IT Project Assistant - European Commission (AST1, 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:

• Supervise a portfolio of existing and/or new systems or services
• Organise and supervise testing activities
• Coordinate IT operations and support for the unit's information systems
• Follow-up of related external service contracts
• Drive product development by translating policy requirements into applications and technical solutions
• Oversee a team of external IT experts and coordinate their work
• Monitor costs, timelines and resources, including agile team coordination
• Report regularly to internal hierarchy and System Owners about project progress and issues

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: Minimum 3 years of professional experience; minimum 3 years of experience in overseeing medium or large-scale IT development projects through the entire lifecycle including testing, release, deployment and operational follow-up
• Languages: English (C1), French (B2)
• Key skills: Solid knowledge in information technology and software development, Software testing and IT operations knowledge, Knowledge of Java, application servers, web services, DevSecOps, infrastructure, networking, data processing, testing methodologies and tools, service management and operational support processes, Experience with IT infrastructure of medium to large institutions, including cloud deployments, Applied project management and development methodologies: Agile (e.g. SCRUM), PM2, quality assurance practices, Web development standards knowledge (e.g., W3C standards), Understanding of business and technical side; liaising with different stakeholders, Translating public policy requirements into IT solutions, Day-to-day leading, motivating and management of cross-functional IT expert teams, Coordinating IT operations and service delivery activities
• 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 conducted in English and possibly in another language
• Successful candidate required to undergo mandatory pre-recruitment medical check-up

Contract and working arrangements

Hiring unit: Unit A.3 (Digital strategy and IT solutions), Directorate A (Strategy and General Affairs), DG ENVIRONMENT.

Position details

Reference

ENV/COM/2026/1328

Directorate-General

ENV – Environment

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

15 September 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for IT Project Assistant at European Commission based in Brussels at the AST1 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is ENV/COM/2026/1328. It is hosted by ENV – Environment, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Environment domain.

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

WE ARE

The “Digital strategy and IT solutions” (A3) in Directorate A “Strategy and General Affairs” of DG ENVIRONMENT leads the digital transformation of DG Environment.

The IT portfolio of the unit includes a highly motivated team of 25 IT experts including managers, full stack developers, business analysts and architects. Committed and friendly IT professionals who support the implementation of EU environment policies, through the development and operation of IT solutions to underpin them. This ranges from administrative support systems and processes, registries and licensing systems, document and information exchange workflows, and data processing and visualisation.

We collaborate with our policy unit partners inside the DG and with other DGs to drive digital transformation and implementation of all corporate and local IT strategies.

We will be implementing more and more capabilities and systems supporting the European Green Deal and other policy initiatives, in a secure way and streamlining with our existing systems and infrastructure.

WE PROPOSE

Unit A.3 of DG ENV is seeking to hire an IT Project Assistant – Information systems.

The position is for a highly motivated colleague who would like to support the unit and the DG in its digital transformation. The selected candidate will be assigned to supervise a portfolio of existing and/or new systems or services.

A particular focus of the post will be the organisation and supervision of testing activities, the coordination of IT operations and support for the unit’s information systems, and the follow-up of the related external service contracts.

The candidate should have ability to translate business requirements into systems or digital-enabled processes, along with a strong interest in managing the entire development cycle of an IT system: design, development, maintenance and hand-over to operations. (S)he will be responsible for / charged with:

- driving product development by translating policy requirements and/or business processes into applications and technical solutions

- oversee a team of external IT experts in charge of project activities or in charge of the provision of IT services and/or outsourced contracts, coordinating their work and streamlining their deliveries

- monitoring of costs, timelines and resources, including management, supervision and agile team coordination

- reporting regularly to internal hierarchy and System Owners about the progress on projects and encountered issues

- conceptualisation, architecture design, functional and technical analysis, definition of technical and business requirements, drafting of technical specifications, prototyping, developing, testing, implementing, ensuring quality control, monitoring, integration and evolution/maintenance of IT applications

- promoting the use of new technologies, platforms and standards in full alignment with Commission IT framework and strategies

- contribute to the data governance of the DG and the use of available data in policy support through the use of data processing, analysis and AI techniques.

- contributing to the delivery and approvals of standard project artefacts (business cases, project charters, use cases, software architecture documents, security plans, etc.) and overall IT governance.

WE LOOK FOR

The ideal profile for the job is

The equivalent of a “project manager”, with a proven record of development of IT information systems and supervision of IT project teams. Specifically:

- solid knowledge in information technology and software development, software testing and IT operations.

- good general awareness of tools, technologies and processes used in the European Commission, particularly of Java, application servers, web services, DevSecOps, infrastructure, networking, data processing, testing methodologies and tools, service management and operational support processes. Personal technical knowledge on those is an asset.

- experience with the IT infrastructure of the medium to large institutions, including cloud deployments through corporate managed or self-managed IT services, as well as experience with the transition to operations, system maintenance, and production support. This experience in a European Institution scope is an advantage

- minimum 3 years of experience in overseeing medium or large-scale IT development projects through the entire lifecycle including testing, release, deployment and operational follow-up.

- proven track record of applied project management and development methodologies and tools: Agile (e.g. SCRUM), Project management (PM2 would be a great asset), and quality assurance practices.

- knowledge of web development standards (e.g., W3C standards) would be an asset

- experience understanding the business and technical side; liaising efficiently with different stakeholders: business experts, engineers, end-users; running technical proof of concepts; coordinating testing, deployment and operational activities. Experience translating public policy requirements into IT solutions is an advantage

- experience in day-to-day leading, motivating and management of a cross-functional team of IT experts

- experience in coordinating IT operations and service delivery activities, including incident follow-up, change management, release management, and continuity of service, monitoring IT contracts and service execution, including follow-up of deliverables, planning, and supplier coordination.

- knowledge in different Enterprise Architecture patterns and their implementation (e.g., SOA, data interface exchanges, interoperability, etc.) would be an asset

- have excellent communication, drafting and presentation skills in English as to effectively communicate with stakeholders

- sufficient competence in project management knowledge areas, particularly, the candidate must have demonstrated experience managing Agile teams

- the ideal candidate is well-organised, effectively handles uneven workload, is good at juggling competing priorities and multi-tasking, can work autonomously, and assumes responsibility for the team and projects. Strong organisational and people skills, proactivity and readiness to adapt quickly to a new working environment, advanced computer literacy, excellent drafting and presentation skills are required.

The jobholder must be able to work with a degree of autonomy but also be a good team player, He/she must be prepared to work with tight deadlines.

Fluency in English, both spoken and written, is indispensable. French is 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 [email protected] indicating the selection reference ENV/COM/2026/1328 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.

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 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?

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 priority3. 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.

1. # 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.

Salary at this grade

Basic monthly salary at AST1 runs from €3,754 (step 1) to €4,248 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €45,048 to €50,976 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 €601 per month at step 1 of AST1) 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 4 September 2026, 11 days ago.

The application deadline is 25 September 2026, 8 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 15 September 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at AST1 see our AST1 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 Environment field browse our Environment 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.