The institutions are looking for candidates who are talented, motivated, and who can demonstrate the following general competencies:

• Analysis and Problem Solving: Identify the critical facts in complex issues and develop creative and practical solutions
• Communicating: Communicate clearly and precisely both orally and in writing
• Delivering Quality and Results: Take personal responsibility and initiative for delivering work to a high standard of quality within set procedures
• Learning and Development: Develop and improve personal skills and knowledge of the organisation and its environment
• Prioritising and Organising: Prioritise the most important tasks, work flexibly and organise own workload efficiently
• Resilience: Remain effective under a heavy workload, handle organisational frustrations positively and adapt to a changing work environment
• Working with Others: Work cooperatively with others in teams and across organisational boundaries and respect differences between people
• Leadership (for administrators only): Manage, develop and motivate people to achieve results

In addition, for the more specialised profiles, the institutions are looking for candidates that are highly qualified in their field. Information on the field-related competencies, as well as the tests evaluating both the general and field-related competencies, can be found in the Notice of competition.

EPSO is planning to use a new competency framework as of 2023. You can learn more about it here.

The general role of administrators is to support decision-makers in fulfilling the mission of their institution or body. AD 5 is often the grade at which graduates begin their careers as administrators in the European institutions. Administrators recruited at this grade can undertake, under supervision, three main types of work in the institutions: policy formulation, operational delivery, and resource management.

The main duties, which may vary from one institution to another, are listed in the Notice of Competition.

You can also have a look at our website where you can find access to useful information about permanent officials.

Assistants are generally employed in an executive and/or technical role (administrative, financial, communication, research, policy development and implementation etc.). They play an important role in the internal management of the Institutions, notably in budgetary and financial affairs, personnel work, computing, and document management and scientific laboratory work.

• An assistant career covers grades AST 1 to AST 11.
• New staff usually enters at grade AST 1 or AST 3.
• AST 1 candidates must have completed secondary education and have previous relevant experience, or have a relevant vocational qualification.
• AST 3 candidates should generally have completed secondary education, a relevant vocational qualification and/or several years' relevant experience.

Secretaries/Clerks are generally employed in an office management and administrative support role. They can take on a broad range of tasks such as preparing files, supporting the organisation and coordination of the department's activities, managing documents, as well as many others involved in supporting teams, managers, or other services within the EU institutions.

• A Secretary/Clerk career covers grades AST/SC1 to AST/SC6.
• New staff usually enter at grades AST/SC 1 or AST/SC 2.
• AST/SC1 candidates must have completed secondary education and have previous relevant experience, or have a relevant vocational qualification.
• AST/SC2 grade is sometimes available for more experienced candidates).

The EU institutions select candidates for permanent contracts through open competitions. These are tests and assessment exercises designed to measure your professional skills and a number of core competencies. In view of the very large number of applicants, this is the fairest and most transparent selection procedure. This means that spontaneous applications cannot be taken into account.

The EU institutions select candidates for permanent contracts through the organisation of open competitions. Each of these competitions is announced by the publication of a Notice of Competition in the Official Journal of the European Union, as well as on EPSO’s website. The Notice of Competition contains a full description of the profile sought, the minimum requirements as regards education (and sometimes work experience) and indicates the tests and other assessment exercises (designed to measure your professional skills and a number of core competencies) that will take place during the competition. The Notice of Competition also includes information and instructions on how to apply for the open competition. In general, the Notice of Competition is published on the first day of the application period.

In view of the very large number of applicants, EPSO deems that this is the fairest and most transparent method for selection procedures. Spontaneous applications cannot therefore be taken into account.

Each selection procedure for permanent officials has its own Selection Board, which is responsible for selecting candidates at each stage and for drawing up the final list of successful candidates. Each Selection Board is composed of officials from the EU Institutions, and generally consists of Permanent Members and Non-permanent members. The Permanent Members are seconded to EPSO from their institution usually for 2 to 4 years in order to ensure consistency across the selection procedures. The Non-permanent Members are appointed to a particular selection procedure for their technical or linguistic expertise, for example.

An administrator career covers grades AD 5 to AD 16. 

AD 5 is generally the entry level for University graduates.  In most cases, no professional experience is required.

Selection and recruitment may also be offered at AD 5 / AD 6 / AD 7 in more specialist roles. Several years' relevant experience will be required. 

AD 9 / AD 12 is middle management level. Selection/recruitment at these grades requires previous management experience.