C073a - Project Officer Transition

Contract type: Contract agent

Directorate: Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI)

Group: FGIV

Grade: N.A.

Level of Security Clearance: SECRET UE/EU SECRET

Management of staff: N.A.

Location: Brussels

Indicative starting date: 16/02/2027

Closing date for applications: 26/11/2026

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  • BACKGROUND THE AGENCY'S WAY OF WORKING THE RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION DIRECTORATE (RTI) DUTIES ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA SELECTION CRITERIA APPOINTMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR CONTRACT AGENTS AT EDA INDEPENDENCE AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES APPLICATION PROCEDURE DATA PROTECTION

1. BACKGROUND

The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The main task of EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.

The Agency is structured into four directorates. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Procurement, Support, Industry & Interoperability (PSII); Research, Technology & Innovation (RTI).

2. THE AGENCY'S WAY OF WORKING

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

3. THE RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION DIRECTORATE (RTI)

The Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI) supports Member States in translating defence priorities and operational needs into technological solutions and future capabilities. On the basis of the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda, it provides an integrated, end-to-end service covering technology identification and prioritisation, collaborative research and technology development, innovation, experimentation, and support for the transition of promising solutions towards operational use.

Through its Capability Technology Working Groups, technology programmes and experimentation activities, RTI promotes collaborative defence research and innovation in areas of common interest. The Directorate also coordinates EDA’s contribution to EU-funded defence research and innovation programmes, supports the implementation of activities entrusted by the European Commission, and facilitates the management, exploitation and uptake of results in line with Member States' priorities.

The RTI Directorate comprises:

  • Technology Programmes Unit (TPU) supports Member States in identifying and developing priority defence technologies through the Capability Technology Groups, the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda and collaborative R&T activities. It brings together capability pull and technology push across the air and space, maritime and land domains, as well as information superiority, cyber and resilience, power and control technologies, while promoting greater cross-domain cooperation and coherence;
  • EU Programmes and RTI Coordination Unit (EPC) ensures the coherent planning, coordination and monitoring of the RTI Directorate's portfolio. It coordinates the Directorate's engagement in EU-funded defence research and innovation programmes, supports the implementation of entrusted activities, and promotes synergies between collaborative R&T, innovation, experimentation and capability development activities;
  • Centre for European Defence Innovation (CEDI) provides a coherent and scalable innovation and experimentation function supporting Member States along the full innovation pathway. CEDI connects promising technologies and innovative solutions with end users, testing and experimentation facilities and potential follow-on pathways, helping Member States assess military utility, reduce adoption risks and accelerate the transition towards operationally relevant and deployment-ready solutions.

4. DUTIES

Under the supervision of the Head of the Centre for European Defence Innovation, the Project Officer Transition will contribute to the following activities:

  • support the preparation and delivery of EDA activities aimed at translating innovation and experimentation outputs into usable inputs for Member States’ capability development, qualification, integration and procurement-related decision-making;
  • contribute to the development of transition packages for Member States, including evidence summaries, operational use-case descriptions, integration notes, qualification considerations, draft technical specifications, lessons learned and other outputs supporting uptake and transition;
  • support the consolidation of results from digital experimentation, modelling and simulation, field trials, demonstrations and operational experimentation campaigns, ensuring that findings are structured, traceable and usable beyond the specific event or activity in which they were generated;
  • assist in identifying, documenting and following up transition pathways for innovative solutions, including potential links to national uptake, collaborative projects, further experimentation, EU defence instruments, procurement-related activities or additional research and technology maturation;
  • support the design of experimentation activities to ensure that clear transition objectives, evidence requirements and follow-up arrangements are defined from the outset;
  • support engagement with Member States’ capability planners, operational users, test centres, qualification bodies, procurement authorities and other relevant national stakeholders;
  • contribute to the preparation of briefings, notes, reports, presentations and other deliverables for Member States, EDA management and external stakeholders on transition, qualification enablement and uptake of innovative solutions;
  • contribute to the organisation and follow-up of meetings, workshops, expert discussions and Member State consultations related to transition and qualification enablement;
  • support the coordination of studies, service contracts or outsourced support activities related to transition planning, qualification pathways, integration analysis or procurement-relevant evidence, as required;
  • ensure proper documentation, knowledge management and traceability of transition-related outputs, supporting continuity across the innovation portfolio;
  • take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

Duties may evolve according to the development of EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

5. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be considered eligible to take part in this selection procedure, on the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria as specified below:

  • be a national of a Member State participating in the Agency;
  • be entitled to their full rights as citizens;
  • have fulfilled any obligations imposed on their by the laws concerning military service;
  • produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties (extract from the “judicial record” or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);
  • be physically fit to perform their duties;
  • have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one of the languages of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages to the extent necessary to discharge their duties;
  • have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of their duties within the Agency;
  • hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at SECRET UE/EU SECRET level). Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) means a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, and which shows the level of EUCI to which that individual may be granted access (SECRET UE/EU SECRET), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself. Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSCC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate;
  • have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma or be a graduate of a national or international Defence College.

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. In the latter case, the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment reserves the right to request proof of such equivalence.

For diplomas awarded in non-EU countries, a NARIC recognition is required: https://www.enic-naric.net/

Qualifications/diplomas awarded until 31/12/2020 in the United Kingdom are accepted without further recognition. For diplomas awarded after this date (from 01/01/2021), a NARIC recognition is required.

It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another participating EU Member State, are not eligible.

For native English speakers, your ability to communicate in another EU language will be tested during the selection process. To assess your foreign language levels, see: https://europa.eu/europass/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills

6. SELECTION CRITERIA

A. Essential

Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.

(1) Professional

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:

  • a university degree (or equivalent academic degree) in a field relevant to the duties, such as defence studies, engineering, science and technology, systems engineering, or operational research;
  • at least three (3) years of professional experience relevant to the duties, acquired after the award of the qualification required above;
  • proven experience in one or more of the following areas: defence innovation, capability development, experimentation, test and evaluation, qualification of defence products, procurement support or technology transition processes;
  • proven experience in supporting projects or activities involving technical, operational or institutional stakeholders;
  • proven experience in structuring and analysing information resulting from trials, demonstrations, experimentation activities, studies or technical assessments;
  • proven experience in preparing structured outputs such as reports, evidence summaries, technical notes, lessons learned, transition plans, requirements-related material or procurement-support documentation;
  • a very good command of written and spoken English.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

  • ability to work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
  • ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
  • reliability and capacity to work under pressure with minimal supervision;
  • good communication and organisational skills;
  • strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
  • excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills;
  • results-orientation and strong motivation;
  • flexibility and innovativeness;
  • genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

  • experience in a Ministry of Defence, armed forces, international defence organisations, test and evaluation organisation;
  • familiarity with qualification, certification, standardisation, acceptance, validation or verification processes for military or security-related systems;
  • experience in capability-based planning, military utility assessment, systems engineering, requirements development or operational analysis.

7. APPOINTMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR CONTRACT AGENTS AT EDA

EDA, whose staff are governed by its own Staff Regulations, offers specific conditions of employment with regards to contract duration and pension arrangements.

CONTRACT DURATION

The Junior Project Officer Transition will be appointed by the Chief Executive. Recruitment will be as a member of the contractual staff of the Agency for a 4-year period. Renewal is possible only once for an additional period of 5 years, within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations. The successful candidate will be recruited as Contract Agent, grade FGIV. In line with EDA's Staff Regulations, the Agency does not offer inter-Agency mobility.

FINANCIAL ENTITLEMENTS

The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 4.449,31€ supplemented with various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation or family allowances. Successful candidates are graded on entry into service according to the length of their professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax is deducted at source.

PENSION ARRANGEMENTS SPECIFIC TO EDA

Prospective staff members considering a career at the European Defence Agency (EDA) should be aware that EDA has its own pension provisions and is not part of the EU institutions' pension scheme (PSEUI).

In addition, EDA staff have several flexible options regarding their pension contributions at the end of their contract, under certain conditions, such as:

  • transfer to a public pension scheme;
  • transfer to a private pension scheme;
  • direct payment as a severance grant.

For further information on working conditions please refer to: https://eda.europa.eu/jobs/what-we-offer

8. INDEPENDENCE AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The selected candidate will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the Agency’s interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

9. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

EDA is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.

10. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications are invited with a view to establish a reserve list for the post of Junior Project Officer Transition at EDA. This list will be valid until 31/12/2028, and may be extended by decision of the Chief Executive. During the validity of the reserve list, successful candidates may be offered a post in EDA according to their competences in relation to the specific requirements of the vacant post. Inclusion on the reserve list does not imply any entitlement of employment in the Agency.

Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EDA website. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted no later than midnight. Candidates are reminded that the on-line application system will not accept applications after midnight (Brussels time, GMT+1) on the date of the deadline. Please note that once you have created your EDA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EDA profile. For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to recruitment@eda.europa.eu.

When applying, candidates from Ministries of Defence or other governmental entities are encouraged to inform their national administration.

A selection panel will be appointed. Please note that the selection panel's internal proceedings are strictly confidential and that any contact with its members is forbidden. Each application will be screened based on the requirements of the job profile stated in the vacancy notice. The most suitable applicants will be called for an interview and a written test. Candidates may also be requested to take part in an assessment centre, participating in a number of individual and group activities related to the competences required for the post.

EDA will not accept any phase of the selection & recruitment process prepared or assisted, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. EDA reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI tools may be rejected without further consideration at EDA’s sole discretion, and EDA reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.