Project Manager (Brussels, near-site or far-site) – European Commission
Role: Senior Project Manager.
Place of performance: Brussels (Belgium).
Modality: Near-site.
Duration: An initial six-month contract, with the possibility of extension beyond that period.
Rate: The rate offered depends on the candidate’s level, in accordance with the European public grading system. Further details are available upon discussion.
Introduction and Context
DG CLIMA E.3 “Climate Information Systems” provides IT services and information systems to Member States, private entities, and around 250 DG Climate Action staff, supporting EU policies and the Commission’s Digital Transformation. The 80-person unit manages IT support, training, testing, development, and maintenance, while coordinating IT policy and strategy with DG Information Technology.
The Project Management Officer will join the Programme and Project Management Office (PPMO), supporting DG Climate Action’s IT project portfolio. Responsibilities include refining project management procedures, ensuring methodology compliance, monitoring projects, and supporting Project Managers with project management artefacts and stakeholder coordination.
Main Responsibilities:
- Assess project maturity against the selected project management methodology and provide guidance to improve compliance.
- Maintain PPMO tools for project planning, status and risk reporting, follow-up, and coordination of project management activities at project and portfolio level. The PPMO toolset includes Power BI, Power Automate, JIRA, and SharePoint.
- Provide guidance to teams on implementing the selected project management methodology and review project management deliverables.
- Support Project Managers in complying with IT governance requirements.
- Participate in reviews of estimated costs, timelines, and resource requirements.
- Support the preparation and maintenance of project plans, track activities against plans, and provide regular and accurate reporting.
- Ensure effective monitoring of costs, timelines, and resources, and review proposed corrective actions when deviations are identified.
- Define and manage the change control process, securing project sponsors’ agreement to project revisions.
Specific expertise, knowledge and skills
The profile shall meet the following requirements:
Security requirements. During the performance of the tasks listed above, the external service provider may have access to sensitive or classified data or secure areas. The proposed candidate must therefore be eligible to obtain an EU-27 security clearance.
Project management. Basic knowledge of project management methodologies (PM², PRINCE2, PMBOK, Scrum, etc.); certification in any of these methodologies is an advantage.
Communication. Excellent ability to write clear and structured documents.
Interpersonal skills. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Agile methodologies. Good knowledge of Agile development methodologies.
Presentation and facilitation. Good ability to deliver high-level presentations and facilitate meetings.
International environment. Ability to work effectively in an international and multicultural environment, with a proactive and self-starting approach. Experience working in teams and understanding the needs, objectives, and constraints of other disciplines and functions.
Tools. Experience with the Microsoft 365 toolset, including Excel, is required. Experience with Power BI, Power Automate, and JIRA is also required.
Minimum requirements:
- Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
- Relevant experience in a Project Management Office (PMO):
o 3 years of experience in PMO.
o 3 years of experience in IT projects.
o 3 years of professional experience in an agile software development environment.
- Theoretical knowledge and training in project management:
o Advanced certification in project management (Scrum Master or equivalent).
o Theoretical knowledge of Scrum.
o Experience as a coach or trainer.
- Experience in tool development:
o 3 years of experience with Power Tools (Power Automate, Power Query, etc.).
o 3 years of experience with Power BI.
o 3 years of experience with JIRA.
o 3 years of experience administering SharePoint and Teams.
Desirable:
- Relevant certification in project management (e.g., PMP, PRINCE2) is a huge plus.
- Knowledge of additional EU languages.
- Experience in international or European institutions or large-scale multi-vendor projects.
