Selection process for contract staff

Contract staff are generally recruited under fixed-term contracts of up to six years within any EU institution. In certain cases — particularly in agencies, delegations or representations — contracts of indefinite duration may be offered. 
The contract staff selection procedure is open at all times through a continuous registration system. There is no registration deadline.

Key responsibilities

Function Group I (FG I): manual or basic administrative support tasks

Function Group II (FG II): clerical and secretarial tasks

Function Group III (FG III): executive and technical tasks

Function Group IV (FG IV): administrative, advisory, linguistic or equivalent technical tasks 

Eligibility requirements

Candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one official EU language (C1 level) and a satisfactory knowledge of a second official EU language (B2 level).

Function Group I:  compulsory education.

Function Groups II and III:  post-secondary education or secondary education giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of at least three years.

Function Group IV:  minimum three years of completed university education.

Register here

To register, create an EPSO account and complete the application form for the profile that best matches your skills and qualifications. Choose your profile and start the registration.

Selection Process and testing

When recruitment needs arise, EU institutions shortlist candidates whose profile is the best match for the job requirements. Shortlisted candidates are invited to take online reasoning skills tests: verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning.
EPSO does not disclose which recruiting service has shortlisted a candidate for testing.
If candidates pass the tests, their results remain valid for 10 years. If they fail, they must wait four months from the test date before they can be invited to retake the tests for the same or a higher function group. During this four-month period, they may still be invited to take the tests for a lower function group.

Recruitment

Candidates who pass the tests are eligible to be recruited by the EU institutions and may be invited for an interview. Successful candidates will receive a job offer.

Please note that:

• the recruitment process varies slightly between institutions, depending on their needs
• each institution is responsible for conducting interviews and making final recruitment decisions.

Candidates can also proactively apply for a contract staff vacancy published on the EU Careers website. Please note that applicants must still go through the same selection process described above.