Director - "Recovery & Resilience II (RRF II)"

We are

The Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) was created in February 2025 by the merger between the Recovery and Resilience Task Force (SG RECOVER) and the Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM). SG REFORM oversees the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and also responsible for the coordination of the European Semester. The RRF is the cornerstone of NextGenerationEU, the unprecedented EU recovery instrument worth more than €650 billion in grants and loans. It aims at helping Member States’ economies recover from the Covid-19 crisis, while becoming more resilient, more sustainable and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions. The Technical Support Instrument (TSI) is the EU programme that provides tailor-made technical expertise to EU Member States to design and implement reforms. SG REFORM also contributes to the Commission’s work on the preparation of the new MFF, notably in the preparation of National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs). Within the assigned country and thematic responsibilities Directorate SG REFORM.C “Recovery and Resilience II (RRF II)” provides the overall strategic coordination and management of the Task Force’s activities. The Directorate works closely with the Member States and relevant Commission services to ensure the successful implementation and closure of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in accordance with the agreed milestones and targets. The directorate provides legal and policy coordination support to the whole Task Force. In this context, the directorate supports the implementation of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), ensuring the effective coordination of the provision of technical support to Member States. The directorate also contributes to the Commission’s work on the preparation of the new MFF, on preparatory tasks assigned to SG REFORM, notably in the preparation of National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) as well providing legal and policy coordination support. The directorate operates under the direct supervision, and the operational and political guidance of the Deputy Director-General in charge of Implementation and consists of five units, comprising approximately 110 staff members.

We propose

A challenging and strategically important position as Director for “Recovery and Resilience II (RRF II)” with a high level of responsibility for organising the Directorate and its wide range of activities. The Director will provide the overall strategic coordination and management of the Task Force’s activities in relation to the country and thematic responsibilities assigned to the directorate. Notably, working closely with the Member States and relevant Commission services, the Director will ensure the successful implementation and closure of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in accordance with the agreed milestones and targets. The Director will also support the Director-General in high-level negotiations with the Member States and supervise the Directorate’s contribution to the Commission’s work on the preparation of the new MFF on preparatory tasks assigned to SG REFORM, notably in the preparation of National and 1 Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), as well as the provision of legal and policy coordination support to the whole Task Force.

We look for (selection criteria)

Candidates should have:

Personal qualities 

• Excellent communication skills and ability to discuss effectively and efficiently with internal and external stakeholders. 
• Demonstrated high-level negotiation skills and ability to coordinate and engage at internal, inter institutional or international level. 
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills with sound political judgment and a strong sense of diplomacy.
• Strategic thinking and ability to elaborate and propose pragmatic solutions. 

Specialist skills and experience 

• Relevant experience in interactions with EU institutions, in particular the European Parliament and the Council. 
• Proven representation skills at high level; experience in engaging and negotiating with Member States, including at political level. 
• Excellent knowledge of, and experience with, the Recovery and Resilience Facility. 
• Very good knowledge of EU policies and proven ability to translate them into funding programmes. 
• Very good knowledge and understanding of the Commission's priorities, its decision-making process, its administrative practices and procedures. 

Management skills 

• Excellent managerial and leadership skills, including the ability to lead and motivate teams in a spirit of cooperation, define and maintain focus on strategic priorities, evaluate progress and oversee their implementation. 
• Excellent ability to think strategically and generate a clear vision for the objectives to be achieved. 
• Proven experience in managing resources and ability to work flexibly, notably in terms of allocation of resources across units.

Candidates must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will only be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal requirements to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications: 

• Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union. 
• University degree or diploma: candidates must have: 
  •  either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 4 years or more; 
  •  or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university 2 education is at least 3 years (this one year's professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below). 

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities of one of these Member States may be taken into consideration. 

• Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years postgraduate professional experience 1 at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. 
• Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high–level management function
• Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union3 and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these official languages. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language. This may include (part of) the interview being conducted in this other language. 
• Age limit: candidates must not have reached regular retirement age, which for officials of the European Union is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 52 lit (a) of the Staff Regulations 4).

Selection and appointment

The selection and appointment will be conducted according to the European Commission’s selection and recruitment procedures (see: Document on Senior Officials Policy 5). As part of this selection procedure, the European Commission sets up a pre-selection panel. This panel analyses all applications, proceeds with a first eligibility verification and identifies candidates having the best profile in view of the selection criteria mentioned above, and who may be invited for an interview with the pre-selection panel. Candidates may be requested to provide documents supporting the information provided in their application at any moment of the procedure. Failure to provide those documents within the deadline set in the request may lead to the exclusion from the selection. Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel draws up its conclusions and proposes a list of candidates for further interviews with the European Commission's Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). The CCA, taking into consideration the conclusions of the pre-selection panel, will decide on the candidates to be invited for an interview.

Candidates who are called for an interview with the CCA participate in a full-day management assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Taking account of the results of the interview and the report of the assessment centre, the CCA establishes a shortlist of candidates it considers suitable for the function. Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the relevant Member(s) of the Commission. Following these interviews, the European Commission takes the appointment decision. The selected candidate must have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service, produce appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties and be physically fit to perform their duties. The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid security clearance certificate from their national security authority. A personal security clearance is an administrative decision following completion of a security screening conducted by the individual's competent national security authority in accordance with applicable national security laws and regulations and certifying that an individual may be allowed to access classified information up to a specified level. (Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a security clearance can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate). Until the personal security clearance has been granted by the Member State concerned and the clearance procedure completed with the legally required briefing from the European Commission’s Security Directorate, the candidate will not be able to access EU Classified Information (EUCI) at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, nor attend any meetings at which such EUCI is discussed.

Equal opportunities

In accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations, the European Commission pursues a strategic objective of achieving gender equality at all management levels and applies an equal opportunities policy encouraging applications that could contribute towards more diversity, gender equality and overall geographical balance.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Staff Regulations. The selected candidate will be recruited as an official at grade AD14. He / she will be classified depending on the length of his / her previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade. The selected candidate should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period. The place of employment is Brussels, Belgium.

Independence and declaration of interests Candidates will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence. 

Important information for candidates Candidates are reminded that the work of the selection panels is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. Any query has to be addressed to the secretariat of the respective panel. 

Protection of personal data The Commission will ensure that candidates' personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council 6. This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

Application procedure

requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, high-level professional experience as well as linguistic capacity required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure. If you want to apply, you must register via the Internet on the following website and follow the instructions concerning the various stages of the procedure: https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/ You must have a valid e-mail address. This will be used to confirm your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the procedure. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your e-mail address. To complete your application, you need to upload a CV in PDF format, preferably using the Europass CV format7, and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Your CV and your letter of motivation may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union. It is in your interest to ensure that your application is accurate, thorough and truthful. Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an email confirming that your application has been registered. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your application has not been registered!

Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application online. You will be contacted directly by the European Commission regarding the status of your application. Applications sent by e-mail will not be accepted. If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an e-mail to: HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations will not be accepted. 

Closing date The closing date for registration is 16/10/2026, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.