Type of contract: Contract Agent 3a

Type of Post: Assistant to the Programmes Unit

Type of publication: External

Function group/Grade: FG III

Duration of contract: 3 Years renewable pursuant to Article 3(a) of the CEOS

Place of employment: Brussels, Belgium

Deadline for applications: 31 August 2026, 23:59 (CET, Central European Time, Brussels time)

Reserve list valid until: 31/12/2028

Number of persons to be recruited: 1

Number of persons for the reserve list (estimated): 9

1. Introduction

The Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips Joint Undertaking) is a public-private European Partnership aimed at leveraging investments in the electronics sector in Europe to research and develop innovative key digital technologies. The Chips Joint Undertaking fosters research and innovation collaboration between stakeholders such as industry, public authorities, academia, and research and technology organisations, pulling together and focusing efforts. The Chips Joint Undertaking’s strategy is aligned with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and the programmes of Participating States to attract private investments and contribute to the effectiveness of public support by avoiding unnecessary duplication and fragmentation of efforts, thus contributing to the development of a strong and globally competitive industry in the European Union.

The Chips Joint Undertaking is based in Brussels, Belgium.

As part of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and in line with the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, the Chips Joint Undertaking is established by Council Regulation (EU) 2023/1782 of 25 July 2023 amending Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe. The Chips Joint Undertaking is the successor to the former KDT Joint Undertaking 1 and supports the latter’s ongoing projects.

The Chips Joint Undertaking addresses clearly defined topics that will reinforce the Union’s technological autonomy in electronic components and systems, establishes the Union’s scientific excellence and innovation leadership in emerging components and systems technologies, and ensures that components and systems will address Europe’s societal and environmental challenges.

Members of the Joint Undertaking are the European Union through the European Commission, Member States and Associated Countries to the Framework Programme Horizon Europe on a voluntary basis, and three industrial associations forming the private members of the Chips Joint Undertaking: ‘AENEAS’, ‘INSIDE’ and ‘EPoSS’.

For further information, please consult the following website: <https://www.chips-ju.europa.eu>

2. Position advertised

i. Overall purpose

The Assistant to the Programmes Unit will work together with the administrators of the Programmes Unit and with the programme officers, under the supervision of the Head of Unit for Programmes.

She/he is responsible for support to the different activities developed in the Programmes Unit.

ii. Duties and responsibilities

The Assistant to the Programmes Unit duties include:

Perform the Unit administrative tasks, such as organization of missions or travelling expenses;
Administrative management of the workflows of Unit activities in ARES;
Follow up of deadlines, implementation and reporting;
Taking minutes of the Unit meetings and keeping record of the actions throughout the team;
Projects’ reviews:
Prepare and maintain the schedule of the project reviews;
Organize the reviews in the premises of Chips JU;
Execution of the corresponding responsibility in the financial and administrative flows of the organization according to the internal procedures;
Administrative and organizational support for:
The coordination of meetings and events related to operational activities;
The coordination of internal plans of the Programmes Unit;
the contracts for experts (in Grant Agreement Preparation, evaluation process, monitoring of the projects), being the contact point for the experts;
the organization of calls for proposals and evaluations;
the planning, implementation, coordination and follow up of the activities related to the Programme, such as maintenance of templates and operational procedures;
the maintenance and the update of data for stakeholders trough web platforms and CIRCABC;
Support the Head of unit and the programme officers in reporting, impact analysis and operational developments tasks.

The jobholder may be asked to carry out any other tasks as deemed necessary in the interest of the service.

3. Eligibility and selection criteria

3.1 Eligibility criteria

Candidates will be considered for the selection phase based on the following criteria to be fulfilled by the closing date for applications:

a) General conditions

Be a national of a Member State of the European Union and enjoy her/his full rights as a citizen;
Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service;
Been able to produce the appropriate character references as to her/his suitability for the performance of her/his duties;
Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post;
Very good command of written and spoken English (C level). Have a thorough knowledge of one of the official EU languages and a satisfactory knowledge (at least B2 level or equivalent) of another of these languages to the extent necessary for the performance of their duties (candidates are invited to specify in their CV any language certificates they have obtained which can demonstrate their language skills);
After closing date, candidates invited for interview: to pass a competition based on either qualifications or tests, or both qualifications and tests.

b) Education

On the closing date for applications, candidates must have:

A level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of at least three years.

3.2 Selection criteria

Candidates selected based on the above eligibility criteria will then be evaluated according to the following selection criteria:

a) Essential criteria

Suitability to perform the tasks described under point 2.2;
Proven professional experience of at least 2 years in carrying out activities similar to the ones described in the point above 2.2.

b) Advantageous criteria

Experience in an EU/international organisation;
Knowledge of EU tools (Ares, Compass, e-Grant, e-Experts).

c) Behavioural competences

Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritise;
Ability to work effectively under pressure without close supervision, to respect tight deadlines, and to use her/his initiative to solve problems and to take a proactive approach;
Excellent communication, interpersonal and collaboration skills (e.g. the ability to establish and develop good inter-personal relations with a broad range of stakeholders in cross-cultural environments as well as in the team).

In order to be evaluated in the best possible way, candidates are recommended to give evidence of their knowledge with specific examples and/or detailed professional experience. Candidates are invited to be as detailed and as clear as possible in the description of their professional experience and specific skills and competences in their application form.

Failure to comply with the eligibility and essential selection criteria will result in a disqualification of the applicant concerned.

4. Application procedure

Candidates must submit an online application using SYSTAL vacancies portal.

Complete the online application form in English (main working language of Chips JU and to assist with the evaluation of the level of English of the candidates) - to access the right form, candidates should select the vacancy for which they wish to apply;
It is advisable (no mandatory) to upload a letter of motivation and a Curriculum Vitae (CV), both in English (main working language of Chips JU and to assist with the evaluation of the level of English of the candidates) in the European CV format <https://europa.eu/europass/en> in SYSTAL.

Candidates are advised to apply using an e-mail address that will remain valid for several months: candidates that will leave their job in the coming months are advised not to use their professional e-mail address.

Supporting documents (e.g. certified copies of degrees/diplomas, references, proof of experience, etc.) should not be sent at this point. In order to facilitate the selection process, application documents as well as all communications to candidates concerning this vacancy will be in English.

Application forms sent by e-mail or post will not be accepted.

Candidates are asked to report any potential change of contact details without delay, to the following e-mail address: [email protected]

Please remember to quote the reference of the vacancy for which you have applied in all correspondence: Chips-2026-05-FGIII-ASSISTANT.

Candidates should assess and check before submitting their application that they fulfil all the requirements as specified in the vacancy notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience. All documentary evidence of professional experience must indicate both start and end date of previous positions and the start date of the position held currently, full time or part-time work has to be also indicated. Freelance or self-employed candidates must provide either a copy of the entry in the relevant trade register, or any official document (for example a tax revenue) showing clearly the length of the relevant professional experience.

5. Selection procedure

A Selection Committee, appointed by the Executive Director of the Chips JU, assesses the applications in accordance with the eligibility and selection criteria outlined in the vacancy notice and establishes a short-list of candidates for an interview and a written test.

Written test on a topic related to the job description,
Interview with the Selection committee.

The Selection committee will establish a reserve list of suitable candidates to be approved by the Executive Director. The recruitment will take place only upon a decision of the Executive Director.

Candidates are reminded that the Selection Committee’s work is confidential. It is strictly forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with its members or to ask anybody to do so on their behalf.

6. Appointment and reserve list

The Executive Director may decide to interview the candidates before establishment of the reserve list and/or appointment.

The Executive Director will approve a reserve list and select 1 candidate for the post. A binding commitment can only be made after the verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.

The reserve list may be used to fill other positions of the same nature and of the same grade within the Chips JU.

The reserve list might be used by other Joint Undertakings to cover a similar position: in such a case, candidates will be asked to confirm their explicit consent allowing the Chips JU to transfer their data to the concerned Joint Undertaking.

Candidates should note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget. The reserve list for this post will be valid until 31/12/2028 and may be extended at the discretion of the Executive Director.

7. Contractual conditions

The successful candidate will be appointed by the Executive Director of the Chips JU as a contractual agent Function Group III for a period of three years, renewable pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union.

The successful candidate will be asked to perform nine months of probationary period.

After an evaluation of the post holder’s performance, the contract may be renewed in accordance with the Chips JU legal basis. The period of engagement will not in any case exceed the lifetime of the Chips JU.

Remuneration will be based on the Union scale of salaries. Pay is subject to Union tax and other deductions laid down in the Staff Regulations. Remuneration is, however, exempt from any national taxation.

The successful applicant who is offered a contract of employment will be graded in accordance to Article 86(1) of the CEOS, taking into consideration their qualifications and professional experience at the time of entry into service.

Contract staff engaged in Function Group III shall be graded within their function group according to the following rule (always in step 1):

Qualifications and professional experience: Grade
Less than 5 years: 8
Between 5 years and 15 years: 9
15 years or more: 10

The indicative basic monthly salaries of FG III step 1 (as of 01/07/2025) are:

FG III Grade 8: EUR 3,475.62
FG III Grade 9: EUR 3,932.44
FG III Grade 10: EUR 4,449.30

The place of employment is Brussels, where the JU premises are located.

The working language is English.

For any further information on contractual and working conditions, please refer to the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, which is available on the following web page:

<https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF>