Post
Temporary agents – Administrators advising on policy issues – EN language – AD 5
Based in:
Brussels, but short missions to the other places of work and to other Member States.
This vacancy is expected to attract applications from staff (Temporary & Contract Agents and Officials) already within the Left group, in other political groups and the European Parliament administration as well as from external candidates who meet the qualifying conditions.
Context
The LEFT Group in the European Parliament brings together MEPs from a range of European left and progressive parties – ecological, socialist, communist, and independent. In virtually all policy areas, it argues against the mainstream neoliberal prescriptions for the EU and focuses on presenting progressive policy alternatives. Staff must be comfortable in this environment and both capable of, and fully at ease with, supporting our MEPs in their policy objectives.
As staff of a political group, which has a different function to that of a public administration, the appointees must hold the trust and confidence of the appointing authority (the Group Chair and General Secretary), are expected to generally reflect the values of the group, and to be capable of readily producing research and policy proposals which fit with the outlook of the group’s MEPs. In most cases, Administrators advising on policy issues will be associated with a national delegation of MEPs and accordingly must have the ability and capacity to support and advise the delegation having due regard to their domestic political situation as well as to anticipate and represent their views in the internal decision-preparing and -making structures of the secretariat.
Although temporary-agent contracts are of indefinite duration, the work of the Group is generally organised in 5-year legislative cycles. This means that, at the beginning of each legislative period, the staff organigram must be reorganised to reflect the changed composition and political priorities of the Group, which may mean that some contracts will not be continued.
Candidate profile
The LEFT Group is seeking to recruit Administrators advising on policy issues for its parliamentary-work teams. The successful candidates will have extensive research training and legislative experience and the capacity to apply this expertise to new policy fields as required.
They will be adaptable and able to accommodate the varying needs of a political group in terms of:
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the changing volume and intensity of the workload;
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the type of contribution required ranging from high-level advice to basic administrative support;
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a work schedule determined by the parliamentary and political calendar.
Duties
The successful candidates will be deployed to coordinate the work of the Group’s team of MEPs, group staff and APAs following a designated Parliamentary Committee according to the Group’s needs (Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection IMCO, Committee on Transport and Tourism TRAN, Committee on Culture and Education CULT, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs EMPL, Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ENVI, but may be deployed elsewhere in future.
Duties shall include:
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in conjunction with the MEP coordinator, help devising and overseeing a medium- and longer-term strategy and programme for the team of MEPs, APAs and Group staff on the designated committee, and support the work of its members.
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Drafting reports, amendments, resolutions, and briefing notes for group MEPs for their work in Committee or in Plenary
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Attending, and preparing meeting notes on the business of, Parliamentary and Joint Committee meetings;
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Producing in-depth research pieces on policy-area topics for publication or internal use;
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supporting the communication units with regard to relevant information on policy issues;
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helping to organise events and related activities for the group and its various delegations, according to the 400 credits and in line with the rules of the Group, the EP Bureau and the EU Financial Regulation.
The candidate shall also be responsible for representing the committee’s (and/or delegation’s) MEPs in the political secretariat of the LEFT Group, including for ensuring that their views and requirements are anticipated and reflected in draft resolutions or decisions prepared by the political secretariat and other staff working groups.
General conditions for admission
Before appointment, the successful candidate will be required to prove compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 12(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union regarding nationality, military service, appropriate character for the performance of the duties, physical fitness and linguistic knowledge.
This selection procedure is open to any candidate provided that they have:
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a level of education which corresponds to a complete cycle of university studies of at least three years sanctioned by a diploma (Article 5(3)(b) of the Staff Regulations);
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for operational reasons, a very good knowledge of Swedish, Greek, Italian, Finnish or Danish, and of English is needed; knowledge of other working languages of the group will be considered as an asset; IT literacy (familiarity with MS Office, MS Outlook, web browsers etc.); and
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a thorough knowledge of the institutional structure of the EU, including the role and activities of the EP and its political groups.
Administrator advising on policy issues is a position of responsibility within the Left structure which, as well as bearing responsibility for leading policy on the designated committee, also requires a contribution to the strategic and political direction of the Group.
For these reasons, successful candidates will preferably have:
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relevant professional experience including some in the European Parliament or similar institution, and/or postgraduate qualifications in a relevant subject/discipline; PhDs are assimilated to professional experience, even when unpaid and for a duration of three years maximum, provided that the PhD has been successfully completed; a law degree is also an asset.
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knowledge and practical experience of the EP legislative procedure in committee and plenary;
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knowledge and/or experience of the LEFT’s legislative work and the policy orientation of its MEPs and constituent member parties;
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sufficient empathy with the political outlook and objectives of the Group to be able to instinctively anticipate policy positions on new topics without the need for close supervision or direction.
Positions to be filled: available as of 01 September 2025.
Application Procedure:
Applications should be sent by email in a single attached .pdf file, not later than 12h00 noon on 8 July 2025, to [email protected]
Applications should have the IRC number in the email subject line and include: a signed application/motivation letter, indicating the Reference Number of the position being applied for; a completed Left Europass CV (downloadable from www.left.eu/vacancies) including a current email contact address; and copies of the documents necessary to demonstrate fulfilment of the professional experience and qualifications requirements prescribed for the post or claimed by the applicant.
Applications may be made in any of the official EU languages; however, the application dossier must include an English version of the application letter, the CV and an itemised list of numbered attachments.
Candidates who fail to fulfil any of these conditions will be automatically eliminated.
Selection procedure
The selection procedure shall be on the basis of qualifications, oral and written tests. The selection board will draw up the list of candidates who meet the eligibility and application conditions.
It will then establish a list – normally between 3 and 5 candidates – of those eligible candidates whose qualifications and experience best match the duties to be carried out and who will be called for tests.
Written tests will be in English. The maximum time allowed will be 75 minutes and 30 % max of the marks will be available.
Some questions will require essay-style answers, others may be multiple-choice or general knowledge in format. More detail on this part will be furnished with the invitation to interview.
Interviews with the selection board will be in English, with optional questions in other languages to test linguistic competence, lasting from 20-30 minutes; 70% of the marks will be available for this test which will also take account of the answers to the general knowledge part of the written test as well as the information in the applicant’s application file.
Following these tests, the selection board will establish a list of suitable candidates. The competent appointing authority of the Group will select the candidates to be appointed from this list; the remaining candidates may be placed on a reserve list from which future appointments will be made. The reserve list shall remain valid until 31 December 2029.
Communication with the candidates about arrangements at each stage of the selection procedure will be via the Group’s website and by email. Applications will always be confirmed by return. Enquiries, for information not on the website, should be by email only.
For further information, please consult the group website at www.left.eu, and follow The Group / Vacancies. All developments in the recruitment process will be posted at this address.