Vacancy notice – CONS/AD/202/26 – Director for LIFE.1
Date: 2026-01-08
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Belgium, Brussels region, EU agriculture committee, administrator, competition (EU), farming sector, job vacancy, managing director, recruitment








C_202600124EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/124


8.1.2026






Vacancy notice – CONS/AD/202/26 – Director for LIFE.1
(C/2026/124)


          
      

GENERAL INFORMATION







Department


LIFE.1 Agriculture (SCA – Special Committee on Agriculture)




Place of work


Brussels, Justus Lipsius Building




Title of post


Director




Function group and grade


AD 14




Security clearance required


None





DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS




29 January 2026 – 12:00 (noon) Brussels time





We are

The General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) assists the European Council and the Council of the EU and their preparatory bodies in all fields of their activities. Under authority of the Secretary-General, it provides advice and support to the European Council and the Council and to their Presidents in all areas of activity, including policy and legal advice, coordination with other institutions, drawing up of compromises and drafting, supervising as well as attending to all the practicalities that are necessary for the smooth preparation and running of the European Council and the Council.
Directorate-General ‘Agriculture, Fisheries, Social Affairs and Health’ (DG LIFE), coordinates the organisation of the ‘Agriculture and Fisheries’ and the ‘Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs’ (EPSCO) Council configurations, each of them meeting, respectively, around ten and four times per year.
DG LIFE, comprises five directorates: LIFE.1, dealing with Agriculture; LIFE.2, dealing with Fisheries; LIFE.3, dealing with Veterinary and Plant Health Questions, Food and Forestry; LIFE.4, dealing with Employment and Social Policy; LIFE.5 dealing with Health; all of them report to the Director-General.
Directorate LIFE.1 provides support for the work of the AGRIFISH Council. To this end, the directorate gives policy and procedural advice as well as practical support to the Council, its members, and the rotating Presidency, on legislative and non-legislative files related to agricultural policy. LIFE.1 works in close cooperation with other GSC departments, as well as with relevant departments of the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Directorate LIFE.1 consists of 14 staff members: 7 administrators, 5 assistants/secretaries and 1 trainee.

We propose

The post of Director in LIFE.1 is a challenging position in a politically interesting environment, with a variety of stakeholders and highly qualified staff.
Under the authority of the Director-General you will manage and coordinate your Directorate and its resources in a professional manner, organise its activities and support and motivate staff in their work. You will ensure the quality of the services and products delivered by the Directorate, as well as effective communication and cooperation within the Directorate, across the Directorate-General and with other GSC services.
You will provide high-level and strategic policy and procedural advice to the Council, Coreper and other preparatory bodies and their Presidency, and to the Secretary-General on all aspects of dossiers falling within the Directorate’s remit. You will take part in meetings and, where appropriate, briefings and/or negotiations with a view to reaching compromises and finding solutions. In this context, you will assist the Presidency in negotiations and ensure effective communication and cooperation with EU institutions, agencies and other bodies in the areas within the Directorate’s remit.
You will define the objectives to be met and contribute to meeting them by establishing the Directorate’s work programme and ensuring the appropriate monitoring of its implementation.
You will also be responsible for initiating and supervising policy analysis activities with a view to providing advice for decision-making in the areas within the Directorate’s remit.
You will be able to plan and organise work in a flexible manner, subject to working hours and to the schedule of meetings in the Directorate’s field of activity. You and your staff will be able to benefit from the GSC’s working arrangements, including teleworking.
Occasional missions abroad, e.g. to Luxembourg and Strasbourg, are required, usually within the EU.

We look for

We are looking for a manager with experience in EU policy-making and the EU legislative process, and a good knowledge of EU institutional issues. Knowledge of the area of agriculture and experience in implementation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and familiarity with the role and functioning of the Council are an asset.
The GSC competency framework for managers provides guidance on the skills all managers are expected to develop and have (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/nrehuprg/competency-framework-for-managers-booklet-a5_en-for-web.pdf).

In particular, the jobholder will need to possess the following competencies:
STRATEGIC THINKING






—


think and plan strategically, anticipate and identify potential problems and propose workable compromises and solutions;




ADVISING






—


a sense of diplomacy;










—


maintain attention to detail without losing sight of the overall picture;










—


reach common agreements and goals by providing targeted advice to stakeholders and by effectively and constructively facilitating discussions;










—


promote and maintain good working relationships with a range of internal and external interlocutors;




LEADING






—


manage change and support staff through change;










—


excellent communication skills, including interpersonal communication skills;










—


facilitate collaborative work on cross-cutting projects and issues, and ensure coherence in different strands of work across the entire organisation;




EMPOWERING






—


promote a strong team spirit and guide, motivate and empower staff in a multicultural and diverse environment, with a strong emphasis on staff development;










—


engage in open dialogue with staff to create a positive and inclusive working atmosphere;










—


actively foster innovation and listen to staff members’ ideas on new approaches, novel working methods and applying the latest technologies;




MANAGING RESOURCES SUSTAINABLY AND FLEXIBLY






—


organise the overall work of the Directorate to meet critical deadlines and ensure a fair distribution of workload as well as succession planning;




REPRESENTING AND BEING ACCOUNTABLE






—


establish and nurture collaborative strategic relationships to maintain and further develop the GSC’s value.




Given that the GSC has a policy of mobility for its managers, who are expected to have broad experience, candidates should be willing and able to work in different areas of activity during their career at the GSC.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

Applicants must meet the following requirements on the closing date for applications:






(a)



General conditions







—


be nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union;










—


enjoy their full rights as citizens;










—


have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service.














(b)



Specific conditions







—


hold a university degree (1);










—


have at least 15 years of relevant professional experience, out of which they have during at least three years effectively exercised management and organisational responsibilities. Three years spent in a post with significant coordination responsibilities would be equivalent to the required management experience;










—


given that English and French are used extensively for communication within the GSC and with other institutions, an excellent knowledge of one of the two languages and a good knowledge of the other is required. Knowledge of other official languages of the EU would be an asset.














NB:


The successful candidate must be prepared to follow the GSC management training programme.





SELECTION PROCEDURE







—


In choosing the successful candidates, the Appointing Authority shall be assisted by an advisory selection board. The advisory selection board will be supported by an assessment centre, run by external recruitment consultants. Reports established by the assessment centre for the same type of post will cease to be valid two years after the date on which the relevant exercises took place or upon termination of the framework contract between the GSC and the assessment centre in question – whichever date is the earliest.










—


The advisory selection board will initially evaluate and compare the qualifications, experience and motivation of all the applicants, on the basis of their applications. Based on that comparative assessment, the advisory selection board will shortlist those candidates who, in its opinion, are most suitable to be invited to a first interview. As this first selection is based on a comparative assessment of the applications, the fulfilment of the requirements of this vacancy notice does not guarantee an invitation to the first interview. From among the interviewed candidates, the advisory selection board will pre-select candidates to attend the assessment centre, as well as a second interview with the advisory selection board.




The provisional planning for the selection procedure is as follows:






—


it is expected that candidates selected for the interviews will be informed at the beginning of February 2026;










—


the first interviews are foreseen to take place in the first weeks of February 2026;










—


the assessment centre is expected to take place in the second half of February 2026;










—


the second round of interviews is foreseen for the first half of March 2026.




NB: The above schedule is purely indicative and may be modified.

LEGAL BASIS

This post is published in all institutions of the European Union and outside the institutions, in conformity with Article 29, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (2).

HOW TO APPLY

The closing date for applications is 
               29 January 2026 at 12:00 (noon) Brussels time.
Applications will be only accepted by email and must be sent to applications.management@consilium.europa.eu
             (3) no later than the closing date and time. Late applications will not be considered.
The email address indicated above must be used for any correspondence concerning the selection procedure (the email must have the following reference in the subject line: CONS/AD/202/26 LIFE.1 AGRICULTURE).
Before submitting their application, candidates should carefully check whether they meet the requirements listed above under ‘Recruitment policy’, in order to avoid automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.
To be valid, the application file must include the following documents in pdf (NB: locked, password protected or electronically signed documents will not be accepted):






(a)


the application form duly completed and dated (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) – Application form.pdf’); to download the electronic application form (EN or FR) click on the appropriate link below or copy/paste it into your browser (4):






 



https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/68640/gsc-application_form_senior_management_en.docx











 



https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/68641/gsc-application_form_senior_management_fr.docx















(b)


a detailed curriculum vitae in English or French (no photographs included), preferably in the Europass format (https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv; https://europa.eu/europass/fr/create-your-europass-cv), covering the applicant’s entire career, listing, inter alia, the applicant’s qualifications, language knowledge, experience and current duties (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) – CV.pdf’);










(c)


a motivation letter, in English or French (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) – Motivation letter.pdf’).





Failure to include these documents will render the application invalid.

NB: Copies of diplomas certifying education and copies of documents and certificates relating to professional experience will be requested from the preselected candidates invited for the first round of interviews. Supporting documents must have been issued by a third party.
The supporting documents should be numbered (Annex 1, 2, etc.) and must be grouped together in a single pdf document (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) – Supporting documents.pdf’). This should include an index.

Failure to submit all supporting documents at the latest the day before the first interview, may be considered as grounds for disqualification.

Applications that arrive by post or via cloud-based data storage solutions or file-share platforms will not be considered.
The successful candidate will be asked to provide the originals of the above documents.
Candidates will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their application. However, technical difficulties affecting the sending of e-mails can occur. Therefore, if no email acknowledging receipt of the application is received, candidates are asked to contact applications.management@consilium.europa.eu. Since the advisory selection board will begin its work shortly after the closing date for applications, any correspondence about the receipt of the application should be made in the week following that date.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The GSC is committed to diversity and inclusion. For more information, please see the relevant statement:

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/general-secretariat/jobs/diversity-and-inclusion/.

REEXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS

For information about the procedures relating to requests for complaints, appeals and referrals to the European Ombudsman, you may consult:

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/56631/complaint-en.pdf.

DATA PROTECTION

The rules governing the processing of personal data in connection with this selection procedure are spelled out in the privacy statement:

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/s0rleii2/jobs-data-protection-083r02-en.pdf



(1)  Article 5(3)(c) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (the Staff Regulations) require applicants to have at least:






(i)


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










(ii)


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.





(2)  Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Union, laid down by Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68, (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1), consolidated text available at

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031-20250513.

(3)  This email address is linked to a functional mailbox and can only process messages with sensitivity option set to ‘Normal’; e-mails sent with other sensitivity options (e.g. ‘Personal’, ‘Private’, ‘Confidential’ or encrypted mails) cannot be processed. Please therefore select the ‘Normal’ sensitivity option. Your email must not be greater than 25MB. If your email, together with its attachments, exceeds this maximum size, please split your attachments over a number of e-mails.

(4)  If you need more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: applications.management@consilium.europa.eu.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/124/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)