Policy Officer - European Commission (FGIV, 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:

• Organise and follow up specific working groups and workshops, notably on science
• Contribute to the coordination of activities with external organisations for scientific advisory process
• Give inputs for regular dialogue with stakeholders on achievements of the scientific advisory process
• Participate in EU delegation at international meetings held under regional fisheries organisations and management organisations, in particular the GFCM
• Analyse stock assessment and fisheries scientific advice delivered by scientific bodies and/or Member States
• Translate scientific advice in fishing opportunities according to rules in various types of multiannual management plans
• Develop, draft and participate in negotiations on management plans based on scientific advice and Management Strategy Evaluation work
• Monitor implementation of the scientific advisory process to ensure compliance with EU rules, Commission decisions and DG MARE work programme

Are you eligible?

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

• Education: University degree in biology and/or natural resources or in statistics, mathematics, engineering. Post-graduate degree in fisheries-related issues is an asset.
• Experience: Preferably at least two years of experience in areas covered by the unit such as management of natural resources and fisheries
• Languages: English (C1), EU official language (B2)
• Key skills: Strong quantitative analytical skills, Excellent drafting skills, Planning and coordination skills, Strong service orientation, Ability to take initiatives, Communication skills (both written and oral), Good knowledge of the Common Fisheries Policy, Team player, Keen sense of responsibility, Dynamic and motivated
• Eligibility: Citizen of an EU Member State and enjoy full rights as a citizen; fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service; physically fit to perform the duties; produce appropriate character references; have passed an EPSO CAST in Function Group IV or be registered in the EPSO CAST database

Selection process

The notice describes the following selection steps:

• Candidates selected from EPSO database with appropriate profile
• Interview with selection panel to assess candidates

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: 1 year, renewable one or more times up to a maximum duration of 6 years.

Working arrangements: Brussels.

Hiring unit: Unit MARE.D.1 – Fisheries Management Mediterranean and Black Sea, Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisherie….

Position details

Reference

EC/2026/MARE/522482

Directorate-General

MARE - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

13 August 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Policy Officer at European Commission based in Brussels at the FGIV grade level (Contract Agent). The vacancy reference is EC/2026/MARE/522482. It is hosted by MARE - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Fisheries And Maritime Affairs domain.

Policy Officer

in the D irectorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

(D G MARE ) of the European Commission

Job title: Policy Officer

Domain: Fisheries and Maritimes Affairs

Where : Unit MARE.D.1 – “Fisheries Management Mediterranean and Black Sea”, Brussels .

Function Gr oup : FG IV

Contract Ty pe : 3b

Express your interest until : 31.08 .202 5 - 12.00 (noon, Brussels time )

WE ARE

DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) is responsible for the development and

implementation of the Integrated Maritime Policy as well as for the development, implementation

and monitoring of the Common Fisheries Policy. The DG has around 360 staff, distributed over 5

Directorates and 22 Units. The wide variety of responsibilities creates an interesting and

challenging work environment.

Unit D1 is part of Directorate D "Fisheries Policy Mediterranean and Black Sea" and consists of 13

colleagues . It contributes towards sustainable fisheries for the Mediterranean and Black Sea. This

includes the definition, development and implementation of a science -based and regionalised

approach under the Common Fisheries Policy aiming at a sustainable exploitation of fisheries

resources, the support of livelihood of fishermen and coastal communities and the minimising of

impacts on the marine environment. It also manages the relations in the domain of fisheries with

all riparian States of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea which are not members of the European

Union at bilateral and at multilateral level through the Association Agreements and the General

Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM).

WE PROPOSE

We propose a position in MARE Unit D1 to deal with a variety of very technical and demanding files.

The work is diverse and involves in particular:

− Organise and follow up specific working groups and workshop s, notably on science.

− Contribute to the co -ordination of activities with external organisations in order to ensure a

proper implementation and high -quality outputs from the scientific advisory process

− Give inputs for a regular dialogue with stakeholders on achievements of the scientific

advisory process.

− Participate in the EU delegation at international meetings held under regional fisheries

organisations and regional fisheries management organisations, in particular the General

Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). (Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/MARE/522482 )

− Analyse stock assessment and fisheries scientific advice delivered by scientific bodies

and/or by M ember States .

− Translate scientific advice in fishing opportunities according to the rules in various types of

multiannual management plans

− Develop, draft and participate in negotiations on management plans based on scientific

advice and results stemming from Management Strategy Evaluation work.

− Monitor the implementation of the scientific advisory process in order to ensure compliance

with the EU rules, Commission decisions and DG MARE work programme.

WE LOOK FOR

We look for an experienced, very motivated and dynamic team player colleague, with a keen sense

of responsibility, excellent drafting, planning and coordination skills, strong service orientation and

the ability to take initiatives. The successful candidate should have strong quantitative analytical,

judgement, communication (both written and oral), and have a good knowledge of the CFP.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be prepared to travel during certain periods and

that she/he will be asked to work under tight deadlines on a wide variety of files. Excellent capacity

of oral and written expression in English will be essential, and knowledge of other languages would

be an asset.

The candidate should have a university degree in biology and/or natural resources or in statistics,

mathematics, engineering . A n asset would be any post -graduate degree in fisheries -related issues .

In addition, the candidate should have preferably at least two years of experience in areas covered

by the unit such as management of natural resources and fisheries.

HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST?

With a view to guarantee ing equal access to all, the Commission recruits from an open database of

spontaneous applications. The present call for interests aims at helping the recruiters to identify

potentially interested candidates within this database.

In practice, t o express your interest , please follow the subsequent two steps:

1. If you are not registered yet in the open EPSO database, please do so at the following

address: CAST Permanent . Please select under selection procedures for contract agent the

CAST permanent profile that best suits your education and experience.

2. 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 MARE [email protected]

indicating the call for interest reference EC/2026/MARE/522482 in the subject .

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. (Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/MARE/522482 )

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 contract 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 pos ition ;

• Produce the appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the

duties .

• Have passed an EPSO CAST in the relevant Function Group for this position. At the stage of

the application, it is sufficient to be registered in the EPSO CAST data base.

Qualifications:

(a) Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least

three years attested by a diploma .

Only qualifications issued or recognised as equivalent by EU Member State authorities (e.g. by the

Ministry of Education) will be accepted.

Languages:

• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1) of one of the 24 official languages of the

EU 2

• AND have a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2) 3 of a second official language of

the EU , to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.

➢ What about the selection steps?

The selecting unit chooses from the EPSO database 4 candidates with the appropriate profile and

invites them to an interview . For the interview a selection panel is set -up to assess the best

> 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). > 3For details on language levels, please see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages > (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european -language -levels -cefr).

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/MARE/522482 )

candidates. Due to the large volume of applications that we may receive only candidates selected

for the interview 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 a second official language.

> 4Therefore, candidates who did not pass already a CAST on the level Function Group IV, should register their > profile at this address: https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/Cast-Permanent

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/MARE/522482 )

2. Recruitment

The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to provide documentary evidence in

support of the statements made in the database and, where relevant, the call for interest .

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 in Brussels .

The successful candidate will be engaged as a contract agent under Article 3(b) of the

Conditions of Employment of Other Servants , in function group FG IV . General information on

Contract Agents can be found at this link .

The grade or proposed grade range , as well as the step in that grade , will be defined on the basis

of the candidates’ previous professional experience, in accordance with Commission Decision

C(201 7)6760 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in step on engagement .

The duration of the first contract will be 1 year. Subject to the interest of the service, the

contract may be renewed one or more times up to a maximum duration of 6 years.

The duration of the rene wal(s) will be defined according to the General Implement ing Rules in force

at that moment (currently , Commission Decision C(2017)6760 on policies for the engagement and

use of contract agents ).

Contract agents recruited in Function Group I V 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.

Shou

Salary at this grade

Basic monthly salary at FGIV runs from €4,449 (step 1) to €5,034 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €53,388 to €60,408 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 €712 per month at step 1 of FGIV) 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 12 August 2026, 1 day ago.

The application deadline is 31 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 13 August 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at FGIV see our FGIV 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 Fisheries And Maritime Affairs field browse our Fisheries And Maritime Affairs 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.