IT Security 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:

• Support operations of the European Commission's Crypto Distribution Authority
• Assume the role of deputy European Commission Crypto Custodian
• Manage and distribute cryptographic material used by classified communication and information systems
• Liaise with stakeholders within the European Commission, other EU institutions, agencies and bodies, and Member States
• Support operations of classified services used in the Commission
• Deliver training
• Follow up on customer requests
• Gather user feedback

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: Appropriate professional experience of at least three years (if secondary education diploma)
• Languages: one of the 24 official EU languages (C1), second official EU language (B2)
• Key skills: Structured and thorough approach to security, Hands-on profile, High degree of professional responsibility, Efficient task organization, Project management, Operational task management, Stakeholder interaction
• Eligibility: Citizen of an EU Member State with full rights as a citizen; fulfilled obligations concerning military service; physically fit to perform duties; appropriate character references; must hold valid security clearance up to level SECRET UE/EU SECRET or be willing to undergo national security vetting procedure

Selection process

The notice describes the following selection steps:

• Applications from Commission officials, officials from other Institutions, and competition laureates have priority
• If these candidates do not best fit requirements, Commission can recruit a temporary agent

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Temporary agent position.

Working arrangements: Flexible working conditions including possibility of teleworking.

Hiring unit: HR.DS.4 Information Security & Inspections, Team Classified services and operations, Directorate-General for Human Reso….

Position details

Reference

HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

Directorate-General

HR - Human Resources and Security

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

15 September 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for IT Security Assistant at European Commission based in Brussels at the AST1 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is HR/COM/2026/DS4/002. It is hosted by HR - Human Resources and Security, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Eu’S Internal And External Security 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. 2HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

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

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

3HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

IT SECURITY ASSISTANT

Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security (DG HR) of the European Commission

Selection reference: HR/COM/2026/DS4/002 (2 vacant posts )

Domain: EU’s internal and external security

Where : HR.DS.4 “Information Security & Inspections” - Team “Classified services and operations”, Brussels

Staff category and Function Group : Temporary agent 2b - Assistant

Grade range: AST1-3

Publication deadline : 29.09.2026 - 12.00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

We are the “Information Security and Inspections” unit in the Security Directorate of the European

Commission. We deal with Information Security Policy, IT security inspections, classified information

protection, security clearances and screening of external contractors.

We manage several communication and information systems handling sensitive non classified

(CommisSign) and EU classified information (RUE-X, RTOP, SUE).

We assist the Crypto Distribution Authority of the European Commission in its duties and provide

crypto custodian services for the European Commission departments and services.

We operate multiple small data centres, including PKI and network infrastructure, virtualisation

infrastructure and servers. We provide PKI services for 40 000 users.

We deliver trainings to 1000’s of staff each year.

We are an innovative team and are constantly updating and renewing our services with new

technology and improved processes, we are actively experimenting with AI to improve the quality of

our service, and implementing modern IT service management solutions.

We work in small project teams, with a lot of autonomy, and a constant attention to security and

novel threats and attacks. We are constantly benchmarking and testing our solutions against

security standards.

WE PROPOSE

An IT security assistant position with a strong focus on applying security - relevant procedures and operational activities. The IT security assistant will support the operations of the European Commission’s Crypto Distribution Authority and will assume the role of the deputy European Commission Crypto Custodian. They will be responsible the management and distribution of cryptographic material used by classified communication and information systems operated by the European Commission or its partners. 4HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

In carrying out their duties, they will liaise with all relevant stakeholders within the European Commission, other EU institutions, agencies and bodies as well as relevant stakeholders in Member States. The successful candidate will also support the operations of classified services used in the Commission. He/she will also be involved in a variety of tasks, ranging from delivering training, following up on customer requests, gathering user feedback, coordinating meetings and identifying opportunities to simplify procedures and optimize security.

WE LOOK FOR

A structured and thorough security assistant with a hands-on profile, high degree of professional responsibility and able to organise their tasks efficiently. The successful candidate will be expected to interact directly with our many stakeholders including European Commission staff at the very highest level. The successful candidate should not be afraid of being involved in project management and/or operational tasks. Over time, we expect the candidate to develop a vision regarding the current threat landscape as it pertains to information security in the Commission, and to contribute to both technological and policy proposals to address relevant threats. The candidate must hold a valid security clearance up to the level "SECRET UE/EU SECRET" or be willing to undergo the national security vetting procedure.

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 HR/COM/2026/DS4/002 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. 5HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

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.

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).

6HR/COM/2026/DS4/002

 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 priority 3. If these candidates do not best fit the requirements for the position, the Commission can recruit a temporary agent.

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 15 September 2026, today.

The application deadline is 29 September 2026, 13 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 Eu’S Internal And External Security field browse our Eu’S Internal And External Security 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.