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Call for Expression of Interest - Project Adviser FGIV

Type of post and selection : External - Contract Agent (CA)
Function group : FG IV
Ref. : EACEA/2026/09/EPSO/CA FGIV Project Adviser
Place of employment : Brussels, BELGIUM
Closing date for applications (Brussels time) : 13/07/2026 13:00
Number of candidates on reserve list : 50

Presentation of the Agency

The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is a multi-programme Executive Agency based in Brussels. 

In cooperation with six Directorates-General of the European Commission, EACEA is privileged to manage the implementation of four of the European Union’s flagship funding programmes: Erasmus+, Creative Europe, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme and the European Solidarity Corps.

Since 2006, EACEA has been a catalyst for projects in education, training, youth, sport, media, culture, solidarity, citizenship and values. On behalf of the European Commission, EACEA works to foster innovation in these areas, always in a spirit of cross-border cooperation and mutual respect.

As a modern, professional organisation EACEA strives to operate in a spirit of fairness and transparency, to uphold standards of equal access and treatment, and to support the projects that show Europe at its best.

Working at EACEA means taking a role at the heart of European project management. With more than 600 staff and over 26 EU nationalities, EACEA is a dynamic, open and international workplace, best-placed to serve the citizens of Europe and empower the citizens of tomorrow. Strong values are at the heart of ONE EACEA: commitment, integrity, objectivity, respect for others, and transparency.

For further information about the Agency, please see the EACEA website: www.eacea.ec.europa.eu

The objective of this external selection procedure is to constitute a reserve list of 50 successful candidates. The list will be valid until 31/12/2028.

Following an agreement between the Directors of the Executive Agencies the reserve list might be shared with the other Executive Agencies[1]. Please note that you have the right to object to sharing your personal data to another Executive Agency, by sending an e-mail to EACEA-CA-SELECTION@ec.europa.eu. 

[1] The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency, the European Research Council Executive Agency, the European Research Executive Agency, and the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency.

Description of the job

Overall purpose

The Project Adviser (PA) will:

Contribute to the implementation of the programme cycle from the preparation of the call for proposals to the award decision, and ensure grant agreement preparation, operational and financial follow up of grant agreements and dissemination of project results. This includes checking if the project's implementation has been carried out in compliance with the grant agreement. 
Ensure ex-ante and ex-post conformity of financial operations with legality, regularity, compliance, internal procedures and sound financial management. 
Ensure correctness of the financial transactions and contracts and tenders on the basis of model contracts and regulatory provisions and verify the financial capacity of potential contractors. 
Provide advice, support and training.

Function and duties

Evaluation and Quality Management  

·       Analyse and assess the results and impact of the programme and its projects, provide feedback, make suggestions for improvements.

·       Provide assistance in monitoring, quality auditing and evaluation of the programme.

·       Ensure compliance with all reference documents or ICS related to the job.

·       Statistical analysis of call and project data as a contribution to the monitoring, quality auditing and evaluation of the programme. 

·       Undertake additional tasks required by the Head of Unit in the interests of the service.

·       Assist in the coordination of the team or sector.

Communication and publication 

·       Identify and disseminate projects' best practices and present the programme; facilitate exchange of experiences and participate in the design, writing, production and editing of documents/reports.

·       Participate in relevant working groups, committees and inter-service groups at EACEA and Commission level.

·       Maintain contacts with project partners and stakeholders and participate to knowledge sharing activities.

·       Contribute to the communication and information policy of the programme by speaking at conferences/seminars (Kick-Off meetings, cluster meetings, etc.).

Program/Process/Project Management  

·       Performing general project management tasks: preparing and launching calls for tender/calls for proposals, evaluating, selecting monitoring and reporting on projects.

·       Ensure the evaluation and selection of projects, timely preparation of grant agreements and proper financial and technical implementation.

·       Follow-up project implementation according to activities planned; monitor contractual obligations (via amendments, quality controls, risk analysis, project remote or on-the-spot monitoring, review of deliverables and reports, periodic/final reviews/checks, analysis of use of resources, audits, reporting, etc.). 

·       Facilitate the delivery of exploitable results as well as valorisation of project outcomes. Identify good practices and contribute to the selection of success stories at project portfolio level.

·       Prepare follow-up reports and statistics, including policy-relevant feedback and support to the parent Directorates-General.

·       Give visa of Operational Verification.

Budget, Finance, Contracts and Accounting (Reporting) 

·       Monitor the financial expenditure as reported in cost statements and provides reasonable assurance that claimed costs correspond to the work accomplished.  

·       Provide to the management the available information for audit and control by the Commission services, the European Court of Auditors or external auditors contracted by the Commission services. 

·       Prepare periodical and final implementation reports and ad-hoc statistics and information, as well as briefings requested by the Commission services. 

·       Contribute to the preparation of the annual work programme and of the annual activity report.     

Budget, Finance, Contracts and Accounting (Reporting) 

·       Implement audit findings; contribute to the analysis of financial aspects of control and audit reports by Commission services, the European Court of Auditors and Member States. 

·       Extract and provide information, data or statistics on financial and contractual data. 

·       Contribute to the development and implementation of homogeneous and compatible procedures.  

Qualifications and experience required

Eligibility criteria

On the closing date for applications, candidates must meet the general conditions for recruitment set out in Article 82 (2) and (3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS) applicable to members of the contract staff:

  •  be a national of one of the Member States of the Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen.
  • have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service.
  • produce the appropriate character references to suitability for the performance of the duties[2].
  • be physically fit to perform duties[3].
  • produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and of a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of duties[4].

Education[5]:

  • have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least 3 years attested by a diploma.

[2] Prior to engagement, the successful candidates will be asked to provide a police certificate indicating that they do not have a criminal record.
[3] Before engagement, successful candidates must undergo a medical examination by the medical services of the Commission in order to check whether they satisfy the condition set out in Article 12(d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union.
[4]These abilities reflect those of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages 
[5] Only study titles awarded in EU Member States (or with an equivalence certificate issued by the qualified authorities of the Member States) will be taken into consideration. The equivalence certificate must be presented to the Agency by the date of the setting up of the reserve list. 

EPSO -Contract Agents Selection Tests - CAST

On the closing date for applications, candidates must:

  • Have successfully passed an EPSO CAST tests for contract agents in the function group FG IV and the selection list is still active[6].
    or
  • Be registered in an EPSO CAST Permanent Call for Expression of Interest [7]in function group FGIV by the deadline for application of the current call for expression of interest. 


If pre-selected by the Selection Board, candidates will be invited by EPSO to sit a series of computer-based multiple-choice question (MCQ) during the time window corresponding to the present call for expression of interest. 

Only candidates that have successfully passed an EPSO CAST selection in FGIV will be invited for a remote (online) interview.

Please note that only candidates that comply with all the 'Eligibility criteria' and 'EPSO - Contract Agents Selection Tests - CAST' under QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED will be considered for further steps of the selection procedure.

[6] Please consult here the valid  EPSO CAST reserve lists: Contract agents selections lists | EU Careers (europa.eu).  Candidates must be included in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) database for contract agents in function group IV and have successfully passed the EPSO selection tests for that function group. Please note that candidates who are on a valid EPSO list published in 2010 (CAST2010) are eligible on the condition they have successfully passed the complementary tests (DB3), as an Annex to the selection procedure CAST2010. The candidates concerned are invited to consult the letter they received from EPSO for further information.
[7] Contract Agents (CAST Permanent) | EU Careers (europa.eu). Applications will be considered only if the profile is active, and the candidate can be flagged for the EPSO testing request. If shortlisted, candidates will receive in their EPSO account an invitation to take the test. This invitation is usually published at least 2 weeks before the test date in the candidate’s EPSO account. Candidates are responsible to check their EPSO account at least every three calendar days. Candidates must sit their test within the given timeframe. Should candidates fail to have the profile active or sit the tests, they will be disqualified from the selection. Candidate's application in the EPSO database must be active during the whole duration of the procedure. Candidates are fully responsible for the creation, validation and regular update of their EPSO profile in the relevant function group, otherwise candidates' details are not or not anymore visible to the recruiting services and they cannot be invited to sit tests. Candidates whose EPSO CAST profile is blocked and therefore cannot be flagged in order to be invited by EPSO to undergo an EPSO computer-based reasoning test in the required function group will be considered as not eligible regardless of the relevance of their CV.

 

Selection Criteria - Essential

All eligible candidates will be assessed along the following evaluation specific conditions:

  • Proven professional experience of minimum 3 years[8] in project management tasks: preparing and launching calls for tender/calls for proposals, evaluating, selecting, monitoring, and reporting on projects
  • Excellent written and oral communication in English (at least C1 level)[9] 
  • Proven professional experience in one or more of the areas covered by the programmes implemented by the Agency, namely: Erasmus+, Creative Europe, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme and the European Solidarity Corps
  • Proficiency with IT tools (e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, MS Teams, Sharepoint etc.)

 

[8] After obtaining the university diploma mentioned under eligibility criteria.
[9] Please consult here the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Selection Criteria - Advantageous

All eligible candidates will be assessed along the following evaluation specific conditions:

  • Proven professional experience in the assessment and the dissemination of projects ‘deliverables/ results’
  • Proven professional experience in using project management/financial processing tools (e.g. eGrants)
  • Good knowledge of French (B1)

Selection Criteria - Behavioural

Some of the following criteria will be tested during the interview:

  •  Excellent analytical, problem solving and organisational skills
  •  Strong sense of responsibility, commitment and cooperation
  • Ability to communicate clearly, negotiate, multitask, prioritise and meet tight deadlines
  • Service-oriented, results-driven, autonomous attitude
  • Ability to build effective relationships at all levels of the organisation
  • Very good flexibility and resilience
  • Excellent team player

Application procedure

Candidates are kindly invited to apply in English. 

In this selection, the language used for communication between EACEA and the candidates is ENGLISH.

To apply for this position, candidates must use the "APPLY ONLINE" button here below. They will be asked to create an account or sign into their active account.

Candidates must clearly demonstrate in their application form they meet the Essential and Advantageous criteria mentioned under QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED and to give specific examples. They must also indicate their motivation for the post.

The information provided in the application form will be assessed by the Selection Board.

After a correct submission of the application, candidates will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt to the email account indicated in their application.

EACEA strongly advises not to wait until the last few days before the deadline for applying, since heavy internet traffic or connection difficulties could lead to problems. Under no circumstance will late applications be accepted. It is the sole responsibility of each applicant to complete ALL relevant fields of the online application and to submit it before the deadline for application.

Supporting documents showing evidence of the information given in the application will be requested at a later stage. No documents will be sent back to candidates. 

Disqualification happens if:

  • the candidate does not submit the online application by the deadline. 
  • at any stage in the procedure, it is established that the information provided by the candidate is incorrect or false, or if the candidate made declarations unsupported by the appropriate documents.
  • the candidate attempted to contact, or contacted, a member of the Selection Board either directly or indirectly concerning this selection procedure.

 
Closing date: applications must be submitted by 13/07/2026 at 13:00 (Brussels time), at the latest.

Selection Board

A Selection Board, responsible for assessing the applications, interviewing, and drawing up the reserve list of candidates, will be appointed by the Director and will be composed of at least three members, including a member designated by the Staff Committee of the Agency.

Under no circumstances should candidates approach the Selection Board themselves, either directly or indirectly concerning this selection procedure. The Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts reserves the right to disqualify any candidate who disregards these instructions.

Selection procedure

1.      Eligibility checks

The eligibility requirements (General conditions & Specific conditions - Education) described under QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED, will be checked by the EACEA HR against the information provided in the application form only.

2.      Selection based on qualifications & Experience and skills

The Selection Board will perform a comparative assessment of all eligible candidates based on information in the application form. The assessment will be based on the selection criteria (essential and advantageous) listed above. 

Submitted applications that do not meet one or more of the essential selection criteria will not be evaluated further. 

Upon completion of the assessment, the Selection Board will establish a shortlist of pre-selected candidates reaching the threshold agreed by the Selection Board and matching best the needs of the Agencies for the functions and duties mentioned in this Call for expression of interest. The shortlist will include:

  •  Pre-selected candidates who already have a valid and successful FGIV EPSO CAST. These candidates might be invited to the interview. 
  •  Pre-selected candidates who do not already have a valid and successful FGIV EPSO CAST. These candidates will be invited by EPSO to sit a series of computer-based multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests during the time window corresponding to the present Call for expression of interest. Only candidates who have successfully passed these tests might be invited to the interview. 


3.      Interview

A maximum of 100 [10] pre-selected candidates with the highest score at the assessment of the applications, and who have successfully passed the FGIV EPSO CAST, will be invited for a remote (online) interview.

 The interview with the Selection Board shall assess:

  • ­  Suitability of the candidate to perform the tasks of a Project Adviser
  •   Behavioural skills included above.
  • ­  Motivation of the candidate.


The interview with the Selection Board will last 30 minutes and will be held in English.

The interview will be marked out of 100 (pass mark: 70).

Reserve list

After checking the candidates’ supporting documents, the Selection Board will draw up a reserve list composed of the eligible candidates who have obtained the highest overall marks following the interview, until the number of successful candidates sought is reached[11]. Candidates will be placed on the reserve list in alphabetically order.

The list will be valid until 31/12/2028. The validity of the reserve list may be extended by decision of the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of EACEA.

Inclusion of candidates on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on the availability of posts and budget.

[10] Where a number of candidates tie (ex aequo) for the last available place, they will all be invited to the interview.

[11] Where a number of candidates tie (ex aequo) for the last available place, they will all be included in the reserve list.

Engagement and conditions of employment

The Agency applies the Commission Decision C(2017)6760 final of 16/10/2017 on 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 Articles 3(a) and 3(b).

The monthly salary for a Contract Agent 3(a), function group IV grade 13 step 1, consists of a basic salary of € 4.449,31, supplemented with various allowances, if applicable (e.g. 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 staff 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 is based.

Equal opportunities

The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Information to candidates

An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to all candidates by email to confirm the reception of their application.
All candidates will be informed in due time about the processing of their application, either they are invited for the selection procedure as described above or not. 


Candidate may request clarifications about the processing of their application by sending an email quoting the reference of the vacancy notice concerned, at the following address EACEA-CA-SELECTION@ec.europa.eu
 

Appeal procedures

·       Request of review.

Candidate who feel that a mistake has been made in their assessment may ask for a review, by sending a request within 10 working days of the date on the email/note that notified them of the rejection, quoting the reference of  the selection procedure concerned to the Selection Board at the following address: EACEA-CA-SELECTION@ec.europa.eu

The selection board will conduct a review and notify the candidate of its decision within 15 working days of receipt of the request.

·       Complaint on the basis of Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Official of the European Union (SR)

Candidates may submit a complaint based on Article 90(2) of the SR, which is to be sent to the attention of the Director of EACEA, by e-mail to EACEA-CA-SELECTION@ec.europa.eu

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 based on 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, please consult the website of the General Court (https://curia.europa.eu). 

·       Complaint to the European Ombudsman  

Candidates, like all citizens of the Union, may lodge a complaint to the European Ombudsman.  

Before you submit a complaint to the Ombudsman, you 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. Please consult the website of the European Ombudsman  (https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/home).

Data protection

The Agency will ensure that candidates' personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 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 [OJ L 295 of 21.11.2018, p. 39], and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC Text with EEA relevance. The Privacy Statement can be found on the Agency's website including details on the right of access and rectification of personal data. 

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