Directorate Assistant

We are looking for candidates that meet the following essential selection criteria:

(1) Professional

Candidates will be required to demonstrate the following qualifications:

• at least two (2) years of relevant professional experience, acquired after the award of the qualification required as a condition of eligibility;
• excellent organisation, coordination and administrative skills, including the ability to provide support to senior management and/or teams;
• experience in organising internal/external meetings, both individually and as part of a team;
• experience in performing finance-related tasks (budget planning, monitoring and cost reimbursements);
• familiarity with the EU Institutions and knowledge of the EU processes and policies;
• excellent IT, database and document management skills (particularly in a SharePoint environment), including experience in data processing software (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
• very good written and oral communication skills in English.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

• strong sense of duty and responsibility;
• ability to work in a multicultural team;
• result-orientation and strong motivation;
• strong customer service orientation;
• ability to deal with confidential information;
• flexibility and innovativeness;
• good interpersonal and communication skills;
• accuracy and attention to detail;
• ability to adapt to a quickly changing working environment;
• genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.

Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• a University degree (or equivalent academic degree) or formal training/certification relevant to the post;
• prior experience in an EU context, including relevant experience in administration and event management;
• experience in supporting the administration of EU-funded projects;
• familiarity with the defence international environment (especially Common Security and Defence Policy - CSDP) and the EU defence community, including government, industry, institutes and academia.

We are looking for dedicated, motivated and innovative assistants, able to provide administrative and secretarial support to Directors and their staff, covering the usual range of office support tasks.

Working in a team with other assistants, the jobholder will be responsible for and/or contribute to the following activities:

• assist with the day-to-day running of the Directorate/Unit;
• manage calendars, appointments, and incoming calls;
• organise meetings, manage missions (including reimbursement procedure and budget management) and make travel arrangements for the Directorate/Unit;
• sort and organise mail and e-mails, retrieve/store information and ensure proper record management of all key documents;
• proof-read documents, prepare PowerPoint presentations, store final versions of documents in the Agency’s Record Centre, and retrieve documentation on request;
• draft documents, prepare and send external communications to Member States and other stakeholders;
• facilitate internal communication within the Agency as well as externally;
• provide support to Project Officers on administrative tasks;
• act as back-up to other assistants.

The jobholder may be requested to take on additional tasks in the interest of the service.

Duties may evolve according to the development of EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

The Directorate Assistant will be appointed by the Chief Executive.

Recruitment will be as a member of the contractual staff of the Agency for a four-year period. Renewal is possible within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations. The successful candidate will be recruited as Contract Agent, Function Group III.

The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 3.335,94€ supplemented with various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation or family allowances. Successful candidates are graded on entry into service according to the length of their professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax at source is paid. For further information on working conditions please refer to: https://eda.europa.eu/jobs/what-we-offer

Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance certificate before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of the contract.

Candidates are advised that part of the recruitment process includes medical analyses and physical check-up with the Agency’s Medical Adviser.

Applications are invited with a view to establish a reserve list for the post of Directorate Assistant at EDA. This list will be valid until 31/12/2026, and may be extended by decision of the Chief Executive. During the validity of the reserve list, successful candidates may be offered a post in EDA according to their competences in relation to the specific requirements of the vacant post. Inclusion on the reserve list does not imply any entitlement of employment in the Agency.