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 Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI) promotes and supports defence research at EU level. Based on the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), developed together with the Member States, the Directorate coordinates and plans joint research activities and the study of technical solutions to meet future operational needs.
The RTI Directorate provides support to Member States and to the European Commission for the Preparatory Action for defence research, including its implementation, and the research dimension of the European Defence Fund. The RTI directorate also ensures the promotion of innovation in defence and the exploitation of synergies at EU level with civil research in dual-use technology fields.
At present, the RTI Directorate comprises two Units, the EU-funded Defence Research Unit and the Technology & Innovation Unit, as well as the Hub for European defence Innovation (HEDI) and the RTI Coordination Team, with the following key tasks:
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The EU-funded Defence Research Unit: upstream, implementation and downstream support linked to defence research activities funded by the EU budget under delegation by the European Commission.
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The Technology & Innovation Unit: facilitation of the work of the Capability Technology Groups (CapTechs) and the Energy & Environment Working Group as well as development and management of ad hoc research activities based on sectoral Strategic Research Agendas.
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HEDI: focal point for defence innovation, driving the development of military capabilities while strengthening cooperation between EU Member States and associated countries. HEDI’s mission is to turn promising ideas into usable defence capabilities faster, while supporting EU defence priorities and strengthening Europe’s technological edge. HEDI is expected to become a dedicated Defence Innovation Centre (designation subject to approval of forthcoming organisational structure).
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The RTI Coordination Team: coordination of the RTI Directorate’s contributions to EDA’s transversal activities (such as capability development priorities (CDP), Capability Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and Key Strategic Activities (KSA); overview of the Agency’s research portfolio.
Under the supervision of the line-manager responsible for Defence Innovation, the Project Officer for Experimentation will contribute to the following activities:
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support the preparation, coordination and implementation of EDA experimentation activities aimed at assessing innovative solutions against Member States’ operational needs and capability priorities;
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contribute to the planning and delivery of challenge-driven trials, including digital experimentation, modelling and simulation activities, field experimentation, demonstrations and operational experimentation campaigns;
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assist in the development of experimentation plans, test objectives, scenarios, metrics, data collection approaches and evidence requirements, ensuring traceability between operational challenges, test activities and assessment outputs;
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contribute to the preparation of technical and operational documentation for experimentation activities, including trial plans, participant guidance, evidence templates, risk registers, after-action reports and lessons learned;
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assist in the collection, structuring and analysis of experimentation results, ensuring that outputs are usable for Member States;
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support the coordination of participating companies, Member State representatives, technical experts, operational users and contractors involved in experimentation activities;
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contribute to the development and continuous improvement of EDA experimentation methodologies, playbooks, templates and common approaches, in order to increase comparability, reproducibility and reusability of results across Member States;
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contribute to the preparation of briefings, reports, presentations and other deliverables for Member States, EDA management and external stakeholders on experimentation activities and results;
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support the organisation of workshops, planning meetings, demonstration events, visitor days and other activities linked to EDA experimentation campaigns;
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contribute to activities related to the drafting, coordination, and implementation of high-level documents – such as Letters of Intents, Steering Board documentation, and similar strategic or policy-level deliverables;
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represent the Agency during conferences and seminars;
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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.
To be considered eligible to take part in this selection procedure, on the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria as specified below:
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be a national of a Member State participating in the Agency;
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be entitled to their full rights as citizens;
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have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them by the laws concerning military service;
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produce the appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties (extract from the “judicial record” or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);
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be physically fit to perform their duties;
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have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one of the languages of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) of another of these languages to the extent necessary to discharge their duties;
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have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of their duties within the Agency;
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hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at SECRET UE/EU SECRET level). Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) means a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, and which shows the level of EUCI to which that individual may be granted access (SECRET UE/EU SECRET), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself. Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSCC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate;
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have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more, or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years or be a graduate of a national or international Defence College; or where justified in the interests of the service, professional training of an equivalent level.
Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. In the latter case, the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment reserves the right to request proof of such equivalence.
For diplomas awarded in non-EU countries, a NARIC recognition is required: https://www.enic-naric.net/
Qualifications/diplomas awarded until 31/12/2020 in the United Kingdom are accepted without further recognition. For diplomas awarded after this date (from 01/01/2021), a NARIC recognition is required.
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
A. ESSENTIAL
(1) Professional
The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:
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a university degree (or equivalent academic degree), in a field relevant to the duties, such as engineering, physics, science and technology, defence academy, operational research, systems engineering;
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at least six (6) years of professional experience relevant to the duties of the post, acquired after the award of the minimum qualification required as a condition of eligibility (see eligibility criteria section above);
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a demonstrated track record in supporting defence capability development or procurement activities through experimentation, test and evaluation, demonstrations and operational trials;
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proven experience in the preparation of experimentation plans, test objectives, scenarios, data collection approaches, evidence requirements, trial documentation, risk registers, after-action reports or lessons-learned outputs;
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a track record of international cooperation in operational experimentation and/or trials, military exercises;
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a good understanding of the European defence cooperation environment and of EDA’s role in supporting Member States;
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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 par. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:
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ability to work in a team and independently in their area of responsibility;
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proactiveness to interact with other stakeholders, both internal and external;
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ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
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reliability and capacity to work under pressure with little supervision;
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good communication and organisational skills;
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strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
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excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills;
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flexibility and innovativeness;
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results-orientation and strong motivation;
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a strong sense of duty and responsibility;
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genuine commitment to the Agency's objectives.
B. DESIRABLE
The following will be considered an advantage:
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experience in military, defence, security, civil protection, aerospace, cyber, space, robotics, autonomous systems or other technology-intensive experimentation environments;
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familiarity with military exercises, operational experimentation campaigns, field trials, test ranges, laboratories, digital sandboxes or modelling and simulation environments;
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experience with data collection, instrumentation, experiment design, scenario development, wargaming, simulation or analytical tools;
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a recognised project management certification and/or training in systems engineering, test and evaluation, operational analysis or modelling and simulation.
EDA, whose staff are governed by its own Staff Regulations, offers specific conditions of employment with regards to contract duration and pension arrangements.
CONTRACT DURATION
The Project Officer for Experimentation will be appointed by the Chief Executive. Recruitment will be as a member of the temporary staff of the Agency for a 4-year period. Renewal is possible only once for an additional period of 4 years, within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations. The successful candidate will be recruited as Temporary Agent, grade AD8. In line with EDA's Staff Regulations, the Agency does not offer inter-Agency mobility.
FINANCIAL ENTITLEMENTS
The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 8.911,48€ supplemented with various allowances including, as applicable, expatriation or family allowances. Successful candidates are graded on entry into service according to the length of their professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax is deducted at source.
PENSION ARRANGEMENTS SPECIFIC TO EDA
Prospective staff members considering a career at the European Defence Agency (EDA) should be aware that EDA has its own pension provisions and is not part of the EU institutions' pension scheme (PSEUI).
In addition, EDA staff have several flexible options regarding their pension contributions at the end of their contract, under certain conditions, such as:
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transfer to a public pension scheme;
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transfer to a private pension scheme;
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direct payment as a severance grant.
For further information on working conditions please refer to: https://eda.europa.eu/jobs/what-we-offer
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.
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.
Applications are invited with a view to establish a reserve list for the post of Project Officer for Experimentation at EDA. This list will be valid until 31/12/2028, and may be extended by decision of the Chief Executive. During the validity of the reserve list, successful candidates may be offered a post 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 employment in the Agency.
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. 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].
When applying, candidates from Ministries of Defence or other governmental entities are encouraged to inform their national administration.
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. Candidates may also be requested to take part in an assessment centre, participating in a number of individual and group activities related to the competences required for the post.
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.
If recruited, candidates will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their application. They should not send any supporting or supplementary information until asked to do so by the Agency. Candidates are advised that part of the recruitment process includes medical analyses and physical check-up with the Agency’s Medical Adviser.
Staff members employed at EDA require a Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC). The process to obtain a PSCC can be initiated only by EDA on behalf of the staff member. Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance certificate before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of the contract.
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
