Secretary - 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.

Position details

Reference

SANTE/COM/2026/1438

Directorate-General

SANTE - Health and Food Safety

Vacancy Notice

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Last Verified

6 August 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Secretary at European Commission based in Brussels at the AST-SC1 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is SANTE/COM/2026/1438. It is hosted by SANTE - Health and Food Safety, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Support Staff 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 cond itions 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 fo ster ing 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 fee ls valued and respected, can give their best and can develop to their full

potential. 2

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, Cyprus, the Czech

Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta,

Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden 1. Recruitment wil l 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 ti me 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.

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# Secretary

# Directorate -General Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE ) of

# the European Commission

Selection reference: SANTE /COM/ 2026/ 1438

Domain: Support Staff

Where : Unit SANTE. R.2 - „ Legal Affairs “, Brussels

Staff category and Function Group : Temporary agent 2b – Administrative agent

Grade range: AST/SC1 -2

Publication deadline : 13.08.2026 - 12.00 (Midday, Brussels time)

WE ARE

The Directorate -General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) aims to deliver to Europeans the

peace of mind that comes with access to healthcare, safe food to eat and protection against

epidemics and diseases. Our goal is to build and maintain Europe’s high standards on food and

feed safety, food sustainability, animal and plant health, as well as the most affordable, accessible

and high -quality health systems to deliver on these expectations .

The Legal Affairs Unit, SANTE.R .2 is the internal legal adviser of DG SANTE. We are a committed

and enthusiastic team engaged in a wide variety of activities at the core of DG SANTE’s work. We

provide legal advice to DG SANTE management, policy and technical Units on the interpretation o f

EU legislation in the area of health and food safety and contribute to the development of new

legislation as well as to the preparation of Court cases.

We are responsible for the coordination, assessment and follow -up of complaints and

infringements agai nst the Member States for alleged violations of EU law. We are also responsible

for the coordination of the assessment of the draft laws notified by the Member States in the

areas of health and food safety under Directive (EU) 2015/1535 as well as for DG S ANTE's

contributions to the decision -making process and the preparation of the Commission Decisions in

the areas of health and food safety. The Legal Affairs Unit is also responsible for legal advice on

horizontal and institutional legal issues. and coordi nates DG SANTE's input to the Commission

decision -making process in areas such as competition, State Aids and justice. A result -oriented

culture as well as a culture of teamwork and mutual appreciation are well established and fostered.

WE PROPOSE

We offer an interesting position for a secretary to the DG SANTE’s Legal Unit (SANTE.R.2).

The successful candidate will be in charge of a wide range of secretarial and administrative tasks

(including organising meetings, missions, preparing files for meetings a nd events, monitoring, 4

feeding and extracting data from databases relating to notifications, complaints, infringements and

legal advice, ensuring smooth workflows and professional document management services).

He/She will support the Head of Unit and the Legal Officers, ensure the efficient running of the

Unit’s secretariat and relay with colleagues in the line units and with a wide range of other internal

Commission and external interlocutors

WE LOOK FOR

We are looki ng for a proactive and organised colleague with a very good knowledge of Commission

procedures and solid working knowledge of the standard Commission IT tools (Ares, Sysper, BASIS,

MIPS, Word, Outlook, Excel etc).

A helpful attitude is important, as is th e ability to prioritise and to work both independently and

with colleagues across DG SANTE.

Knowledge or genuine interest to learn Commission procedures for handling notifications under

Directive (EU) 2015/1535, complaints and infringements would be an a sset.

Fluency in English and knowledge of French, both written and oral, is required.

Although experience is an important asset, we will also consider applications of staff who are

willing to invest in quickly getting to grips with the work, are enthusiastic about the opportunity to

participate to the important Health work of DG SANTE and show a hands -on attitude. 5

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

SANTE -HR [email protected] indicating the selection reference

SANTE/ COM/202 6/1438 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. 6

# 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 la ws 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:

FOR AST and AST/SC jobs: 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 requi red 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).

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➢ What about the selection steps?

The post was published internally within the Commission, inter -institutional ly, and brought to the

attention of competition laureates.

In accordance with Art

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 30 July 2026, 6 days ago.

The application deadline is 13 August 2026, 6 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 6 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 Support Staff field browse our Support Staff 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.