The European Defence Agency (EDA) was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency. The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.
The main task of EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.
The Agency is structured into four directorates. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Industry, Synergies and Enablers (ISE); Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI).
The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.
The Industry Synergies & Enablers (ISE) Directorate supports a range of activities critical to collaborative defence capability development in Europe.
On top of leading the work on identifying together with Member States' Key Strategic Activities (KSA) at EU level, the ISE Directorate is responsible for the effective engagement with industry across the Agency’s activities and in support of related priorities set by Member States.
The ISE Directorate facilitates work to address the implications of EU legislation and policies for the defence sector: REACH, procurement, funding instruments and the analysis of developments influencing governmental and industrial stakeholders. The Directorate is responsible for activities on critical enablers to support defence cooperation and enhance interoperability: military airworthiness, standardisation and certification, defence test & evaluation and education and training. The Directorate provides support to CSDP military and civilian operations and missions and EU Battlegroups.
The Directorate facilitates the coordination of military views from and in support of Member States and the relevant international military organisations in the framework of Single European Sky (SES) and acts as the interface with the EU institutions and related bodies. In the wider context of military aviation, the Directorate supports Member States in their efforts to enable RPAS integration in non-segregated airspace and in harmonising military aviation safety issues using the Total System Approach to Military Aviation.
The ISE Directorate comprises four Units:
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The Industry Strategy & EU Policies (ISP) Unit: engagement of industry in the activities of the Agency, determination of Key Strategic Activities at EU level, defence aspects of EU policies varying from legislation (REACH, procurement) to funding instruments
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The Critical Enablers (CRE) Unit: support defence cooperation and enhance interoperability through the identification, development and maintenance of harmonized safety, certification and standardisation requirements, references to the best practice standards and networking of Defence Test & Evaluation capabilities in all military domains
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The Single European Sky (SES) Unit: facilitation and coordination of military views in the framework of SES; interface with the EU institutions and related bodies to ensure that Military Aviation will continue to provide and further improve effective security and defence in Europe in the changing context of the civil aviation sector
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The Operations, Training & Exercises (OTE) Unit: promotion of the use in CSDP operations of all relevant EDA projects & programmes; development and management of contracted solutions to support CSDP operations and Member States; initiation, development and management of training and exercise activities for rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including RPAS, with a view to transfer these activities to Member States when mature.
Under the supervision of the Head of Unit Operations, Training and Exercises the jobholder will be responsible or contribute to the following activities:
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initiate, manage and support education, training and exercise initiatives and activities that contribute to the enhanced availability and interoperability of strategical and tactical air transport in the broader context of participating Member States’ combat capabilities;
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initiate, manage and support education, training and exercise initiatives and activities that contribute to the enhanced availability and interoperability of strategical and tactical combat capabilities related to Unmanned aerial system (UAS);
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chair the following: Fixed Wing Operations & Training Working Group (FWO&TWG), Transport Pilot Training Capacity Ad Hoc Working Group (TPTC AHWG), C-295 AHWG, and the European Air Transport Symposium;
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manage and support all European operational and training events in cooperation with existing European Air Transport organizations (EATC - European Air Transport Command, ETAC - European Training Airlift Centre, etc.) and participating Member States;
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manage together with the lead Nation the C27J Category B Program and potential future new aircraft type working groups (C130J, A400M, KC 390 etc.);
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support the development and management of the Category B UAS Training and Exercises Program;
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represent EDA at fixed wing training events (European Spartan Exercise, Flag type exercise, REPMUS, etc.);
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coordinate with relevant Project Officers in Capability, Armament & Planning Directorate on all fixed wing and UAS capability;
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coordinate related projects with the Capability Experts Group Air Transport (CEG AT) and Capability Experts Group Air Superiority (CEG ASUP);
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contribute to the development of business cases concerning new opportunities for cooperation in the field of education, training and exercise, demonstrating added value for participating Member States;
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take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.
Duties may evolve according to the development of EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.
In accordance with the Rules applicable to national experts and military staff on secondment to the European Defence Agency (Council Decision (EU) 2016/1352), Seconded National Experts are seconded to the Agency while remaining in the service of their national employer and continue being paid their national salary by that employer.
Therefore, to be considered in the selection process, candidates for SNE posts must be sponsored by their national authorities. Confirmation is required in the form of a letter of sponsorship addressed to the Agency as far as possible by the closing date for the receipt of applications and in any case before a decision is taken by EDA on the candidate to be selected for a secondment.
The Rules are available on the EDA website http://www.eda.europa.eu - vacancies.
To qualify for secondment to the Agency, experts shall:
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have worked for their employer on a permanent or contract basis for at least 12 months before their secondment;
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remain in the service of their employer throughout the period of secondment and continue to be paid by that employer;
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have at least three years' full-time experience in defence, administrative, scientific, technical, operational, advisory or supervisory functions relevant to the performance of the duties assigned to them. Before the secondment, the employer shall supply the Agency with a statement of the expert's employment covering the previous 12 months;
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be nationals of a participating Member State or falling within the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 1 of Council Decision (EU) 2016/1352 of 4 August 2016;
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have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one official language of one of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages for the performance of their duties.
For native English speakers, your ability to communicate in another EU language will be tested during the selection process. To assess your foreign language levels, see: https://europa.eu/europass/en/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills
IMPORTANT: Confirmation of sponsorship is required at the latest by the deadline for applications and in any case before a decision on a candidate selected for secondment is taken by EDA.
A. Essential
Only applications meeting all essential selection criteria will be assessed.
(1) Professional
Candidates will be required to demonstrate the following qualifications:
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a University degree (or equivalent academic degree) in a field relevant to the post;
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at least 10 years of relevant professional experience as fixed wing pilot, or aircraft maintenance personnel; or at least 5 years of relevant professional experience as UAS operator(OF-4);
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a thorough understanding and widest possible experience of airlift or UAS training, operations, challenges and future potential development;
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good understanding of capability development and familiarity with the international defence environment and with the European Institutions;
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experience with budgetary and contract definition in the context of project management;
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experience in organisation and chairing of meetings and workshops;
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a very good command of written and oral English.
(2) Personal
All staff must be able to fit into the Agency's way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:
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ability to work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
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ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
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good interpersonal, communication and influencing skills;
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flexibility and innovativeness;
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results-orientation and strong motivation;
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ability to adapt to a quickly changing working environment;
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genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.
B. Desirable
The following will be considered an advantage:
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extensive experience as fixed wing instructor pilot;
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experience as UAS Operator instructor;
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hold a (recognized) Project Management qualification;
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having already been involved in operational and training events within EDA environment.
The selected candidate will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the Agency’s interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence.
The Project Officer Fixed Wing will be appointed by the Chief Executive.
Secondment will be as a member of the Seconded National Expert staff of the Agency for a two-year period. Renewal is possible within the limits set out in the EDA SNE Rules. The successful candidate will be seconded as AD10/AD11 equivalent.
Applications are invited with a view to establish a reserve list for the post of Project Officer Fixed Wing at EDA. This list will be valid until 31/12/2027, and may be extended by decision of the Chief Executive. During the validity of the reserve list, successful candidates may be offered a secondment in EDA according to their competences in relation to the specific requirements of the vacant post. Inclusion on the reserve list does not imply any entitlement of secondment to the Agency.
EDA is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.
Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EDA website. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted no later than midnight. Candidates are reminded that the on-line application system will not accept applications after midnight (Brussels time, GMT+1) on the date of the deadline.
In order to be considered in the selection process, candidates for SNE posts must be sponsored by their national authorities. Confirmation is required in the form of a letter of sponsorship addressed to the Agency as far as possible by the closing date for the receipt of applications and in any case before a decision is taken by EDA on the candidate to be selected for a secondment.
A selection panel will be appointed. Please note that the selection panel's internal proceedings are strictly confidential and that any contact with its members is forbidden. Each application will be screened based on the requirements of the job profile stated in the vacancy notice. The most suitable applicants will be called for an interview and a written test. If recruited, you will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements that you make for this application. Do not send any supporting or supplementary information until you have been asked to do so by the Agency.
Please note that once you have created your EDA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EDA profile. For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
EDA will not accept any phase of the selection & recruitment process prepared or assisted, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools.
EDA reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI tools may be rejected without further consideration at EDA’s sole discretion, and EDA reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.
Please note that EDA will not return applications to candidates. The personal information EDA requests from candidates will be processed in line with Regulation (EU) N° 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) 45/2001 and Decision No. 1247/2002/EC.
The purpose of processing personal data which candidates submit is to manage applications in view of possible pre-selection and recruitment at EDA. More information on personal data protection in relation to selection and recruitment can be found on the EDA website: http://www.eda.europa.eu/jobs/dataprotection
