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:

• Management of incoming and outgoing documents
• Interservice consultations
• Preparation of meetings and missions
• Preparation of briefings
• Monitoring of deadlines
• Contacts with delegations in third countries
• Contacts with international organisations
• Contacts with representatives of non-member countries in Brussels

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 only)
• Languages: English (C1), French (C1)
• Key skills: Strong sense of responsibility, Good planning skills, Attention to detail, Ability to prioritise tasks, Good IT skills, Knowledge of Commission applications and procedures (Word, Outlook, DECIDE, ARES, MIPS, Poetry, document management, BASIS, MIRA)
• Eligibility: Citizen of an EU Member State and enjoy full rights as a citizen; have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service; physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post; produce appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the duties

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
• Pre-recruitment medical check-up

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Temporary agent contract.

Working arrangements: Atypical working hours may be required, i.e. as from 08h00 or until 18h30, depending on service needs; teleworking possible.

Hiring unit: AGRI.G.3 - Asia and Australasia, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).

Position details

Reference

AGRI/COM/2026/1814

Directorate-General

AGRI- Agriculture and Rural Development

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

15 September 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 AGRI/COM/2026/1814. It is hosted by AGRI- Agriculture and Rural Development, 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 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. 2AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

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

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

3AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

Secretary

Directorate - General for Agriculture and Rural Development

(DG AGRI) of the European Commission

Selection reference: AGRI /COM/202 6/1814

Domain*: Agriculture

Where : AGRI.G.3 - Asia and Australasia», Brussels

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

Grade range: AST/SC1 -2

Publication deadline : 21 .09 .202 6 - 12 .00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

We are unit AGRI G.3, dealing with the promotion of EU interests and positions on agriculture in the

bilateral trade relations with Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

WE PROPOSE

We propose an interesting post of unit secretary in a small and friendly unit. The job includes a

wide range of administrative and secretarial support tasks, involving management of incoming and

outgoing documents, interservice consultations, preparation of meetings and missions, briefings,

monitoring of deadlines, contacts with delegations in third countries, international organisations,

representatives of non -member countries in Brussels etc. Due to the geographical files covered by

the unit, the job may require atypical working hours, i.e. as from 08h00 or until 18h30, depending

on service needs.

WE LOOK FOR

We seek a responsible, dynamic, well organised and proactive secretary to work as part of a team

directly attached to the Head of Unit and the deputy Head of Unit. The ideal candidate should have

a strong sense of responsibility, good planning skills, be attentive to details and able to prioritise

tasks. He/she should have good IT skills and a knowledge of the main Commission applications and

procedures (Word, Outlook, DECIDE, ARES, MIPS, Poetry, document management, BASIS, MIRA). A

good command of both English and French is required. 4AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

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 AGRI -HR -

[email protected] indicating the selection reference AGRI /COM /202 6/1814 in the

subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. 5AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

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).

6AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

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.

For temporary agents under Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants , the

post is published directly on the EPSO website, without mandatory prior internal publication .

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 a nother 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 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 Brussels .

In case the successful candidate is not an official or a competition laureate , they will be recruited

as a temporary agent under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants ,

in function group s AST/SC .

3Officials from the Commission or other Institutions are invited to use the standard channels (Sysper or inter-institutional vacancy portal).

7AGRI/COM/2026/1814 Version: 16/04/2026

➢ Grade

The recruitment grade, as well as the step in that grade, will be determined in accordance with

Commission Decision C( 2025 )4716 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents

and with Commission Decision C(2013)8970 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in

step on engagement.

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 8 September 2026, 7 days ago.

The application deadline is 21 September 2026, 4 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 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.