Policy Officer

Overview

MAKE A DIFFERENCE - JOIN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION Do you want to help shape the future of the European Union? Make the planet greener, promote a fairer society, or support businesses and innovation across the EU? Then come and work for the European Commission where you can really make a difference! Commission staff are a diverse group of people, who are motivated to help make Europe – and the world – a better place. They come from the 27 Member States of the European Union. Different nationalities, backgrounds, languages and cultures make the Commission a vibrant and inclusive place to work.

WE OFFER GREAT JOBS AND GREAT WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Interesting and challenging positions with plenty of opportunities for training and acquiring new skills and competencies throughout your whole career
• Opportunities to move between different policy areas throughout your career
• A package of flexible working conditions including the possibility of teleworking – we care about your work-life balance
• A competitive financial package, including comprehensive healthcare, accident and pension schemes
• A multilingual, multicultural workplace where personal and career development are strongly promoted
• Multilingual schools for your children

We recruit from a wide range of backgrounds and actively promote diversity and inclusion: We do not only recruit political scientists and lawyers but are also looking for all kinds of profiles, including scientists, linguists, IT experts, data analysts and economists, as well as drivers and engineers.

We are committed to equal opportunities and to fostering a rich, diverse and inclusive working environment. We aim for our workforce to be representative of European society and strongly welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively seek to create a workplace where each staff member feels valued and respected, can give their best and can develop to their full potential.

To promote diversity and establish a geographically balanced pool of candidates, we strongly encourage applicants from Member States which are currently underrepresented in the European Commission workforce to apply. These Member States are currently Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. Recruitment will however remain strictly based on the merits of all applicants and no positions will be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State.

STAFF RECRUITED ON CONTRACTS In addition to permanent officials, the European Commission offers non-permanent positions. There are two categories of non-permanent staff:

• temporary agents are recruited to fill vacant positions for a set amount of time or to perform highly specialised tasks.
• contract agents may provide additional capacity in specialised fields where an insufficient number of officials is available or carry out a number of administrative or manual tasks. They are generally recruited for fixed-term contracts (maximum 6 years in any EU Institution), but in some cases they can be offered contracts for an indefinite duration (in offices, agencies, delegations or representations).

For more information on different staff categories

Policy officer in DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission Job title: Policy Officer Domain: Science and Research Where: Unit RTD.02 – Science Policy, Advice, and Ethics Brussels Function Group: FG IV Contract Type: 3b Express your interest until: 18.08.2026 - 12.00 (noon, Brussels time) WE ARE Unit RTD.02 is part of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission and forms an interface between the world of science and policymaking. Unit RTD.02 provides scientific advice to the European Commission; advises the College on questions relating to ethics and values; promotes the highest standards of Ethics and Integrity in the performance of Research and Innovation in the EU; sets the scene for a European Science for Policy ecosystem; and supports the functioning of the European Research Council for excellence in frontier research. The unit coordinates:

• The Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM), delivering transparent, high quality, timely and independent scientific advice for policy and/or legislation to the College of European

Commissioners.

• The development of a coherent EU research ethics and integrity framework within the context of the European Research Area and the development and implementation of the FP

Ethics appraisal scheme

• The Ethics Advice Mechanism (EthAM), advising on all aspects of Commission policies and legislation where ethical, societal and fundamental rights dimensions intersect with the development of science and new technologies
• Science for Policy (S4P) action within the context of the European Research Area (ERA) and for which close collaboration with Member States and other Commission services is required.

WE PROPOSE Unit RTD. 02 is seeking to hire a policy officer responsible for supporting the activities of the unit related to science for policy, science and ethics advice, research ethics and integrity. The position will consist of:

• Scientific and/or ethical analysis on selected topics

• Policy development (strategic thinking, design of actions)

• Policy analysis (e.g. review and analysis of relevant policy documents)

• Drafting (e.g. conception and preparation of documents and briefings)

• Organisation of and participation to internal and external meetings and events

• Communication, outreach and advocacy

The job requires frequent interactions with other European Commission services and agencies, other EU institutions, members states, independent experts and stakeholders, to provide timely input and analysis on diverse research topics and processes.

WE LOOK FOR We are looking for a motivated, dynamic colleague with a relevant background having a service- orientated approach, combined with very good analytical, organisational, coordination and communication skills, and excellent interpersonal skills to work well in and across teams. In particular, the candidate should have experience in:

• Developing R&I policy and/or conducting scientific research and/or science communication and/or ethics and science;
• Consensus building and co-operating with others, experience with participatory methods is an asset
• Communication to deliver outcomes that effectively target relevant audiences
• A very good command of English is essential; any other language would be an asset

Experience with any of the following is considered an advantage:

• Providing scientific and or ethical advice to policy
• Implementing research ethics and integrity policy (including addressing ethical challenges in science and new technologies);
• The EU legislative process, strategic policies and procedures of the Commission, including evidence-based policy making;
• Policy analysis and drafting;
• Coordinating expert advisory processes or member state committees

HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST?

With a view to guaranteeing equal access to all, the Commission recruits from an open database of spontaneous applications. The present call for interests aims at helping the recruiters to identify potentially interested candidates within this database.

In practice, to express your interest, please follow the subsequent two steps:

1. If you are not registered yet in the open EPSO database, please do so at the following

address: CAST Permanent. Please select under selection procedures for contract agent the CAST permanent profile that best suits your education and experience.

2. You should send your documents in a single pdf in the following order:
3. your CV 2. completed application form.

Please send these documents by the publication deadline to RTD-02-CA-APPLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu indicating the call for interest reference EC/2026/RTD/521742 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.

ANNEX

Selection & timeline

1. Selection

 Am I eligible to apply?

You must meet the following eligibility criteria when you validate your application: Our rules provide that you can only be recruited as a contract agent at the European Commission if you: General criteria:

• Are a citizen of a Member State of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service;
• Are physically fit to perform the duties linked to the position;
• Produce the appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the duties.
• Have passed an EPSO CAST in the relevant Function Group for this position. At the stage of the application, it is sufficient to be registered in the EPSO CAST data base.

Qualifications: (a) Have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma.

Only qualifications issued or recognised as equivalent by EU Member State authorities (e.g. by the Ministry of Education) will be accepted.

Languages:

• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1) of one of the 24 official languages of the

EU2

• AND have a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2)3 of a second official language of the EU, to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.

 What about the selection steps?

The selecting unit chooses from the EPSO database candidates with the appropriate profile and invites them to an interview. For the interview a selection panel is set-up to assess the best

candidates. Due to the large volume of applications that we may receive only candidates selected for the interview will be notified.

For operational reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates and of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in English and possibly in a second official language.

2. Recruitment

The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to provide documentary evidence in support of the statements made in the database and, where relevant, the call for interest. The successful candidate will be required to undergo a mandatory pre-recruitment medical check- up carried out by the Commission.  Type of contract and working conditions The place of employment will be in Brussels The successful candidate will be engaged as a contract agent under Article 3(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, in function group FG IV. General information on Contract Agents can be found at this link.

The grade or proposed grade range, as well as the step in that grade, will be defined on the basis of the candidates’ previous professional experience, in accordance with Commission Decision C(2017)6760 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in step on engagement. [For 3b] The duration of the first contract will be 1 year. Subject to the interest of the service, the contract may be renewed one or more times up to a maximum duration of 6 years. The duration of the renewal(s) will be defined according to the General Implementing Rules in force at that moment (currently, Commission Decision C(2017)6760 on policies for the engagement and use of contract agents).

Contract agents recruited in Function Group IV have to successfully complete a 9-month probationary period.

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances, including, where applicable, expatriation and family allowances. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. As a member of staff of the European institutions, your pay is subject to a tax raised by those institutions.

The European Commission applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations.

Should you need further information on working conditions, please refer to Working conditions and benefits of EU Careers.

For information related to Data Protection, please see the Specific Privacy Statement under “7. Information to data subjects on their rights”, to find your rights and how to exercise them in addition to the privacy statement, which summarises the processing of your data.