EEAS Vacancy: Secretary to the EU Permanent Representative to the OSCE and the OSCE Section - Contract Agent FGII - EU DELEGATION TO UN/IAEA/OSCE, Vienna - Job No 268457
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The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the EU's diplomatic service. The EEAS supports the High Representative in the exercise of her mandate to conduct and implement an effective and coherent Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), to represent the EU and to chair the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in her capacity as Vice-President of the Commission with regard to her responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field, including the coordination of other aspects of the EU's external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with the EU Member States, the General Secretariat of the Council, the services of the Commission and the Secretariat General of the European Parliament. The EU currently has 145 Delegations, 9 of which are to international organisations. In all, 6000 staff are currently serving in these Delegations. The Delegations are placed under the authority of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is also Vice President of the European Commission. The work of a Delegation varies from country to country but, in general, covers political matters, press and information, trade, aid management and the external aspects of internal EU policies.
We propose the position of Secretary to the EU Permanent Representative to the OSCE and the OSCE Section, contract agent FGII as per article 3a of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).
Place of Employment
City, Country: Vienna, AUSTRIA
LCA: 0%
Post available: 01/11/2025
Legal basis: The vacancy is to be filled in accordance with the conditions foreseen in the relevant provisions of the CEOS[1], in particular Article 82 thereof. Subject to having passed the CAST[2] exam, the successful candidate will be offered a contract agent position (Function Group II), on the basis of a contract with an initial duration of 3 years. This contract may be renewed not more than once for a fixed period of not more than 5 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite period[3].
Responsibilities
The Secretary/Assistant will be required to provide general administrative and secretarial support as well as document management services to the OSCE Section and the Ambassador/Deputy Head of Delegation/EU Permanent Representative to the OSCE.
Eligibility Criteria
* Have passed a valid EPSO CAST in FG II, or be registered in the EPSO Permanent CAST for FG II. In the latter case, recruitment on this vacant post will be subject to the candidate successfully passing the CAST exam.
* Meet the minimum qualifications for engagement as contract agent FG II:
1. Have a level of post‑secondary education attested by a diploma; or
2. A level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post‑secondary education, and appropriate professional experience of at least three years; or
3. Where justified in the interest of the service, professional training or professional experience of an equivalent level (related to the nature of the tasks and qualifications indicated in the job description).
* Have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP and external relations (English and French) necessary for the performance of their duties.
* Be a national of one of the Member States of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen.
Additional Eligibility Criteria (internal call for expression of interest)
* Be an EEAS contract agent in the function group concerned by the call for expression of interest.
* Having been recruited under Article 3b of the CEOS and assigned to the EEAS Headquarters for no less than 3 years; or
* Having been recruited under Article 3a of the CEOS and temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters for at least 2 years.
Selection Criteria
* Proven pertinent experience as Secretary/Assistant:
o to a Head of Delegation, a Director or a Head of Division (senior or middle management) will be considered an asset;
o in external relations will be considered an asset;
o with Secretarial/Assistant activities/techniques;
o with knowledge on how to apply Institution’s administrative rules and procedures will be considered an asset;
o with filing methods and knowledge of document management systems;
o with sound computer skills (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation systems, internet, e‑mail and other IT tools);
o handling secure communications and classified information.
* General skills and competences:
o Capacity to assure quality, speed and accuracy in performing a diversity of tasks in a very difficult, complex, and high‑risk multicultural environment without constant supervision;
o Ability to work under pressure and to respond quickly to new demands;
o Ability to communicate information clearly and effectively and to focus on priorities;
o Capacity to work as part of a team as well as with a degree of autonomy;
o Sense of initiative, responsibility, discretion, organization and innovation;
o Ability to deal with confidential matters professionally;
o Ability to deal helpfully and courteously with people;
o Ability to organise social events, taking into account protocol and procurement rules;
o Ability to work in a different socio-cultural environment and to adapt quickly to evolving situations;
o Flexible and assertive.
* Working languages:
o Capacity to work in languages of the CFSP and external relations necessary for the performance of their duties (EN and FR);
o Knowledge of other EU languages (especially German) will be considered an asset.
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. Contract staff in Delegations is usually posted for 2, 3, 4 or 6 years in a given EU Delegation. Call for interest to apply for postponement or early mobility will be launched annually prior to the publication of the mobility exercise. Staff are reminded that extension and early mobility are not a right. Contract staff assigned to a post where the living conditions allowance (LCA) determined in accordance with Article 10 of Annex X to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the EU (SR) is 30% or 35% may participate in the mobility exercise after 4 years. Contract staff assigned to a post where the LCA is 40% may participate in the mobility exercise after 3 years. Contract staff assigned to a non‑family post may participate in the mobility exercise after 2 years.
Conditions of Recruitment and Employment
Conflict of interest and security risks:
* Applications of individuals who have the dual nationality of the host country or whose family member has the nationality of the host country will be considered eligible for a posting in that host country only as a positive result of a case‑by‑case assessment. In that regard, the EEAS examines if there could be a conflict of interest and a risk of a possible refusal by the host country to grant diplomatic immunity to the staff member and or his/her partner and/or family, as well as possible security risks.
* The candidate shall fill in with their application a declaration of potential conflict of interest (see the annex to this vacancy notice).
Personnel Security Clearance:
* The requested level of security clearance for this post is: SECRET UE/EU SECRET. The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned.
Medical Clearance:
* The signature of the contract will be subject to prior favourable opinion of the Medical Service.
Equal Opportunities
The EEAS is committed to an equal opportunities policy for all its employees and applicants for employment. The EEAS actively welcomes applications from all qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and from the broadest possible geographical basis among the EU Member States. Candidates with disabilities are invited to contact the Functional mailbox CONTRACTAGENTS-DELEGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu in order to accommodate any special needs.
Application and Selection Procedure
Application
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. Individual post reports are available from the Division RM.01 ‘Coordination’.
Documents Required
* Curriculum Vitae (preferably using the Europass CV format), in either English or French, indicating clearly your EPSO CAST number;
* A letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages), in either English or French;
* Declaration of potential conflict of interest (annexed to this vacancy notice).
Application Email
DELEGATION-VIENNA-RECRUITMENTS@eeas.europa.eu
Deadline for applications
27/10/2025 at 12.00 hours (midday, Brussels time). Late applications will not be accepted.
Pre‑selection
The selection panel will make a pre‑selection on the basis of the qualifications and the professional experience described in the CV and motivation letter, and will produce a shortlist of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for the post. Only shortlisted candidates will be informed about the outcome of the pre‑selection phase.
Selection
Pre‑selected candidates will be invited for an interview by a selection panel. The panel may also organise written tests. Pre‑selected candidates without a valid CAST shall be invited to sit the CAST exam before or after the interview stage.
Contact
For correspondence concerning the selection procedure: CONTRACTAGENTS-DELEGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu
Important References
[1] The Text Of The Staff Regulations Of Officials Of The EU And The CEOS Is Accessible At The Following Link: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1570023902133&uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20190101
[2] Contract Agent Selection Tool.
[3] In accordance with Article 85(1) of the CEOS.
[4] All the eligibility criteria must be met on the closing date for applications to this post.
[5] Commission Decision C(2017) 6760 final of 16 October 2017 on the general provisions for implementing Article 79(2) of the CEOS.
[6] Decision ADMIN(2018) 4 of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 12 March 2018 amending Annex I of the Decision of the High Representative PROC HR(2011) 013 on General Implementing Provisions for giving effect to the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.
[7] OJ C 263, 26 July 2023, p.16.
[8] The ‘Personnel Security Clearance’ is defined under point 2 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS as “a statement by a competent authority of a Member State which is made following completion of a security investigation conducted by the competent authorities of a Member State and which certifies that an individual may, provided his ‘need-to-know’ has been determined, be granted access to EUCI up to a specified level (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above) until a specified date; the individual thus described is said to be ‘security cleared’.”
[9] Decision ADMIN(2019) 7 of the Director General for Budget and Administration of the EEAS of 8 March 2019 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS.
[10] Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as implemented by the Decision ADMIN(2019) 8 of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on implementing rules relating to the protection of personal data by the EEAS and the application of Regulation. The privacy statement is available on the Europa website: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eeas-privacy-statement-data-protection-notice-purpose-processing-personal-data-related-public_en and on the EEAS Intranet: https://intranet.eeas.europa.eu/page/eeas-work/data-protection/privacy-statements-dp-notices.
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