Secretary - to the Director - European Commission (AST-SC1, Brussels)

About this position

The summary below is published by European Commission on the official vacancy notice. Our own analysis — salary realism, comparable openings, career trajectory, language profile — follows further down the page.

Key responsibilities

According to the vacancy notice, the role centres on the following duties:

• Manage the Director's agenda
• Organise internal and external meetings
• Prepare missions
• Manage incoming mails of the Director
• Transmit requests to Units and follow up on deadlines
• Serve as Directorate's point of contact for colleagues within DG RTD and outside visitors
• Assist with day-to-day management and coordination of administrative work streams
• Assist with coordination of briefings for the Commissioner, Director-General and Director

Are you eligible?

Check these requirements from the notice before investing time in an application:

• Education: Post-secondary education attested by a diploma, or secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education
• Experience: At least two years' relevant experience is essential; more than five years' experience would be considered an asset. Alternatively, at least three years of appropriate professional experience if only secondary education diploma is held.
• Languages: English (C1), Other Union languages (B2)
• Key skills: Dynamic and well organised, Strong sense of responsibility and reliability, Initiative and capacity to work independently and as part of a team, Strong communication and interpersonal skills, Discretion to deal with confidential matters, Excellent computer skills, Proficiency with collaborative tools like Teams and Webex
• Eligibility: 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; physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post; produce appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the duties

Selection process

The notice describes the following selection steps:

• Selection panel chooses limited number of candidates for interview based on CV and application form
• Interview

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Temporary agent contract.

Working arrangements: Flexible working conditions including the possibility of teleworking.

Hiring unit: Unit RTD.B.0 – 'Healthy Planet', Directorate-General Research and Innovation (DG RTD).

Position details

Reference

RTD/COM/2026/1340

Directorate-General

RTD - Research and Innovation

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

7 August 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Secretary - to the Director at European Commission based in Brussels at the AST-SC1 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is RTD/COM/2026/1340. It is hosted by RTD - Research and Innovation, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Science And Research domain.

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. 2RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

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 Sweden 1. 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

> 1Please note that the list of underrepresented Member States may be subject to future amendment based on potential data changes over time.

3RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

Secretary to the Director

Directorate-General Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission

Selection reference: RTD/COM/2026/1340 (+ the number of vacant posts for similar profile in case of a group publication)

Domain *: Support Staff

Where : Unit RTD.B.0 – “Healthy Planet“, Brussels

Staff category and Function Group : Temporary agent 2d – Secretary

Grade range: AST/SC1-2

Publication deadline : 25/08/2026 - 12.00 (Brussels time)

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

WE ARE

The ‘Healthy Planet’ Directorate supports the green transitions to a healthy planet, which, by 2050,

is climate neutral, and where consumption and production operate within safe planetary

boundaries. The activities encompass circular economy and bio-based systems; bioeconomy and

food systems; climate, biodiversity, environment and Earth Observation; and healthy

ocean, seas and inland waters.

WE PROPOSE

A position of the secretary to the Director in a very dynamic and challenging environment. The

person recruited will provide general support to the Director. S/he will be responsible, among other

things, for the agenda of the Director, the organisation of internal and external meetings, and the

preparation of missions. S/he will manage the incoming mails of the Director, transmit requests to

the Units, and follow up on deadlines. S/he will be the Directorate’s point of contact for colleagues

within DG RTD and visitors from the outside. S/he may also be involved in the day-to-day

management and coordination of administrative or other work streams of general interest for the

Directorate. In addition, the job includes assisting with the Directorate's coordination of briefings for

the Commissioner, Director-General and Director. The job requires an important degree of

autonomy and anticipation.

WE LOOK FOR

A dynamic, motivated and well organised person with a strong sense of responsibility and

reliability, initiative and the capacity to work both independently and as part of a team (Director's

office). The ideal candidate is a hardworking and motivated colleague, showing a high degree of

responsibility and eager to be involved in the work of this Directorate. The job calls for strong

communication and interpersonal skills and the necessary discretion to deal with confidential 4RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

matters. The candidate should have excellent computer skills as well as with collaborative tools like

Teams and Webex.

At least two years’ relevant experience is essential and more than five years’ experience would be

considered an asset.

Fluent English is essential; knowledge of other Union languages is an asset. 5RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

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 eoghan.kinirons@ec.europa.eu

indicating the selection reference RTD/COM/2026/1340 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. 6RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

ANNEX

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 EU 2

• 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?

> 2The 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).

7RTD/COM/2026/1340 Version: 16/04/2026

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.

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 b

Salary at this grade

Basic monthly salary at AST-SC1 runs from €3,292 (step 1) to €3,725 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €39,504 to €44,700 before tax and allowances. Steps increase automatically every two years; the figures here are taken from the salary grid in the EU Staff Regulations.

Eligible staff posted away from their country of nationality also receive an expatriation allowance worth 16% of basic salary (around €527 per month at step 1 of AST-SC1) together with household, dependent-child, and education allowances where applicable. Take-home pay is then adjusted by the country correction coefficient for Brussels. For a worked example see our correction coefficients guide and the EU salaries overview.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 7 August 2026, today.

The application deadline is 25 August 2026, 17 days from today. Late applications are not accepted, so submit through the official EU Careers portal well in advance.

Last verified against the EU Careers feed on 7 August 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at AST-SC1 see our AST-SC1 grade page; for headcount, mission, and other open vacancies at European Commission see the European Commission institution page; for the cost of living, correction coefficient, and other postings in Brussels see our Brussels location page; for related vacancies in the Science And Research field browse our Science And Research domain page.

New to EU careers? Our beginner's guide walks through entry routes, EPSO competitions, and what to prepare. For application logistics see application tips and EPSO competitions.