Employment

Programme Manager

European Commission Brussels (Belgium)
Grade FG IV
Contract Type Contract Staff
Salary Range €4,449 - €5,034/month
Deadline 22 May 2026

Position details

Reference
EC-2026-EMPL-499178
Directorate-General
EMPL - Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Vacancy Notice
Download PDF
Last Verified
12 May 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Programme Manager at European Commission based in Brussels (Belgium) at the FG IV grade level (Contract Staff). The vacancy reference is EC-2026-EMPL-499178. It is hosted by EMPL - Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Employment domain.

Key facts on file for this position: grade FG IV; contract type Contract Staff; duty station Brussels (Belgium); Directorate-General EMPL - Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; domain Employment. Full responsibilities, eligibility criteria, language requirements, and the selection procedure are set out in the official vacancy notice (PDF available above).

Salary at this grade

Basic monthly salary at FG IV runs from €4,449 (step 1) to €5,034 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €53,388–€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 FG IV — together with household, dependent-child, and education allowances where applicable. Take-home pay is then adjusted by the country correction coefficient for Brussels (Belgium). For a worked example see our correction coefficients guide and the EU salaries overview.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 7 May 2026, 5 days ago.

The application deadline is 22 May 2026 — 9 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 12 May 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at FG IV see our FG IV 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 (Belgium) see our Brussels (Belgium) location page; for related vacancies in the Employment field browse our Employment 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.

Net pay at this grade

At step 1 of FG IV, gross monthly basic salary on the Contract Agents grid is €4,449. Eligible expatriate staff add a 16% expatriation allowance on top — roughly €712 per month — before two automatic deductions reduce the taxable base: the joint sickness insurance scheme (JSIS, ~3.6% — €186) and the EU pension contribution (~10.3% — €532). EU community tax (Council Reg. 260/68) is then applied progressively; for the AD7-equivalent band the effective rate sits in the 11-13% range, which works out to about €533 per month here.
Brussels carries a correction coefficient of 100.0% (Article 64 of the Staff Regulations), so the net is multiplied by 1.00 to reflect the local cost of living. On those assumptions take-home pay is approximately €3,911 per month, or about €46,926 per year — before household and dependent-child allowances, which can add several hundred euros monthly for staff with families. For the exact bracket-by-bracket computation see our net-pay methodology, and our correction coefficients guide for the full duty-station table.

Comparable recent roles

In the last twenty-four months European Commission (and the wider Commission and agencies family) has filled several adjacent roles at the same FG IV grade level. The most recent comparable vacancies, with their actual application windows:
  • Chief Risk Officer at European Commission (BUDG – Budget) — published 2026-05-12, closed 2026-05-28
  • Policy Officer at European Commission (DIGIT – Digital Services) — published 2026-05-11, closed 2026-05-21
  • Budget Officer at European Commission (RTD - Research and Innovation) — published 2026-05-08, closed 2026-05-28
  • Programme Manager at European Commission (INTPA - International Partnerships) — published 2026-05-08, closed 2026-05-20
  • IT Service Officer at European Commission (DIGIT – Digital Services) — published 2026-05-07, closed 2026-05-26
Pattern recognition matters here — recruiters at the same Directorate-General often re-advertise nearly identical profiles every six to nine months, so candidates who miss one window can typically position for the next one. Browse the live catalog: all FG IV openings, other vacancies at European Commission, more roles in Employment.

Career trajectory

Career progression for FG IV staff is governed by Articles 44 to 46 of the Staff Regulations (consolidated text on EUR-Lex) and Annex IB on the promotion procedure. Step increases are automatic every two years (Art. 44); grade promotion is competitive, based on the appraisal exercise (Art. 45) and the Career Development Review. For roles at EMPL - Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, within Function Group IV the move from grade 13 to grade 16 takes roughly nine to twelve years; reclassification to a Temporary Agent or AD post is the longer-term ladder. Article 46 governs the classification at recruitment, which sets the starting step within the grade (usually step 1 for external recruits without prior EU service, step 2 or 3 where relevant professional experience is recognised).
Mobility within the institutions is encouraged via the inter-institutional and intra-institutional vacancy publication system: temporary agents who pass the probation period and reservists from EPSO laureate lists can typically apply to internal vacancies after one year of service. Lateral moves between Directorates-General reset the seniority clock for promotion only if the new post carries a different grade.

Language profile

Beyond the formal language requirements stated in the vacancy notice, the day-to-day working languages at this employer are English and French in roughly equal measure, with German appearing in some technical files. Internal meetings and most policy drafting in Brussels run in English; French remains the preferred internal language in Luxembourg-based services and parts of DG TRADE.

Application cadence

Across the past twenty-four months 20 comparable openings with the same grade and Employment signature have been advertised by European Commission or related EU bodies — 20 of them in the last twelve months alone. That cadence (roughly 10.0 per year) suggests a candidate who narrowly misses this competition can reasonably expect a similar profile to reopen within six to nine months.

Visit the official European Commission website

Apply on EU Careers

Source: This job listing was sourced from the official EU Careers portal (EPSO). First published: . Salary estimate based on EU Staff Regulations.

From the EU Jobs Alert guide How to land a job at the EU institutions A walkthrough of EPSO competitions, agency calls, and contract roles — written by our editor. Read the guide →

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