GENERAL RULES FOR THE SELECTION
OF HEADS OF SECTION AND POLITICAL OFFICERS
IN EU DELEGATIONS
(outside the yearly rotation exercise)
Positions concerned will be filled by publication in accordance with Article 98[1] of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (SR)[2], i.e. by considering applications from officials of the EU institutions, of temporary staff to whom Article2(e) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS)2 applies and of staff from national diplomatic services of the Member States without giving priority to any of these categories.
It is recalled that, if the interest of the service so requires, the selection procedures can be terminated at any stage and the post be filled by a transfer in accordance with Article7 of the SR.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
-GENERAL
We look for candidates who (in accordance with Article 98 of the SR and in order to meet the needs of the service) must:
- be officials of the EU institutions,temporary staff to whom Article 2(e) of the CEOS applies or staff from diplomatic services of the Member States;
- have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP and external relations necessary for the performance of their duties. Knowledge of other EU languages would also be an asset;
- have proven, pertinent external relations experience - for staff from diplomatic services this experience must have been gained from working in a diplomatic service of one of the MemberStates (see table below for minimum number of years required).
-SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR EU OFFICIALS AND TEMPORARY STAFF TO WHOM ARTICLE 2(E) OF THE CEOS APPLIES (“EUSTAFF MEMBERS”)
- Applications from EUstaff members in a Delegation are in principle eligible only when they are in their rotation year[3].
- EU staff memberswho have completed2 consecutive postings to delegations must return to Headquarters. Applications from individuals in this position are not eligible.
- EU staff members currently in Headquarters who will have completed less than 2years in a Headquarters post on the date of the foreseen taking up of duty or, if not specified in the Vacancy notice, on the closing date for submission of applications,are not, in principle, eligible.
The above 3 eligibility criteria do not apply when an application is made in the context of career progression[4].
-HEAD OF SECTION/POLITICAL OFFICER POSTS (NON-MANAGEMENT)
For posts graded at AD5-14, EU staff members at any grade from AD5 to AD14 are eligible.
In the event of a successful application, EU staff members will be appointed at their existing grade.
AST staff members who have successfully completed the certification procedure and are applying for their first AD post are also eligible for these posts.
-SPECIFIC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR CANDIDATES FROM THE MEMBER STATES
Candidates from the diplomatic services of Member States must (in order to satisfy the requirements set out in Article 12 of the CEOS and in order to meet the needs of the service):
- be nationals of one of the EU Member States;
- (i) possess a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies, attested by a diploma, when the normal period of university education is 4years or more;
or
(ii) possess a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies, attested by a diploma, plus relevant professional experience of at least 1year, when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years;
- have the required full-time professional experience (see table below for minimum number of years required). This experience must have been gained after completing university studies of 4 years, or of 3 years plus 1year professional experience, as set out at point 2 above.
TABLE OF MINIMUM YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Post at level:(MS Candidates) / AD5 / AD7 / AD9 / AD10 / AD11 / AD12
(Officials) / AD5/14 / AD5/14 / AD5/14 / AD5/14 / AD5/14 / AD5/14
External relations experience / 1 year / 2 years / 3 years / 3 years / 3 years / 3 years
Professional experience
(MS candidates) / 1 year / 6 years / 10 years / 10 years / 10 years / 12 years
POSTING POLICY:
EEAS career development policy places the need for staff to develop a mix of competences at its core, e.g. working in various fields of expertise and responsibilities in the course of a person's career, including postings at headquarters and delegations. Therefore, staff members are encouraged to alternate between delegation and headquarters postings. In any case, no staff member should be posted to a delegation for more than 12 years consecutively.
As a matter of policy, applications of individuals who have dual nationality of the host country or the partner of whom has the nationality of the host country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The EEAS examines if there could be a conflict of interest and the consequence of a possible refusal by the host country to grand diplomatic immunity to the staff member and or his/her partner and family, as well as possible security risks. The HR Department may ask for additional information from the applicant in this context.
A posting in an EU Delegation is normally for 4 years (except where the post is advertised with a shorter duration). It is in the interests of the service to ensure that staff members in the Delegations are able to complete full postings before reaching the age of retirement. Before taking any final decisions on nominations, the appropriate Appointing Authority will ensure on a case-by-case basis, in light of the SR and CEOS, and including the changes which will enter into force on 1 January 2014[5], that the successful candidates will indeed be able to complete the relevant full posting for the post for which they have been selected.
APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE
The procedure will take place in 3 different and successive steps:
1.Application procedure
Before submitting their application, candidates should carefully check whether they meet all the eligibility criteria in order to avoid automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.
Internal and External candidates must apply by submitting their application to the functional mailbox: .
In the subject of the e-mail the candidate should provide the vacancy notice number to which he/she is applying.
Candidates must provide the following documents[6] as part of their application (with a translation in English or in French if neither is the language of the document):
1. CV (preferably using the Europass model CV obtainable at
2. Motivation letter in English or in French;
3. Candidates from the Member States should, in addition, provide a copy of their passport/ID and a statement issued by their Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirming their membership of a diplomatic service and guaranteeing their reinstatement at the end of their contract with the EEAS.
Acceptance of the application is subject to presentation of ALL the required documents within the deadline in one single e-mail. Incomplete applications will not be taken into account.
Candidates should send their application in one e-mail with the above mentioned documents properly identified, under .pdf format, to the following mailbox.
Applications should be submitted by the deadline stated in the Vacancy Notice.
For correspondence with the EEAS Human Resources Department concerning the selection procedures, please use the email addresses provided above, i.e.
2.Pre-selection
The pre-selection will be done by a panel on the basis of the qualifications and the professional experience within the supporting documents.The panel will then produce a shortlist of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for each post.
3.Selection
Candidates who have been shortlisted will be invited for an interview so that the selection panel can evaluate them objectively and impartially on the basis of their qualifications, professional experience and linguistic skills, as listed in the vacancy notice.
The EEAS applies an equal opportunities policy.
CONDITIONS OF RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT
The relevant provisions of the SR and CEOS apply to recruitment and any subsequent employment on the basis of these general rules and the accompanying vacancy notices.
In particular, the successful candidates will be employed by the EEAS on one of the following bases:
either
- EU staff members will be appointed to the relevant post for a maximum of 4years;
or
- Candidates from the Member States will be offered a temporary contract under Article2(e) of the CEOS. Such contracts may not exceed 4 years in duration. The salary and conditions of appointment will be those laid down in the CEOS for temporary agents of the relevant grade (depending on the post), completed by the provisions of Annex X of the SR applicable to temporary agents posted outside the EU (therefore not applicable to the posts in Paris, Rome, Strasbourg and Vienna).
All newly engaged temporary staff are required to complete successfully a probationary period, which will, after the entry into force on 1 January 2014 of the changes agreed by the European Parliament and Council to the SR and CEOS, be 9 months. These changes are set out in Council Document 11243/1/13 of 27 June 2013.
Successful candidates must undergo a medical examination to ensure that they are physically fit to perform their duties.
Candidates are deemed to be fully aware of the local living conditions, including information concerning the accommodation provided, before applying. Individual post reports are available from EEAS.MDR.C.6 ()
Candidates should also ensure that they are fully aware of the provisions of Annex X of the Staff Regulations, as well as the relevant security provisions, especially with regard to security clearance, and, if need be, any other security measures to be taken.
Candidates must be able to work in a different socio-cultural environment and to adapt quickly to evolving situations.
Successful candidates from the Member States will be required to make a declaration of their commitment to act independently in the public interest and a declaration of any interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.
1
[1]Official Journal No. L311 of 26.11.2010, p. 5.
[2]
[3]Rotation year: start on 1 January of the 4th year after taking up of duty (or 2/3 years in specific postings) ex: taking up of duty on 1 September 2010, eligible as of 1 January 2014.
[4]The career progression when applying to AD political officers or head of section positions in Delegations only concerns AST certified applying for the first time to an AD post.
[5] These changes are set out in Council Document 112431/1/13 of 27 June 2013.
[6]Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) 45/2001, as implemented by decision of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 8 December 2011. The privacy statement is available on EEASzone ( and on the EEAS website (