Financial Officer

1. Education and professional experience

• Have a post-secondary education attested by a diploma, or
• Have a secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and relevant professional experience of three (3) years.

2. European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) Contract Agents Selection Tests (CAST)5

• Have successfully passed EPSO reasoning tests for Contract Agents in a valid EPSO

CAST Function Group III (FGIII) or higher; or

• Have completed and validated the EPSO CAST online application form in Function

Group III (FGIII) (7), in view of subsequent EPSO Contract Agent Selection Tests

(CAST) (see section VII Selection Procedure below). The application must be updated at least once every 6 months by renewing interest on the EPSO portal.

IV. SELECTION CRITERIA Eligible applications will be assessed against the following criteria by the Selection Committee appointed by the REA Director. On the closing date for applications, candidates must meet the following criteria: A. Essential qualifications and experience relevant to the profile and duties Candidates must have a minimum of 1 year of cumulative professional experience in one or more of the following fields:

• Financial management, cost controlling and/or financial audit.
• Accounting, consolidation and use of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and/or international accounting standards (IAS).
• Regular use and understanding of statutory financial statements (e.g. balance sheet, income statement/profit and loss account, cash flow, notes to the financial statements) of various types of entities/activities.
• Credit risk analysis and/or commercial loan/credit underwriting.

In addition, they must have a satisfactory knowledge of English (minimum B2 level) (8).

B. Advantageous qualifications and experience relevant to the profile and duties

• Qualifications or professional training in economics or related fields of at least 3 years.
• Professional experience of at least 5 months in any of the following fields:

o Experience in assessing the ownership and the corporate governance of legal entities participating in EU restricted award procedures, to identify possible control/decisive influence from third countries. o Experience in the assessment of ultimate beneficial owners / controlling parties of different types of entities. o Experience and/or professional training in the application of the SME Recommendation and/or experience with SME and mid-cap statuses assessment. o Experience in EU Competition Law and/or practical implementation of Council Regulation (EC) 139/2004 on the control of concentration between undertakings; o Experience in due diligence, foreign direct investments screening, anti-money laundering, trade defense instruments, sanctions or other similar fields. o Experience in an operational position in public or private investment corporations, venture capital companies, investment fund management companies or other entities dealing with investment activities.

The selection criteria under points A and B will be assessed by the Selection Committee throughout the entire selection procedure.

C. Job-related competencies

• Accuracy
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Planning, prioritising and organisation skills.
• Service-oriented approach.

Some of these competencies will be assessed during the interview.

V. APPLICATION PROCEDURE For applications to be valid, candidates must correctly fill in the eligibility declaration on the e- Recruitment portal and must submit all the following documents before the closing date of submission of the applications:

• A detailed curriculum vitae, in EU CV format, clearly indicating the type of work experience that is related to the profile and duties section (Section II)11;
• The online application form correctly filled in.

The file name must start with the surname of the candidate (e.g.SURNAME_CV).

Candidates who fail to provide all requested documents filled in as specified above by the closing date for applications may be excluded from the selection procedure.

Applications must be submitted only through the e-Recruitment portal via the link published on the website Jobs at REA (europa.eu). Candidates are kindly requested to apply in English.

The information on the selection procedure and its progress can be found on the REA website. For any communication related to this selection procedure, candidates should contact only REA-III- sign up to see this e-mail indicating in the subject of the email the reference of the vacancy notice REA/III/2026/5 – Financial Officer.

The closing date for the submission of the applications is 09/06/2026 (midday, CET).

VI. SELECTION PROCEDURE

1. Eligibility check

The REA Talent Selection team will, under the supervision of the Selection Committee, check the eligibility of the candidates based on the information provided in the eligibility declaration (part of the online application).

L EUROPEAN RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY (REA) REA.D - Coordination and Corporate Services D.2 - People and Workplace CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CONTRACT AGENTS 3(a) – FGIII “FINANCIAL OFFICER” REA/III/2026/5 I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this call for expression of interest is to draw up a reserve list of 20 Contract Agents in Function Group III to fill in vacant positions in the European Research Executive Agency (REA) with place of employment Brussels, Belgium.

The European Research Executive Agency’s mission is to help build a greener Europe with prosperous, inclusive societies and economies that take full advantage of the digital age. Our main role is managing EU funding for research and innovation in various fields as well as the promotion of EU agricultural products.

Further information on REA may be obtained at European Research Executive Agency (europa.eu). The reserve list will be used to fill in vacant positions mainly in Unit D4 Central Validation Service, implementing part of the Single Electronic Data Interchange Area (SEDIA). The unit is responsible for the validation of the legal and financial data submitted by participants in EU award procedures managed by the European Commission and other European Union Institutions, bodies and agencies. The unit is composed of four sectors.

The Legal Validation Sector is responsible for the validation of the legal existence and the legal status of participants in EU award procedures together with the appointment of their Legal Entity Appointed Representative. It is also responsible for the validation of the participants and their bank accounts in the accounting system of the European Commission.

The Financial Validation sector is responsible for the preparation of the financial capacity assessment of participants in EU award procedures, the validation of the participants' SME and mid- capitalisation status, the ownership and control assessment of participants in restricted calls and the assessment of personnel unit costs. The sector hosts the Centre of Excellence on financial analysis, responsible for the 'on-demand' assessments of participants with higher risk exposure.

The Legal and Financial Verification Sector is responsible for the verification of the assessments performed by the Legal Validation Sector and the Financial Validation Sector.

The Validation planning, Enquiry Service and Process Support Sector includes four teams: the validation planning team which is in charge of the relations with all European Union Institutions, bodies and agencies that are clients of the Central Validation Service; the legal support team that provides legal advice to the other sectors on complex cases; the Research Enquiry Service that replies to all enquiries related to EU funding for research and participant validation; and the process support team that helps to establish harmonised business processes for the Participant Register. II. PROFILE AND DUTIES The successful candidates will work as Financial Officer. The level of responsibilities is set in accordance with the Function Group III.

As part of a team and under the supervision of a Head of Sector, the successful candidates will contribute to the following main functions and duties:

• Analysis of financial statements (profit and loss accounts, balance sheets, audit reports, notes to the financial statements) of legal entities applying to EU award procedures, to assess their financial capacity as part of the eligibility checks to access EU funding.
• Assessment of the ownership and the corporate governance of legal entities applying to

EU restricted award procedures, to identify possible control/decisive influence from third countries.

• Assessment of the ‘small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)’ and ‘mid-cap enterprise’ statuses of participants applying for EU award procedures specifically targeting these types of entities.
• Participation in working groups on harmonisation and simplification of rules for financial capacity, SME, mid-cap, and ownership and control assessments.
• Elaboration, simplification and maintenance of up-to-date availability of guidelines, manuals of procedures, reference documentation.
• Drafting replies to public enquiries related to financial capacity, SME, mid-cap, and ownership and control assessments.
• Ensuring conformity of operations with official regulations and procedures, including the internal control standards, and ensuring that all obligations are met.
• Providing high quality services for all European Union Institutions, bodies and agencies that are clients of the Central Validation Service.
• Effective communication through the IT systems with the participants in EU award procedures and European Union Institutions, bodies and agencies during the assessment process.
• Improvement of the IT tools supporting the activities of the unit.
• Contribute to the general administrative tasks of the unit.

III. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA To be eligible, candidates must comply with general and specific conditions described under the points A and B below.

Only complete and correctly filled in applications registered before the deadline will be considered.

A. General Conditions The closing date for applications for this call for expression of interest is 09/06/2026 (midday, CET). At this date and at the date of signature of a possible resulting employment contract, candidates must:

• Be nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union;
• Enjoy full rights as citizens;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them by the laws concerning military service;
• Produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties;
• Be physically fit to perform their duties;
• Produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union (at minimum C1 level) and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the European

Union (at minimum B2 level) 2 to the extent necessary for the performance of their duties.

B. Specific Conditions On the closing date of this call for expression of interest, candidates must comply with the following:

2. Screening of applications by the Selection Committee

The Selection Committee will evaluate applications against the “Profile and Duties” and “Selection criteria” (Section II and Section IV, A and B), based on the information provided in the candidates’ application file (part of the online application).

Candidates that best match the criteria and that obtained the highest scores at the screening of applications will be invited to the next phase.

The screening phase is eliminatory. The scores obtained during the screening phase will not count towards the final score at the interview stage.

4. Interview

A maximum number of 60 candidates having obtained the highest score at the screening phase and having successfully passed the FGIII EPSO CAST tests will be invited to the interview.

The interview will assess the suitability of candidates to perform the duties described under Section II “Profile and Duties” and Section IV (A, B and C) “Selection Criteria” of this Call for expression of interest, their specific knowledge related to the post, as well as their potential to progress in the function to be filled, for increased responsibility and future performances in mid-term, their motivation to evolve through development opportunities and their language skills.

In view of the nature of the duties and the particular field of this selection procedure, the language that will be used for the interview will be English as vehicular language for the performance of the duties of Financial Officer in REA. In addition, English is generally considered lingua franca of the scientific community, which is the REA’s primary stakeholder. A satisfactory command of English is therefore essential.

5. Reserve list

The Selection Committee will propose to the Authority Empowered to Conclude Contracts of REA (Director of REA) a reserve list of maximum 20 candidates who obtained the highest scores at the interview.

The reserve list approved by the Director of REA will be valid for one year and will be made available to Departments and Units of the Agency, according to business needs. The Director of REA may decide to extend the validity of the list. Successful candidates will be listed alphabetically.

Inclusion of candidates on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on the availability of posts and budget and on the suitability of candidates for such posts. A second interview may be organised before an offer of employment is issued.

Disqualification from the selection procedure: Candidates may be disqualified at any stage of the selection procedure if it is established that they:

• Fail to provide a valid application file within the deadline for applications;
• Do not meet all the eligibility criteria;
• Make false declarations or declarations unsupported by the appropriate documents;
• Fail to book or sit their EPSO CAST tests;
• Cheat during the interview;
• Attempt to contact a member of the Selection Committee in an unauthorised manner;
• Fail to inform the REA HR of a possible conflict of interest with a Selection Committee member.

VII. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES REA applies a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without distinction on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Furthermore, REA offers an inclusive working environment founded on diversity and equal opportunities in which everyone feels valued and can live up to their full potential.

The implementation of these principles is fostered through internal integration actions that value colleagues’ diverse backgrounds.

VIII. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT The successful candidates may be offered a Contract Agent contract grade FGIII, pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS) and according to the general provisions implementing Article 79(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed by the Commission under the terms of Article 3a and 3b which have been adopted by analogy by REA.

The initial duration of the contract will be for one year and may be renewed for one additional year. If the contract is further renewed, it shall be concluded for an indefinite period, subject to any limitations on the Executive Agency’s lifetime. Contract Agent 3(a) must serve a probationary period of nine months.

The monthly salary for a Contract Agent 3(a) grade FGIII consists of a basic salary of EUR 3.475,62 (if classified in step 1).

The basic salary is supplemented, as applicable, with possible various allowances, in particular expatriation allowance, household allowance, dependent child allowance and education allowance. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS). The salaries of contract staff 3(a) are subject to a European Union tax deducted at source.

Contract Agents 3(a) are exempted from national tax on salary and are members of the European Union social security and pension schemes.

The place of employment will be Brussels where the Agency has its activities.

For further information on working conditions of contract staff, see the Agencies’ websites or the website of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO).

IX. REQUEST FOR REVIEW Where a candidate is excluded from the next stage of the selection procedure, they can request a review of the decision taken by the Selection Committee if they consider that there has been a material error or a breach of the rules of the selection. This request for review must be submitted within 10 calendar days of the date on which the contested decision was communicated.

In the request, the candidate must provide the information necessary to identify the nature of the alleged error and the reasons why s/he believes that a review is necessary. Requests received after the deadline, or which are not clear enough to identify the alleged error will not be taken into account.

Requests for review must be sent to sign up to see this e-mail

X. APPEAL PROCEDURES Complaint on the basis of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (SR).

Candidates may submit a complaint on the basis of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, which is to be sent as a single copy using one of the following methods: By email to: sign up to see this e-mail Or By post to: REA Director Reference of the selection procedure: REA/III/2026/5 – FINANCIAL OFFICER SB34 – 08/P198 Boulevard Simon Bolivar 34 1049 Brussels Belgium The time limit set out for this type of procedure is 3 months starting from the date of notification of the act adversely affecting the complainant.

• Judicial Appeal

Candidates may submit a judicial appeal on the basis of Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations. For details on how to submit a judicial appeal and how to determine the deadlines, candidates may consult the website of the General Court.

• Complaint to the European Ombudsman

Candidates, like any citizen of the Union, may lodge a complaint to the European Ombudsman.

Before submitting a complaint to the Ombudsman, candidates must first make the appropriate administrative approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned (see above).

Making a complaint to the Ombudsman does not extend the deadlines for lodging administrative complaints or judicial appeal.

For arrangements for complaints to the Ombudsman, candidates may consult the website of the European Ombudsman.

XI. DATA PROTECTION The purpose of processing of the data submitted by candidates is to manage the applications in view of a possible selection and recruitment at REA. The personal information requested from candidates will be processed in line with Regulation (EC) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data. In this regard, candidates should refer to the Data Protection Notices of the REA which are available on the public central register of records and explain how the REA processes personal data in relation to selections and recruitment.

REA draws to the candidates’ attention that upon the decision of REA Director and depending on the business needs, the resulting reserve list of successful candidates may, at a later stage, be made available to other executive agencies that could be interested in their profile and may therefore contact them. This would involve the processing of the candidates’ data (name, last name and CV). Please note that candidates can object to this processing by sending an email to: sign up to see this e-mail signed on 26/05/2026 12:52 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

3. Invitation to EPSO computer-based tests (CAST tests)

In the framework of the Executive Agencies’ selection procedures for Contract Agents, all candidates must comply with the EPSO CAST registration modalities:

• Successful candidates at the screening phase, having applied to a function group III profile of the EPSO CAST Permanent, will be invited by EPSO to sit a series of computer-based multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests during the testing window corresponding to the timing of the present Call for expression of interest. Only successful candidates to the FGIII EPSO CAST tests will be admitted to the interview stage.
• Successful candidates at the screening phase that already have a valid FGIII EPSO CAST profile or higher will be directly invited to the interview stage.