Secretary - to the Director - 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 secretarial assistance and administrative support to the Director
• Facilitate organisation of work and coordinate administrative procedures and processes
• Act as interface between the Directorate and other units and DG services
• Manage Director's agenda and outlook mailbox, flag urgent communications
• Organise and coordinate regular and ad hoc meetings, book meeting rooms and logistics
• Welcome visitors, take and transcribe notes, minutes, and routine correspondence
• Prepare and share documents for collaborative working in Teams
• Facilitate coordination of work between Units

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 qualification only)
• Languages: English (C1), French (B2)
• Key skills: Strong sense of responsibility, Good planning skills, Attention to detail, Ability to prioritise tasks, Good IT skills, Knowledge of applications and procedures, Collaborative team player, Adaptable, Willing to undertake new challenges, Able to deliver in a timely manner
• 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:

• Submit CV and completed application form
• Selection panel chooses limited number of candidates for interview based on CV and application form

Contract and working arrangements

Contract duration: Temporary agent position.

Working arrangements: Flexible working conditions including the possibility of teleworking.

Hiring unit: Directorate-General Human Resources (DG HR), Directorate HR.C – Careers & Staff Development, Brussels.

Position details

Reference

HR/COM/2026/1908

Directorate-General

HR - Human Resources and Security

Vacancy Notice

Download PDF

Last Verified

18 September 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Secretary - to the Director at European Commission based in Brussels at the AST-SC1 grade level (Temporary Agent). The vacancy reference is HR/COM/2026/1908. It is hosted by HR - Human Resources and Security, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the Human Resources 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. 2HR/COM/2026/1908 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.

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Secretary to the Director

Directorate-General Human Resources (DG HR) of the European Commission

Selection reference: HR/COM/2026/1908

Domain*: Human Resources

Where : Directorate HR.C – Careers & Staff Development - Brussels

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

Grade range: AST/SC1-2

Publication deadline : 24.09.2026 - 12.00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

The Human Resources and Security Directorate General (DG HR) oversees recruitment policy, training and career management, social policies and working conditions for Commission staff. It is also responsible for keeping buildings and employees safe and secure, making sure that work continues during crises and dealing with online security.

Directorate C is responsible for careers and staff development. It oversees management development and support, performance management, talent identification and career guidance, as well as learning and development.

WE PROPOSE

Directorate C is seeking to hire a Secretary to the Director to provide secretarial assistance and administrative support to the Director and to other members of the Directorate. The successful candidate will contribute to the efficient functioning of the Directorate by facilitating the organisation of work, coordinating administrative procedures and processes, delivering the expected

outputs and achieving the objectives required by the Directorate’s mission in accordance with existing rules governing the Commission’s administration. You will act as interface between the Directorate and units and other DG services.

You will provide administrative and logistical support to the Director, keeping agenda, monitoring

Director’s outlook mailbox and flagging urgent communications, organising and coordinating

regular and ad hoc meetings (booking meeting rooms/logistics) as well as welcoming visitors, taking and transcribing notes, minutes, routine correspondence, presentations and other texts that are needed to the overall service activity. You will also prepare and share documents for collaborative working in Teams and facilitate coordination of work between the Units. 4HR/COM/2026/1908 Version: 16/04/2026

As a secretary to the Director, you will ensure mission registrations. You will coordinate the storage, circulation and retrieval of documents, making sure that they are filed and secured in accordance with the regulations in force. You will record incoming correspondence, finalise and transmit outgoing correspondence, using an archiving software (ARES), ensure follow up and respect of deadlines.

You will provide back-up as may be required, including in the absence of secretary to the Deputy Director-General.

WE LOOK FOR

We are looking for a responsible, dynamic, well organised and proactive secretary to work as part of a team directly attached to the Director of the Directorate C of DG HR. The ideal profile for the job is a candidate with a strong sense of responsibility, good planning skills, be attentive to details and able to prioritise tasks. The candidate should have good IT skills and a knowledge of the applications and procedures.

We seek a collaborative team player who is adaptable, willing to undertake new challenges and to deliver in a timely manner. A good command of English is required. A good understanding of French would be an asset.

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 HR/COM/2026/1908 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline. 5HR/COM/2026/1908 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.

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-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.

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 11 September 2026, 9 days ago.

The application deadline is 24 September 2026, 3 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 18 September 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 Human Resources field browse our Human Resources 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.