Our staff, our agency
We are the Commission’s largest executive agency and are located in Brussels. We currently employ almost 900 dedicated colleagues from different backgrounds and nationalities across Europe. Harnessing our distinctive strengths and creative energy, we have one common vision: fostering excellent science for future generations! Find out more about us in our corporate brochure.
Applying for a job at REA
Many thanks for your interest in our agency!
Over the coming years, we seek to attract additional talented colleagues with the right qualifications and expertise.
Please note that REA cannot consider spontaneous applications or CVs. Only applications for published vacancies will be taken into consideration.
TIP: Before completing an application form, please make sure that you meet all the eligibility requirements specified in the vacancy notice. Applications that do not meet these, cannot be taken into consideration.
Temporary agents are recruited under Article 2(f) of the Conditions of Employment for Other Servants (CEOS) and in accordance with the agency’s General Implementing Provisions governing the engagement of Temporary staff.
Temporary staff are predominantly recruited for specialised tasks. Typical job profiles include administrators in the following fields: research programme management, finance, legal services, and some management positions such as Heads of Sector and Deputy Heads of Unit.
Contract Agents are recruited under Article 3(a) of the Conditions of Employment for Other Servants (CEOS), and in accordance with the agency’s General Implementing Provisions governing the engagement of Contract staff.
Depending on the responsibilities and qualifications required, contract staff are recruited for a wide range of support and technical tasks and according to the relevant function group (FGI to FGIV). Typical job profiles include: Project Advisers, Project Officers, Legal Advisers, Financial Advisers, Financial Officers, HR Officers, Project Assistants, Financial Assistants, secretaries, etc.
For updated information on CAST testing possibilities, please refer to the European Personnel Selection Office’s website (EPSO) and these FAQs.
General information on contracts and conditions of employment at the European Commission may be found here.
REA may hire interim agents for short periods, to face peaks in workload or to compensate for long-term absences.
To find out about short-term opportunities, please contact:
Randstad
Rue des Princes 8-10
1000 Bruxelles
Tel.: +32 (0)2/643 47 90
Email: inhouse_1230randstad [dot] be
Website: http://www.randstad.be/
You can also send your CV to REA-INTERIM-AGENTS
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (REA-INTERIM-AGENTS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
How REA fills its vacant positions
If a vacancy cannot be filled by internal mobility, reserve lists for the corresponding profiles can be consulted.
If no suitable candidate is found on the reserve lists, the vacancy can be filled by:
- publishing the post on the inter-institutional mobility portal;
- launching a new external selection (Call for expression of interest);
- participating in external joint selection procedures with other Executive Agencies;
- organising a CAST selection procedure.
Different selection procedures for Contract Agents and Temporary Agents
Contract Agents: the main reference point is REA’s Decision REA/SC(2017)4.5 adopting the Commission Decision C(2017)6760 on the conditions of employment of Contract Agents.
To be employed as a Contract Agent 3(a), candidates must succeed in all parts of the EPSO CAST tests (Reasoning and Competency). For questions and further details concerning the EPSO Permanent CAST competitions’ modalities, please refer to EPSO’s FAQs and to the EPSO CAST Permanent page.
Temporary Agents: the main reference point is REA’s Decision REA/SC(2015)WP.1.
Inter-institutional mobility aims at facilitating the mobility of contract and temporary staff as described in the above Commission Decisions.
Temporary Agent vacancies are published on a dedicated inter-agency mobility portal (only accessible to Commission staff). As described in the REA/SC(2015) WP1 decision, these vacancies are open to internal applicants who are already employed as Temporary Agents within the institutions with a contract type 2(f).
Contract Agent vacancies are published in a dedicated inter-agency job market portal (only accessible to Commission staff). As described in Commission Decision C(2017)6760, these vacancies are open to applicants who are already employed within the Commission/agencies with a contract type 3(a). Some vacancies may also be open to Contract Agents with a contract type 3(b).
REA also organises external selection procedures. To be employed by the agency, candidates must have successfully passed a selection procedure for Contract Agents 3(a) or Temporary Agents 2(f).
To fill Contract and Temporary Agent vacancies according to REA’s yearly recruitment plan, the agency may organise a call for expression of interest to establish a reserve list from which candidates can be recruited. This type of selection procedure is open to external and internal candidates.
To fill Contract and Temporary Agent vacancies according to the agency’s yearly recruitment plan, REA may also participate in joint selection procedures with other Executive Agencies. A common reserve list is established from which candidates can be recruited. The selection procedure is detailed in the call for expression of interest and is likely to reflect standard recruitment practices at REA (publication of the call, application period, screening (if applicable), interviews, establishment of reserve list). Profiles sought in each selection will depend on the needs of the participating agencies.
While a lead agency may be appointed to conduct/”lead” the selection procedure (which may slightly differ from the other agencies’ selection practices), the recruitment processes are managed by each agency individually and are subject to their specific data protection records and notices.
In order to fill Contract Agent vacancies to meet its recruitment plan, REA may also organise its own CAST selection procedures. This type of selection is conducted by searching candidates with valid application profiles directly in the EPSO CAST database. For this procedure, no vacancy notices are published. Suitable candidates are only contacted if they are sent to EPSO for computer based multiple-choice tests (CBT tests) or invited for an interview.
Data Protection Notices - selection and recruitment
Please consult our Public Central Register for Data Protection Records and notices.