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.

Key responsibilities

According to the vacancy notice, the role centres on the following duties:

• Provide case and logistical support to investigations
• Regular contacts with companies, their legal and economic advisers
• Contacts with departments within and outside the Directorate-General
• Share information across teams

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 only)
• Languages: One of the 24 official EU languages (C1), A second official EU language (B2)
• Key skills: Reliable and well-organised, Detail oriented, Ability to work independently and in a team, Ability to prioritise between different workstreams, Resilience while working under pressure, Communicative and positive personality, High degree of professionalism, Familiarity with Microsoft Office, Ares, MIPS, SYSPER2, CASE@EC, Familiarity with Decide interface and process
• 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

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 another language)
• Documentary evidence verification

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Fixed-term contract (maximum 6 years).

Hiring unit: Unit C.1 – Electronic Communication, Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), Brussels.

Position details

Reference

COMP/COM/2026/1367

Directorate-General

COMP – Competition

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

24 July 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 COMP/COM/2026/1367. It is hosted by COMP – Competition, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Support Staff domain.

July 25

# 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. (Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

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 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

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

(Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

# Secretary

# Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) of the European Commission

Selection reference: COMP/COM/2026/1367

Domain : Secretary

Where : Unit C1 – Electronic Communication, Brussels

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

Grade range: SC1-SC6

Publication deadline : 28/07/2026 - 12.00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

Unit C.1 is responsible for the application of EU competition rules (Articles 101, 102 and 106 of the

Treaty) in the area of electronic communications. This is a fast-moving sector of the digital

economy that is key to Europe's future prosperity and growth. We enforce competition rules in

telecoms markets as well as in upstream and neighbouring industries, such as high tech markets

for components and electronic communication equipment, including chips. The Unit furthermore

focusses on ex officio investigations, pro-actively following leads in matters related to digital

markets. Unit C.1 has a rich portfolio of recent cases and pipeline investigations. We are also the

responsible unit in DG COMP for dealing with matters related to standard essential patents and

contribute to different Commission policy projects and regulatory work in the electronic

communications and standard essential patent fields.

WE PROPOSE

We offer a challenging and interesting position as a Secretary (case and secretarial assistance)

within a friendly, motivating and challenging environment. Our Secretaries hold the key

responsibility for providing case and logistical support to a number of our investigations. The

position involves regular contacts with companies, their legal and economic advisers as well as with

departments within and outside the Directorate-General. Information is shared across teams,

providing newcomers and other colleagues with the necessary tools and information to facilitate

their daily work. We believe in open communication, trust and confidence at all levels.

WE LOOK FOR

We are looking for a reliable, well-organised, detail oriented and motivated colleague with the ability to work independently as well as in a team. The position requires the ability to prioritise between different workstreams as well as resilience while working under pressure. The job involves (Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

numerous exchanges within and outside the Directorate-General and requires a communicative and positive personality as well as a high degree of professionalism. Ideally, the candidate is already familiar with the main IT tools used in the Commission (e.g. Microsoft Office, Ares, MIPS, SYSPER2, CASE@EC) as well as with the Decide interface and process. A good command of written and spoken English is essential. Good knowledge of French and/or other languages would be an asset. (Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

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 COMP/COM/2026/1367 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. (Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

# 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.

 What about the selection steps?

> 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).

(Selection reference COMP/COM/2026/1367)

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.

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.

# 2. Recruitment

The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their application.

The succes

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 14 July 2026, 12 days ago.

The deadline is today, 28 July 2026. Applications submitted after the cut-off time set in the vacancy notice will not be considered.

Last verified against the EU Careers feed on 24 July 2026 (2 days ago).

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.