Call for Expression of interest - Regional IT Officer (RITO) FGIII - EU DELEGATIONS

WE ARE

The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the EU's diplomatic service. The EEAS supports the High Representative in the exercise of her mandate to conduct and implement an effective and coherent Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), to represent the EU and to chair the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in her capacity as Vice-President of the Commission with regard to her responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field, including the coordination of other aspects of the EU's external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with the EU Member States, the General Secretariat of the Council, the services of the Commission and the Secretariat General of the European Parliament.

The EU currently has 145 Delegations, 9 of which are to international organisations. In all, 6000 staff are currently serving in these Delegations. The Delegations are placed under the authority of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is also Vice President of the European Commission. The work of a Delegation varies from country to country but, in general, covers political matters, press and information, trade, aid management and the external aspects of internal EU policies.

The main mission of the EEAS Digital Solutions Division is to assist the EEAS and the worldwide network of EU Delegations in achieving its strategic objectives by supporting administrative and core business processes with modern Information and Communication Technology tools. The Division is composed of 50 officials and more than 200 experts in Headquarters in Brussels, and 50 Regional IT Officers (RITO) in EU Delegations. The RITO are responsible for several Delegations in their region, partly supported by Local IT Support Agents.

WE PROPOSE

A position as RITO, Contract Agent Function Group III as per article 3a of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (hereafter, the “CEOS”) in one of the EU Delegation as listed below. 

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT

Through this call for expression of interest, the EEAS aims to recruit candidates for the vacancies listed above. Furthermore, the EEAS will establish a reserve list for possible future recruitments of RITO in EU Delegations. The RITO will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the IT infrastructure and IT support to the users of the Delegation and other Delegations in the region. Subject to having passed the CAST (Contract Agent Selection Tool) exam, the successful candidates will be included in a reserve list. When a position becomes available, one of the candidates in the reserve list may be offered a Contract Agent position.

Inclusion on this list does not confer any right to, or guarantee of, recruitment.

Validity of the list: 2 years

LEGAL BASIS

The vacancy is to be filled in accordance with the conditions foreseen in the relevant provisions of the CEOS, in particular Article 82 thereof. 

Subject to having passed the CAST exam, the successful candidate will be offered a contract agent position (Function Group III), as per Article 3a of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS), on the basis of a contract with an initial duration of 3 years. This contract may be renewed not more than once for a fixed period of not more than 5 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite period.

WE LOOK FOR

Under the authority of the Head of Delegation (HoD) and the direct responsibility of the Head of Administration (HoA) in the EU Delegation, and the direct instructions of the Digital Solutions Division RM.SCS.5, the RITO will be responsible for the IT infrastructure and IT support of the users. The main tasks to be executed are:

End-User Support

• Provide level 1 to level 3 IT support to staff in the assigned Delegations and (if applicable) support and supervise local IT staff. Ensure defined processes are well followed by the IT staff (proper use of ITSM tools).

• Responsible for normal/expected IT operations for users, with minimal business impact and according to the urgency of the incident.

• Ensure the proper registration, by using the ticketing tool, all IT incidents and service requests reported to the IT Officer, whenever unable to provide a solution, escalate to the appropriate higher level of support.

• Ensure, follow-up, implement solutions, and in general, participate in the Incident and Request Fulfilment processes actively.

• Resolve incidents or service requests, both rapidly and in a satisfactory way (through either a permanent fix or a temporary workaround).

• Maximise the number of tickets resolved without 2nd/3rd level intervention.

• Assist, if requested, in the configuration of the PABX (Private Automatic Branch Exchange) system and assist with telephone handsets (change of name, hunt group, voicemail) and in using the telephone system. 

• To monitor the ICT status of the Delegation using the provided monitoring tools: SolarWinds, McAfee reports, SCCM patching reports, etc. 

ICT infrastructure management

• Ensure the implementation and perform daily operations of the server infrastructure, their maintenance, upgrades, updates, backups, restores, capacity planning, security and audit, incident and problem management.

• Manage shared resources (disks, printers); assign rights to users; create and maintain necessary automation scripts. 

• Manage the internal LAN, the IP address allocation and other network equipment.

• In general, take the necessary measures to ensure a high level of quality and availability in the ICT infrastructure.

• Monitor closely the status of the IT infrastructure and react properly to incidents and outages. 

• Install and manage the Wifi infrastructure of the Delegations.

ICT equipment management

• Deploy the new PC/Laptops Reference configurations, software updates, etc. via the provided tools and procedures (SCCM) in coordination with HQ support and local IT Support.

• Manage the stock of laptops for staff members going on missions – recuperation and clean-up of laptops when returned after the missions. 

ICT security management

• Apply the security policies decided by the Headquarter and propose additional measures if necessary.

• Manage whenever necessary the accounts, keeping updated the different directories.

• Ensure that all precautions are taken concerning sensitive information.

• In general, implement the necessary measures to keep a high level of IT security in the office.

ICT advice and management

• Organise and/or attend meetings on day-to-day matters related with the IT operation, participate in discussions, assessing the impact of changes and make recommendations.

• Assist the Head of Administration with budget related expenditure estimates, in the preparation, maintaining of office budgets and servicing costs.

• Assist in the negotiation with suppliers, associated agencies with regard to equipment, cabling, access to Internet etc.

• Maintain necessary budgetary control records.

• Prepare a quarterly activity report.

• Ensure business continuity by remotely managing the ICT infrastructure during absences or missions of other RITOs for the Delegations.

• Perform missions to Delegations within the region or exceptionally on demand to other regions.

• Participate in one or more “Centres of Expertise” (COE), according to own expertise on specific IT fields, and provide effective level 1 to 3 IT support to all Delegations. In parallel, participate in global IT projects, related to own expertise, as requested by EEAS RM.SCS.5.

• Optionally and when requested by EEAS RM.SCS.5, act as "Service Owner" i.e. responsible for the delivery of specific IT services, at global scale.

Eligibility criteria

According to the conditions set out in Article 82 of the CEOS and in Article 2 of the Commission Decision C(2017) 6760 final, which is applicable to the EEAS by virtue of the Decision ADMIN(2018) 4 of the High Representative, in order to be eligible for this post of contract agent FG III, candidates must:

• have passed a valid EPSO CAST in FG III; or be registered in the EPSO Permanent CAST for FG III (https://epso.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/open-for-application). In the latter case, while the registration will render the candidate eligible for the selection procedure, the recruitment of a candidate on this vacant post will be subject to successfully passing the CAST exam;

• meet the minimum qualifications for engagement as contract agent FG III:

  (i) Have a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma; or 

  (ii) a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, and appropriate professional experience of at least three years; or 

  (iii) in exceptional circumstances and where justified in the interest of the service, professional training or professional experience of an equivalent level (related to the nature of the tasks and qualifications indicated in the job description).

• have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP and external relations (English and French) necessary for the performance of their duties;

• be a national of one of the Member States of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen.

Additional eligibility criteria in case of an internal call for expression of interest:

• Be an EEAS contract agent in the function group concerned by the call for expression of interest;

AND

• Having been recruited under Article 3b of the CEOS and assigned to the EEAS Headquarters for no less than 3 years;

OR

• Having been recruited under Article 3a of the CEOS and temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters for at least 2 years.

Selection criteria

The candidates should have proven experience in the following areas:

• End-user support in front and back office – including ITIL processes. 

• Installation and maintenance of Datacentre infrastructure. 

• Knowledge and management of Microsoft OS for endpoints and servers, virtualisation and storage (VMWARE and/or HyperV).

• Installation and maintenance of enterprise networks (LAN, router, firewalls, wifi, fibre and coper cabling, VOIP technologies, telephony, videoconferencing…). 

• Configuration, maintenance, patching and support of workplace equipment (laptops, desktops, printers, smartphone, tablets) in a large environment including software distribution and (remote) support.

General skills and competencies

Candidates should demonstrate (and will be evaluated on):

• being service minded.

• strong communication skills – capacity to translate complex technical matters into “user language”.

• a sense of initiative, autonomy and hands-on approach.

• very good organisational skills.

• capacity to assure quality, speed and accuracy in performing complex tasks in a multicultural environment.

Furthermore

• Experience in handling secure communications and classified information.

• Knowledge of IT tools used in EU institutions (ARES, MIPS, Sysper2, Syslog, etc.).

• Experience of working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment

will be considered as assets.

Working languages

• Fluent in English (written and orally);

• Knowledge of other EU languages, and knowledge of the language(s) of the country of the Delegation will be considered an asset.

POSTING POLICY

EEAS career development policy places the need for staff to develop a mix of competences at its core, e.g. working in various fields of expertise and responsibilities in the course of a person's career, including postings at Headquarters and Delegations. 

Contract staff in Delegations is usually posted for 2, 3, 4 or 6 years in a given EU Delegation. Call for interest to apply for postponement or early mobility will be launched annually prior to the publication of the mobility exercise. Staff are reminded that extension and early mobility are not a right.

Contract staff assigned to a post where the living conditions allowance (LCA) determined in accordance with Article 10 of Annex X to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the EU (SR) is 30% or 35% may participate in the mobility exercise after 4 years.

Contract staff assigned to a post where the LCA is 40% may participate in the mobility exercise after 3 years.

Contract staff assigned to a non-family post may participate in the mobility exercise after 2 years. 

For candidates currently posted in compound-confined, non-family posting, please refer to Article 6, point 2(g) of the Decision ADMIN(2021) 221.

Within the mobility exercise, contract staff may be temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters in Brussels; such assignment shall remain exceptional and depends on the availability of posts. The assignment shall be for no less than two years, unless a derogation is granted by the Head of the Division RM.BHR.3 ‘Selection and Recruitment’ in the interest of the service. The assignment shall be for no more than four years, in accordance with Article 118 of the CEOS and Article 3 of Annex X to the SR. The member of contract staff temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters shall be included in the mobility exercise in time to be reassigned to a Union Delegation before he/she reaches the maximum period of 4 years.

It is in the interest of the service to ensure that staff members in Delegations are able to complete full postings before reaching the age of retirement. Before taking any final decisions on nominations, the competent AACC will ensure on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the SR and CEOS, that the successful candidates will indeed be able to complete the relevant full posting for the post for which they are selected. 

CONDITIONS OF RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT

CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND SECURITY RISKS

As a matter of policy, applications of individuals who have the dual nationality of the host country or whose family member has the nationality of the host country will be considered eligible for a posting in that host country only as a positive result of a case-by-case assessment. In that regard, the EEAS examines if there could be a conflict of interest and a risk of a possible refusal by the host country to grant diplomatic immunity to the staff member and or his/her partner and/or family, as well as possible security risks.

In this context, candidates shall fill in with their application a declaration of potential conflict of interest..

PERSONNEL SECURITY CLEARANCE

The requested level of security clearance for this post is: SECRET UE/EU SECRET. A description of the EU classified information levels is available under Article 2 of Annex A of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS.

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC) issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned. 

Candidates who do not already have a valid PSC will be required to go through the security clearance vetting procedure of their Member State to obtain this clearance in accordance with national laws and regulations and with the procedure laid down in the Decision ADMIN(2019) 7 of the Director General for Budget and Administration of the EEAS on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS and in Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS. Until the PSC is issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned, the selected candidate will not be authorised to access EUCI at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, or to participate in any meetings or workflow where EUCI is processed.

Please note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.

In case of failure to obtain or renew the required PSC, the AACC may take the appropriate measures in accordance with Article 3(3) of the Decision ADMIN(2019) 7.

MEDICAL CLEARANCE

The signature of the contract will be subject to prior favourable opinion of the Medical Service. On that occasion, the candidate should indicate any serious health problems or requirements for specialised medical treatment for themselves and/or for the individuals who will accompany them. If staff members withhold such information they will not benefit from a reimbursement by the institution of certain costs, e.g. expenses relating to medical evacuation, or to a return to Headquarters in the case of early mobility.

Prior to recruitment, the successful candidate will be contacted by our services in order to fulfil the relevant medical requirements for the post as appropriate, including a psychological assessment which the AACC reserves the right to request. 

OTHER

Candidates are deemed to be fully aware of the provisions of Annex X to the Staff Regulations, which applies to staff serving in Delegations located outside the EU, regarding their rights and obligations (i.e. leave entitlements, allowances, reimbursement of expenses, social security benefits).

Candidates are deemed to be fully aware of the local living conditions, including inter alia information concerning security, health care, education, social acceptance of sexual orientation, employment opportunities for spouses and the accommodation provided (Annex X to the SR, Article 5 or 23), before applying. Candidates are strongly encouraged to consult the relevant Country Post reports which are available from the Division RM.01 ‘Coordination’: RM-01-COORDINATION@eeas.europa.eu

All postings will in principle be aligned with the mobility cycle and have the 31 August of a given year as end date.

Successful candidates shall participate in all compulsory pre-posting training. All posts in an EU Delegation require the successful completion of BASE, a security e-learning. The ‘Hostile Environment Awareness Training’ (HEAT) is compulsory before taking up duty/going on mission in some countries. The EEAS will provide the selected candidate with that possibility in case she or he has not yet followed the training.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES 

The EEAS strives to be a dynamic, respectful and inclusive Service. We value the talent and professional excellence of our staff, and are committed to building an organisation where gender equality and the respect of diversity are core values, as set out in the EEAS Mission Statement and the EEAS Agenda for Diversity and Inclusion. The EEAS is committed to achieving gender balance within its workforce and strives to avoid any form of discrimination during this selection procedure, as per Article 1(d) of the SR. We actively welcome applications from all qualified candidates without any discrimination based on any ground. We commit to recruit candidates with the highest standard of ability, efficiency and integrity, carrying out a selection based on merits required for the post and from the broadest possible geographical basis among the EU Member States.

The EEAS is committed to working with people with disabilities in the terms of the SR. If, by virtue of your medical condition or special needs, you require reasonable accommodation for a part or the entirety of this selection process, please send us an email to CONTRACTAGENTS-HQ@eeas.europa.eu. Your request will be treated in strict confidence and no record will be kept. If a candidate with a disability is selected for a vacant post, the EEAS is committed to providing reasonable accommodation in accordance with Article 1(d)(4) of the SR. 

All selected candidates are expected to adhere to the Principles of Professional Behaviour of the EEAS, which outline the need for integrity, transparency, respect, professionalism and accountability, and a zero tolerance approach to any form of harassment.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

The procedure will take place in three steps: 

1. Application

Before submitting their application, candidates should carefully check whether they meet all the eligibility criteria in order to avoid automatic exclusion from the selection procedure. 

Equally, candidates are deemed to be fully aware of the local living conditions, including information concerning the accommodation, before applying. Individual post reports are available from the Division RM.01 ‘Coordination’: RM-01-COORDINATION@eeas.europa.eu

Candidates should also ensure that they are fully aware of the relevant security provisions; Personal Security Clearance at the level SECRET UE/EU SECRET is requested in all EU Delegations. Successful candidates will be required to undergo security vetting if they do not already hold security clearance to the appropriate level in accordance with the EEAS relevant security provisions (for more information, see Section “Personal Security Clearance” below).

During the application procedure, candidates are required to send the following documents:

1. an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (preferably using the Europass CV format), in either English or French, indicating clearly your EPSO CAST number;

   1. a letter of motivation, in either English or French;

   2. declaration of potential conflict of interest (annexed to this vacancy note).

Applications should be submitted to the following email address:

RM-SCS-5-HR@eeas.europa.eu

Deadline for applications is 28 April 2026: at 12.00 hours (midday, Brussels time).

Candidates are strongly advised to submit their application as early as possible. Late applications will not be accepted.

For correspondence concerning the selection procedure, please use the following email address:

CONTRACTAGENTS-DELEGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu

2. Pre-selection

The selection panel will make a pre-selection on the basis of the qualifications and the professional experience described in the CV and motivation letter, and will produce a shortlist of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for the posts. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be informed about the outcome of the pre-selection phase.

3. Selection

The candidates who have been preselected will be invited for an interview by a selection panel. 

The selection panel may decide, in addition to the interview, to organise written tests, either for all pre-selected candidates or to the best ranked ones. The content of such written tests will be defined by the selection panel and may include, but not be limited to, multiple choice questions, open questions and/or topics for a short essay. 

Pre-selected candidates without a valid CAST shall be invited to sit the CAST exam before or after the interview stage (in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out above). 

The panel will recommend a shortlist of candidates for a final decision by the AACC. The AACC may decide to interview the candidates on the final shortlist before taking this decision. 

It is recalled, that if the interest of the service so requires, the selection procedures can be terminated at any stage.

ADDRESS FOR INQUIRIES: CONTRACTAGENTS-DELEGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu

1. ^

    The text of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the EU and the CEOS is accessible at the following link: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1570023902133&uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20190101.

2. ^

    In accordance with Article 85(1) of the CEOS.

3. ^

    All the eligibility criteria must be met on the closing date for applications to this post.

4. ^

    Commission Decision C(2017) 6760 final of 16 October 2017 on the general provisions for implementing Article 79(2) of the CEOS, governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed by the Commission under the terms of Articles 3a and 3b.

5. ^

    Decision ADMIN(2018) 4 of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 12 March 2018 amending Annex I of the Decision of the High Representative PROC HR(2011) 013 on General Implementing Provisions for giving effect to the Staff Regulations and to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.

6. ^

   The CAST is the Contract Agents Selection Tool administered by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO). Persons interested in this Call for Expression of Interest are asked to create an EPSO account and register for a permanent CAST in FGIII in the relevant field (Information and Communication Technology). Candidates are kindly asked to share the ID number of their CAST application when submitting their documents.

7. ^

    OJ C 263, 26 July 2023, p.16. 

8. ^

    The ‘Personnel Security Clearance’ is defined under point 2 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS as “a statement by a competent authority of a Member State which is made following completion of a security investigation conducted by the competent authorities of a Member State and which certifies that an individual may, provided his ‘need-to-know’ has been determined, be granted access to EUCI up to a specified level (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above) until a specified date; the individual thus described is said to be ‘security cleared’.”

9. ^

    Decision ADMIN(2019) 7 of the Director General for Budget and Administration of the EEAS of 8 March 2019 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS.

10. ^

     Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as implemented by the Decision ADMIN(2019) 8 of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on implementing rules relating to the protection of personal data by the EEAS and the application of Regulation. The privacy statement is available on the Europa website (https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eeas-privacy-statement-data-protection-notice-purpose-processing-personal-data-related-public_en) and on the EEAS Intranet (https://intranet.eeas.europa.eu/page/eeas-work/data-protection/privacy-statements-dp-notices).