OFFER GREAT JOBS AND GREAT WORKING CONDITIONS:
- Interesting and challenging jobs with plenty of opportunities for training and acquiring new skills and competencies throughout your whole career
- Opportunities to move between different policy areas throughout your career
- A package of flexible working conditions including the possibility of teleworking – we care about your work-life balance
- A competitive financial package, including comprehensive healthcare, accident and pension schemes
- A multilingual, multicultural workplace where personal and career development are strongly promoted
- Multilingual schools for your children
We recruit from a wide range of backgrounds and actively promote diversity and inclusion:
We do not only recruit political scientists and lawyers but are also looking for all kinds of profiles, including scientists, linguists, IT experts, data analysts and economists, as well as drivers and engineers.
We are committed to equal opportunities and to fostering a rich, diverse and inclusive working environment. We aim for our workforce to be representative of European society and strongly welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively seek to create a workplace where each staff member feels valued and respected, can give their best and can develop to their full potential.
To promote diversity and establish a geographically balanced pool of candidates, we strongly encourage applicants from Member States which are currently underrepresented in the European Commission workforce to apply. These Member States are currently Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden¹. Recruitment will however remain strictly based on the merits of all applicants and no positions will be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State.
For more information ec.europa.eu/work-with-us
STAFF RECRUITED ON CONTRACTS
In addition to permanent officials, the European Commission offers non-permanent positions. There are two categories of non-permanent staff:
- temporary agents are recruited to fill vacant positions for a set amount of time or to perform highly specialised tasks.
- contract agents may provide additional capacity in specialised fields where an insufficient number of officials is available or carry out a number of administrative or manual tasks. They are generally recruited for fixed-term contracts (maximum 6 years in any EU Institution), but in some cases they can be offered contracts for an indefinite duration (in offices, agencies, delegations or representations).
For more information on different staff categories
¹ Please note that the list of underrepresented Member States may be subject to future amendment based on potential data changes over time.
Secretary
Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST) of the European Commission
Selection reference: JUST/COM/2026/2175
Domain: Support staff
Where: Unit JUST.C3 – „Data Protection“, Brussels
Staff category and Function Group: Temporary agent 2b – Administrative agent
Grade range: AST/SC1-2
Publication deadline: 26.10.2026 – 12.00 (Brussels time)
WE ARE
Unit JUST.C3 is responsible for the protection of personal data as a fundamental right in the EU. The EU data protection rules – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive – are key EU achievements. Ensuring that the new legislation delivers for people living in the EU is therefore a priority objective for the Commission and our unit in particular. To this end, we monitor the compliance of national legislation, integrate data protection into all relevant EU policy initiatives, and actively engage with all actors, in particular data protection authorities, businesses and civil society. With a wide range of EU policies increasingly involving the processing of personal data, we work closely with a wide range of Commission services in areas such as artificial intelligence and the related data strategy, health, financial services, mobility and law enforcement, in order to ensure that the fundamental right to the protection of personal data is duly respected.
WE PROPOSE
We offer a position for a motivated and eager to learn unit secretary in a dynamic work environment. The new colleague will be an integral part of the team and will work in close cooperation with the head of unit, all members of the unit and other colleagues in the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. S/he will have frequent contacts with other Commission services and stakeholders.
The position will consist of a wide variety of tasks contributing to the smooth running of the unit by providing general secretarial, organisational and administrative support and ensuring compliance with Commission’s administrative rules. The new colleague will in particular be responsible for handling unit mail, assisting in handling briefings, support in interaction with external stakeholders, including other EU bodies, preparing business trips, organising meetings (on-line or physical), and assisting in coordinating and handling citizen’s complaints, access to documents request, petitions and other similar requests. S/he will ensure the administrative support to colleagues in handling consultations on legal acts to be adopted by the Commission (interservice-consultations). the unit.
WE LOOK FOR
We are looking for a friendly, dynamic and motivated team member. The successful candidate should have proven secretarial, organisational and coordination skills and be able to work autonomously. S/he should have a sense of initiative.
The ideal profile for the job is a candidate with:
- Ability to interact constructively with colleagues and stakeholders.
- Very good communication and drafting skills in English. Further language skills, in particular French or German, would be an asset.
- A good knowledge of Commission procedures and standard Commission tools is an asset. But more importantly, s/he should be willing to develop him/herself further, by learning on the job and by following targeted training courses as necessary.
HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST?
You should send your documents in a single pdf in the following order:
- your CV
- completed application form.
Please send these documents by the publication deadline to JUST-C3@ec.europa.eu indicating the selection reference JUST/COM/2026/2175 in the subject.
No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.
1. Selection
➤ Am I eligible to apply?
You must meet the following eligibility criteria when you validate your application:
Our rules provide that you can only be recruited as a temporary agent at the European Commission if you:
General criteria:
- Are a citizen of a Member State of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen
- Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service
- Are physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post
- Produce the appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the duties.
Qualifications:
In order to be recruited for this position, you must have at least
- 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 at least three years.
Only qualifications issued or recognised as equivalent by EU Member State authorities (e.g. by the Ministry of Education) will be accepted. Furthermore, before recruitment, you will be required to provide the documents that corroborate the eligibility criteria (diplomas, certificates and other supporting documents).
Languages:
- have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1) of one of the 24 official languages of the EU²
- AND a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2) of a second official language of the EU, to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.
➤ What about the selection steps?
² The official languages of the European Union are: BG (Bulgarian), CS (Czech), DA (Danish), DE (German), EL (Greek), EN (English), ES (Spanish), ET (Estonian), FI (Finnish), FR (French), GA (Irish), HR (Croatian), HU (Hungarian), IT (Italian), LT (Lithuanian), LV (Latvian), MT (Maltese), NL (Dutch), PL (Polish), PT (Portuguese), RO (Romanian), SK (Slovak), SL (Slovenian), SV (Swedish).
The post was published internally within the Commission, inter-institutionally, and brought to the attention of competition laureates.
In accordance with Article 29 of the Staff Regulations, applications from Commission officials, officials from other Institutions, and laureates of competitions have priority$^{3}$. If these candidates do not best fit the requirements for the position, the Commission can recruit a temporary agent.
For temporary agents under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, the post is published directly on the EPSO website, without mandatory prior internal publication.
A selection panel will choose a limited number of candidates for interview, based on the CV and application form that they submitted. Due to the large volume of applications, we may receive, only candidates selected for the next step of the selection phase will be notified.
For operational reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates and of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in English and possibly in another language (French).
2. Recruitment
The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their application.
The successful candidate will be required to undergo a mandatory pre-recruitment medical check-up, carried out by the Commission.
➤ Type of contract and working conditions
The place of employment will be Brussels
In case the successful candidate is not an official or a competition laureate, they will be recruited as a temporary agent under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, in function group AST/SC.
➤ Grade
The recruitment grade, as well as the step in that grade, will be determined in accordance with Commission Decision C(2025)4716 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents and with Commission Decision C(2013)8970 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in step on engagement.
The recruitment grade will be calculated based on the qualifications and the number of years of professional experience, according to Art. 13 of the Commission Decision C(2025)4716. Higher grades may be granted exceptionally.
The duration of the 1$^{st}$ contract will be up to 4 years. The contract might then be extended only once for a maximum of 2 years and in the interest of service, in accordance with Commission Decision C(2025)4716 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents.
All new staff have to successfully complete a 9-month probationary period.
The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances, including, where applicable, expatriation and family allowances. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. As a member of staff of the European institutions, your pay is subject to a tax raised by those institutions.
The European Commission applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations.
Should you need further information on working conditions, please refer to Working conditions and benefits of EU Careers.
For information related to Data Protection, please see the Specific Privacy Statement under “7. Information to data subjects on their rights”, to find your rights and how to exercise them in addition to the privacy statement, which summarises the processing of your data.