Legal Assistant

WE ARE:

The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the European Union’s diplomatic service. Since 2011, the EEAS carries out the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to promote peace, prosperity, security, and the interests of the EU across the globe. It brings together European civil servants, diplomats from EU Member States, national experts and local staff worldwide.

The EEAS supports the High Representative in the exercise of her mandate to steer the Union’s CFSP, including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), to represent the EU on issues relating to the CFSP and to chair the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports her as Vice-President of the Commission with regard to her responsibilities within the Commission, 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 EEAS Headquarters (HQ) are in Brussels. It is also responsible for the management of the network of 145 Union Delegations and Offices worldwide. These Diplomatic Representations play a vital role in representing the EU in the country where they are based, in promoting the values and interests of the EU, and in building networks and partnerships. They are responsible for all policy areas of the relationship between the EU and the host country/organisation.

The Division RM.01 (‘Coordination’) is directly attached to the Director-General for Resource Management, coordinating various administrative policies and ensuring that the Directorate-General’s relevant decisions, rules and procedures are compliant with the applicable legal framework. It is also responsible for the implementation of Annex X to the EU Staff Regulations on rights and obligations for all staff working in Delegations.

Within this Division, the ‘Legal Coordination and Ethics’ Sector covers legal issues relating to a wide area of the EEAS’ administrative activities, especially on the implementation of the EU Staff Regulations (SR) and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) in HQ and in Delegations.

WE PROPOSE: A position of Legal Assistant in the ‘Legal Coordination and Ethics’ Sector of the Division RM.01, providing legal, administrative and organisational support to the Head of Division, the Deputy Head of Division responsible for legal matters and to the members of the Sector

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Brussels, Belgium

POST AVAILABLE: Immediately

REQUIRED PROFILE AND MAIN TASKS:

A dynamic, proactive and highly motivated colleague with very good communication and organisational skills and with a developed sense of service, enjoying handling variety in a fast paced-paced environment, with a team spirit and the ability to handle complex legal issues in the field of EU administrative and civil service law.

Under the supervision of the Deputy Head of Division responsible for legal matters, he/she will be entrusted with the following main tasks:

Administrative and organisational support

• Monitor the administrative procedures falling within the Sector’s remit (in particular Articles 90(1), 90(2) and 24 procedures) and carry out related monitoring tasks (e.g. updating the Excel log tables, ensuring that Ares transmissions are correctly received, sent and registered, managing the functional mailboxes relating to these procedures, organising the shared drive of the Sector and saving relevant documents therein, etc.);

Legal support

• Handle administrative cases, in particular requests under Article 90(1) of the SR, complaints under Article 90(2) of the SR and/or requests for assistance under Article 24 of the SR, ensure the drafting of legally sound decisions of the Appointing Authority, compliance with statutory deadlines, and follow-up of related correspondence;
• Take part in relevant meetings, assembling background information and documents, preparing reports, service positions, contributions and replies;
• Contribute to the drafting of internal administrative rules and legal acts (internal rules, implementing rules, contracts and other legal instruments) within the remits of the Division;
• Provide legal advice in areas within the remits of the Division;
• Draft written communications to relevant actors in HQ and Delegations on legal obligations and procedures.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

Candidates should:

• have excellent organisational skills and a good command of the Office package (in particular Word and Excel);
• have professional experience providing legal assistance and advice;
• have strong drafting and analytical skills combined with sound legal judgement;
• have sound knowledge of EU legal and institutional matters;
• have a good understanding of the SR and CEOS;
• have strong communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain a network of contacts both within and outside the EEAS;
• have strong service attitude;
• be able to draft and review legal texts in English and in French;
• be a flexible team player.

Furthermore, the following would be considered as strong assets:

• professional experience in relation with the EU SR and CEOS;
• working experience within EU institutions, especially in HR, legal or case-handling services;
• professional experience of judicial proceedings before EU courts and/or before national courts;
• experience of working in a team in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment;
• ability to work in a demanding environment with short deadlines;
• agility, creative and flexible mindset to solve multi-dimensional problems.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: 

Applicants must be:

1. Permanent officials with a Type of post of the person "Assistant";

2. Permanent officials with one of the following Types of Post of the Person (see "Career summary" in Sysper2):

   a) "Support Agent in transition" (ex-D AST 1-5);

   b) "Administrative Assistant in transition" (ex-C AST 1-7);

   c) "Assistant in transition";

   If one of these officials is selected, s/he will be transferred following this vacancy notice publication. Her/his Type of Post of the person will be modified to become "Assistant";

3. EEAS Officials with a Type of Post of the Person "Senior Assistant in transition" (AST 10-11) can also show their interest for this job. If s/he is selected, s/he will be transferred in the interest of the service. This transfer in the interest of the service will not modify the Type of post of the person, i.e., the chosen candidate will remain a "Senior Assistant in transition";
4. Applications from competition laureates will only be considered in the event that no suitable candidate can be found among EU officials and provided the EEAS has quotas;
5. 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 be an asset;
6. Due to the need to ensure sound financial management of the limited financial resources, and given the fact that the assignment of a staff member to a Delegation has important budgetary and business continuity implications, applications from staff members currently serving in a Delegation are not eligible unless they are included in the rotation or mobility exercises, and if the day for submitting the applications for the vacancy notice is less than six months from the end of their ongoing posting. Other applications may only be considered in the interest of the service or in duly justified situations.

APPOINTMENT: 

Depending on the current status of the successful candidate, his/her appointment will be made either under Article 29(1)(a)(i), Article 29(1)(b) or Article 29(1)(c) of the Staff Regulations.

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 Article 7 of the SR.

CONDITIONS OF RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT:

Conflict of Interest and Security Risks

As a matter of policy, applications by individuals who have dual nationality of which one of a non-EU country, will be considered on a case-by-case basis taking account in particular of the functions attributed to the vacant post. The EEAS also examines if there could be a conflict of interest or security risks.

In this context, candidates shall fill with their application a declaration of potential conflict of interest (Annex attached).

PERSONAL SECURITY CLEARANCE

This post is currently not identified as a post which requires Personnel Security Clearance (hereafter, the “PSC”) to access EU classified information (EUCI) in accordance with point 7 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS and as implemented by Decision ADMIN(2025) 42 on Implementing Rules and Procedures for Personnel Security measures for protection of EU Classified Information of 20 November 2025and its implementing decisions.

Nonetheless, candidates are informed that the list of posts requiring a PSC in the EEAS Headquarters is subject to regular review and that the current post might be identified in the future as a post which requires PSC. 

If required after the taking of duty, the selected candidate will need to be in a position to obtain a valid PSC issued by the competent authority of their Member State in accordance with national laws and regulations. 

In case of failure to obtain or renew the required PSC, the AACC may take the appropriate measures in accordance with Article 7 of the Decision ADMIN(2025) 42 on Implementing Rules and Procedures for Personnel Security measures for protection of EU Classified Information of 20 November 2025

Description of the EU classified information levels is available under Article 2 of Annex A of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES:

The EEAS strives to be a dynamic, respectful and inclusive Service. We value the talent and professional excellence of our staff, and are committed to building an organisation where gender equality and the respect of diversity are core values, as set out in the EEAS Mission Statement and the EEAS Agenda for Diversity and Inclusion. The EEAS is committed to achieving gender balance within its workforce and strives to avoid any form of discrimination during this selection procedure, as per Article 1(d) of the SR. We actively welcome applications from all qualified candidates without any discrimination based on any ground. We commit to recruit candidates with the highest standard of ability, efficiency and integrity, carrying out a selection based on merits required for the post and from the broadest possible geographical basis among the EU Member States.

The EEAS is committed to working with people with disabilities in the terms of the SR. If, by virtue of your medical condition or special needs, you require reasonable accommodation for a part or the entirety of this selection process, please send us an email to EEAS-HQ-APPLICATIONS-ASTeeas [dot] europa [dot] eu (EEAS-HQ-APPLICATIONS-AST[at]eeas[dot]europa[dot]eu). Your request will be treated in strict confidence and no record will be kept. If a candidate with a disability is selected for a vacant post, the EEAS is committed to providing reasonable accommodation in accordance with Article 1(d)(4) of the SR. 

All selected candidates are expected to adhere to the Principles of Professional Behaviour of the EEAS, which outline the need for integrity, transparency, respect, professionalism and accountability, and a zero tolerance approach to any form of harassment. 

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE:

The selection procedure will take place in three different and successive steps:

1. Application

Candidates must apply through the on-line system: https://eapplication.eeas.europa.eu/   

This post will appear under the exercise Publication "2026/193 HQ (AST) Legal Assistant RM.01 Division DL 18/11/2026". 

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. 

To log on to the system, candidates should use their professional ECAS account (European Commission Authentication Service) for their application; candidates without an ECAS password can register to get one through the above link from 28/10/2026. A helpdesk facility is available via the "Contact Support" function within the on-line system.

During the on-line application procedure, candidates will be required to upload:

• An up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (preferably using the Europass format http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/htm/index.htm or the eCV from SYSPER) which should include an indication of the staff member's current grade;
• a letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages) in either English or in French;
• the conflict of interest form filled in, dated and signed;
• optional: a copy of the latest staff appraisal report.

By submitting an application, candidates grant permission to the concerned human resources and recruiting departments to use these documents.

All candidates will have the opportunity to follow the progress of their application through the on-line system.

Applications may be made at any point until 18/11/2026 at 12:00 midday (Brussels time). Please note that the only way to submit an application is using the on-line system. 

As the system may experience peak activity around the deadline, candidates are strongly advised to submit their application as early as possible. Late applications will not be accepted. 

For correspondence concerning the selection procedure, please use the following email address (The e-mail must have in the subject the following title: Vacancy EEAS/2026/193 HQ (AST)): EEAS-HQ-APPLICATIONS-ASTeeas [dot] europa [dot] eu (EEAS-HQ-APPLICATIONS-AST[at]eeas[dot]europa[dot]eu)

2. 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.

3. Selection

The candidates who have passed the pre-selection step will be invited for an interview so that the selection panel can evaluate these candidates objectively and without prejudice on the basis of their qualifications, professional experience and linguistic skills, as listed in the present vacancy notice. For candidates who have submitted multiple applications and are short-listed for more than one post, interviews may be grouped together and cover several applications at the same time.

CONTACT:

Mr Raphaël COESME

Deputy Head of Division RM.01

Email: raphael [dot] coesmeeeas [dot] europa [dot] eu (raphael[dot]coesme[at]eeas[dot]europa[dot]eu)

The closing date for applications is 18/11/2026 at 12:00 midday (Brussels time)

1. ^

    Staff Regulations of Officials (SR) and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS). For reference, see: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1570023902133&uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20190101

2. ^

   OJ C 263, 26 July 2023, p.16.

3. ^

   Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) 2018/1725. The privacy statement is available on EEAS webpage: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eeas-privacy-statement-data-protection-…