EU CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
The EU Institutions and Agencies offer various EU career opportunities. Degree holders, have a wider range of opportunity prospects, ranging from short-term opportunities such as Traineeships to indefinite contracts such as Permanent Officials.
Are you interested in pursuing a career within an EU institution or agency? Visit the European Per-sonnel Selection Office website (EPSO) to learn more about the different vacancies available right now.
For more information regarding EU careers, you can contact SEM on info.sem@gov.mt. Selected candidates may wish to inform the Permanent Representation on maltarep@gov.mt accordingly, for an introductory and welcome meeting.
TRAINEESHIPS
The EU Institutions and Agencies offer traineeships possibilities, especially for young people, with the aim of increasing their professional skills, develop their personal qualities, and enhance their EU knowledge through the EU traineeships programmes. Traineeships are quite popular and usually recent graduates apply for such opportunities.
Requirements:
- Trainees are typically required to have completed their first university degree, and thus would receive tasks similar to those of the lower AD grade officials
More information can be obtained here.
CONTRACT AGENTS
Contract agents are recruited to perform manual duties, administrative or support-service tasks or to provide additional capacity in specialised fields, whereby, insufficient officials with the required skills are available. Contract Agent positions are available for a wide range of jobs, requiring different levels and types of qualifications. They are divided into four functional groups:
a) Function Group I (grade 1-3): Manual and administrative support-service tasks (Salary: refer to EPSO website);
b) Function Group II (grade 4-7): Clerical or secretarial tasks, office management and other equivalent tasks (Salary: refer to EPSO website);
c) Function Group III: Executive tasks, drafting, accountancy and other equivalent technical tasks (Salary: refer to EPSO
website);
d) Function Group IV: Administrative, advisory, linguistic and equivalent technical tasks
Contract Agents are selected via the CAST Permanent selection process, which is different from Competitions. The main difference is that only a limited number of pre-selected candidates are tested. The submission of an application, does not mean that a candidate will automatically be invited to sit for the computer-based tests. Only candidates shortlisted by the recruiters will be invited to sit for the selection tests when a vacancy arises.
Additional information on how to apply can be obtained here.
Assistance: https://epso.europa.eu/contact_en
TEMPORARY AGENTS
Temporary agents may be employed to perform a wide variety of highly specialised or temporary tasks. A candidate may apply for a temporary agent position the EU CV online database managed by the Commission’s Human Resources and Security DG. Selection competitions for Temporary Agents generally fall within the remit of the respective EU Institution or Agency.
Additional information on the application process, click here.
Assistance: https://epso.europa.eu/contact_en
PERMANENT OFFICIALS
Permanent contracts are awarded to candidates, after a rigorous open competition procedure that enables an official to become a member of the EU civil service. Within the EU civil service there are three types of permanent contracts that can be awarded:
a) Administrators (AD 5-16) - drafting policies, implementing EU law, analysis or advisory work. (Salary: refer to EPSO website)
The policy sectors covered include administration, law, finance, economics, communications and science. Translators and interpreters are also recruited as administrators.
- AD5 being the entry level grade for University graduates;
- AD6 or AD7 in more specialised roles (whereby the applicant needs to demonstrate several years' relevant experience;
- AD8 competitions are organised, however these are not held frequently;
- AD9-AD12 is considered as middle management level (selection/recruitment in these grades requires previous management experience);
- AD13-16 are usually senior management positions
b) Assistants (AST 1-11) - executive or technical role in administration, finance, communication, research, or policy development and implementation. As a minimum, an AST 1 candidate must have completed secondary education and have previous relevant experience or have a relevant vocational qualification.
c) Secretaries/Clerks (may change depending on competition) (AST/SC 1 to 6) - office management or providing administrative support at the EU institutions. (Salary: refer to EPSO website)
- AST/SC 1, being the entry grade for new staff, in possession of a post-secondary certificate of at least 1 year attested by a diploma directly related to the nature of the duties, or secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education followed by at least 3 years' professional experience directly related to the nature of the duties, or professional training of at least 1 year, followed by a minimum of 3 years' professional experience. Both the training and experience must be directly related to the nature of the duties. (Salary: refer to EPSO website)
Inter alia, Permanent Officials are also entitled to:
- Basic salaries including annual adjustments in line with inflation and purchasing power in the EU countries;
- An expatriation allowance of 16% of the basic salary is granted to officials who left their home country;
- Family-related allowances are available to permanent officials according to their family situation, including a household allowance, a dependent child allowance, an educational allowance and a pre-school allowance;
- Training such as language courses;
- Fit @ Work initiative
European civil servants' salary is not subject to national income tax. Instead, salaries are directly subject to a Community tax, which is paid directly back into the EU's budget. This tax is levied progressively at a rate of between 8% and 45% of the taxable portion of one's salary. An additional 'solidarity levy' is in place from 2014 to 2023.
Additional information on how to apply can be obtained here.
Assistance: https://epso.europa.eu/contact_en
The above calls are available to the Public in General. However, there are other calls, whereby, the endorsement of the respective Permanent Secretary/ies is required. These include: Seconded National Experts (SNE) and National Expert in Professional Training (NEPT).
SECONDED NATIONAL EXPERTS
Seconded national experts are national or international civil servants or persons employed in the public sector, who are temporarily seconded (posted) by their present employer to work for an EU Institution or Agency. The provisions set out in the Manual on Resourcing Policies and Procedures, ‘Secondment of National Experts to Institutions of the European Union’ (Section 4.9) issued by the Office of the Principal Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, are to be adhered to and respected.
Seconded National Experts remain in the service of their employer throughout the period of their secondment. The sending organisation must continue remunerating the SNE, who will thus benefit from social security coverage. Allowances are normally met by the EU Institution or Agency unless the vacancy is listed as ‘cost free’ in which case it is the sending organisation / institution that has to pay the relevant allowances. Normally a CV is requested, however, the vacancy notice may specify other documentation that may be required for a specific post.
It is pertinent to note that circulation of vacancies and nominations are at the discretion of the respective Permanent Secretary/ies. For this reason, candidates are encouraged to discuss internally with the respective Authorities before submitting their nomination.
Nominations together with the duly completed CV, security clearance (if requested) and the endorsement of the respective Permanent Secretary/ies are to be sent to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs.
Secondments are not automatically renewed. Candidates need to demonstrate certain aptitudes, skills, motivation and performance. Additional information and assistance can be obtained from the Permanent Secretary of the respective Ministry or Director of Corporate Services.
Additional information and assistance can be obtained from the Permanent Secretary of the respective Ministry or Director of Corporate Services.
NATIONAL EXPERTS IN PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
The National Expert in Professional Training (NEPT), is an exchange programme between the Commission and Member States, governed by the 2008 Decision, which covers Seconded National Experts (SNE) and the National Expert in Professional Training (NEPT). NEPT is offered for a maximum of 5 months and renewal is not permitted. The purposes of the professional training are:
– to give NEPTs experience of the Commission's working methods and policies;
– to enable staff to gain practical experience and understanding of the day-to-day work of the Commission departments, with the possibility to work in a multicultural and multilingual environment;
– to enable staff of national administrations to put into practice the knowledge they have acquired in their studies, particularly in their respective areas of responsibility.
The number of places available in the Commission’s services for this exercise allows for the integration of a maximum of 3 trainees from our national administration (the quota for Malta is 3 candidates per year). The selected officer should not be below the grade of Principal or analogous grade. Nominations of candidates who have already benefited from any kind of contract, employment or traineeship with a European institution are not accepted. It is important to note that the selected officers’ Ministries or departments are to bear the cost of this placement as well as the officers’ salaries for the period in question.
The Institute for the Public Services provides prospective candidates with the application form, once nominations have been received through the relevant Permanent Secretaries. Selection is carried out on a first come first served basis.
More information: A letter circular is issued by the Institute for the Public Services twice a year. Public officers are encouraged to inform their respective Ministry, if interested in this initiative. Usually circulars are issued between February/March and September/October.
Assistance: Further information may be obtained from the Institute for the Public Services, on 22001900, or by email on ips@gov.mt
Public officers are granted the possibility to benefit from academic sponsorships, international events, placements and job shadowing, and put into practice the knowledge gained at their place of work for a more efficient service delivery. The Institute of Public Service Prospectuss provides additional information in this regard. In addition, the Office of the Prime Minister may issue circulars from time to time regarding Training or Sponsorship opportunities, according to the exigencies of the service.