External Relations Closing in 3 days

Team Leader - Strategic Communication

European Commission Abidjan (Ivory Coast)
Grade AD5
Contract Type Temporary Staff
Salary Range €6,153 - €6,961/month
Deadline 26 May 2026

Position details

Reference
INTPA/COM/2026/975
Directorate-General
INTPA - International Partnerships
Vacancy Notice
Download PDF
Last Verified
23 May 2026

Position overview

This is the official EU Careers listing for Team Leader - Strategic Communication at European Commission based in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) at the AD5 grade level (Temporary Staff). The vacancy reference is INTPA/COM/2026/975. It is hosted by INTPA - International Partnerships, the Directorate-General responsible for this policy area. The role falls under the External Relations domain.

Key facts on file for this position: grade AD5; contract type Temporary Staff; duty station Abidjan (Ivory Coast); Directorate-General INTPA - International Partnerships; domain External Relations. 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 AD5 runs from €6,153 (step 1) to €6,961 (top step), giving an annual range of roughly €73,836–€83,532 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 €984 per month at step 1 of AD5 — together with household, dependent-child, and education allowances where applicable. Take-home pay is then adjusted by the country correction coefficient for Abidjan (Ivory Coast). For a worked example see our correction coefficients guide and the EU salaries overview.

Application timeline

This vacancy was first listed on 6 May 2026, 17 days ago.

The application deadline is 26 May 2026 — 2 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 23 May 2026.

Where to learn more

For full responsibilities, requirements, and career progression at AD5 see our AD5 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 Abidjan (Ivory Coast) see our Abidjan (Ivory Coast) location page; for related vacancies in the External Relations field browse our External Relations 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 AD5, gross monthly basic salary on the Administrators grid is €6,153. Eligible expatriate staff add a 16% expatriation allowance on top — roughly €984 per month — before two automatic deductions reduce the taxable base: the joint sickness insurance scheme (JSIS, ~3.6% — €257) and the EU pension contribution (~10.3% — €735). 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 €737 per month here.
For Abidjan we apply the Brussels-equivalent coefficient (100%) as a default — the official coefficient may differ, see the methodology guide for the most recent table. On those assumptions take-home pay is approximately €5,408 per month, or about €64,891 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 AD5 grade level. The most recent comparable vacancies, with their actual application windows:
  • IT Project Officer at European Commission (JUST - Justice and Consumers) — published 2026-05-21, closed 2026-06-04
  • Team Leader - Product Owners at European Commission (HR - Human Resources and Security) — published 2026-05-20, closed 2026-06-03
  • Head of Sector at European Commission (Connect - Communications Networks, Content and Technology) — published 2026-05-12, closed 2026-05-28
  • Policy Officer at European Commission (BUDG – Budget) — published 2026-05-11, closed 2026-05-27
  • Administrator at European Commission (TRADE – Trade) — published 2026-05-09, 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 AD5 openings, other vacancies at European Commission, more roles in External Relations.

Career trajectory

Career progression for AD5 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 INTPA - International Partnerships, the typical next move is AD7 within four to five years on merit, then AD9 by year nine if the appraisals are strong. 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 7 comparable openings with the same grade and External Relations signature have been advertised by European Commission or related EU bodies — 7 of them in the last twelve months alone. That cadence (roughly 3.5 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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