AST1 Grade Jobs at EU Institutions

14 positions found

AST1 is the entry grade for Assistants, the support and execution stream of the EU civil service that handles administrative, technical, financial and secretarial work alongside the Administrator grades. Basic monthly salary runs from €3,754.39 at step 1 to €4,247.86 at step 5 on the Staff Regulations grid, before the expatriation allowance, family allowances and the duty-station correction coefficient. The listings below cover AST1 vacancies across the Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the decentralised agencies, from budget assistants to logistics and HR support roles.

Who qualifies for AST1

AST posts sit below the Administrator grades and are aimed at candidates with a secondary-school or post-secondary qualification plus relevant experience, rather than the full university degree required for AD. You still need EU nationality and two official EU languages, usually your main language at C1 and a second at B2. AST1 vacancies are filled both through EPSO competitions for assistants and, at the agencies, through Temporary Agent selection run by the recruiting body. The work is hands-on: managing budgets, coordinating meetings and missions, running procurement files, supporting HR and IT teams. See /grades/ast1/ for the salary table and detail on the AST career stream.

Salary and progression

At AST1 step 1 gross basic salary is €3,754.39 per month, rising to €4,247.86 at step 5, with automatic step increases every two years. Net pay is roughly three-quarters of gross after the pension contribution, joint sickness insurance and EU community tax, before the 16% expatriation allowance and family allowances that many staff receive. AST grades progress one level every three to five years on merit under Article 45. The longer-term route into the Administrator stream is a CAST selection or an internal competition, since there is no automatic conversion from AST to AD. Our /guide/eu-salaries/ page details the gross-to-net calculation.

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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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →

Frequently asked questions

What is an AST grade in the EU institutions?
AST stands for Assistant, the support function group running from AST1 to AST11. Assistants handle administrative, technical, financial and secretarial tasks. It sits below the Administrator (AD) grades and generally does not require a full university degree.
How much does an AST1 assistant earn?
Gross basic salary at AST1 ranges from €3,754.39 at step 1 to €4,247.86 at step 5, before the expatriation allowance, family allowances and the duty-station correction coefficient. Steps increase automatically every two years.
Do I need a university degree for AST1?
Not usually. AST posts are aimed at candidates with a secondary or post-secondary qualification plus relevant experience, unlike the Administrator grades which require a completed university degree. Each vacancy notice states the exact education and experience required.
Can an assistant move up to the Administrator grades?
There is no automatic conversion from AST to AD. To move into the Administrator stream you would take a CAST selection for a contract-agent post or pass an internal or open EPSO competition at the AD level, which is the longer-term route for assistants.
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