Vacancy Notice for the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) – Amsterdam (Temporary Agent – Grade AD 14) – COM/2026/20118
Date: 2026-02-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: European Medicines Agency, administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, managing director, servant (EU)








C_202600994EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/994


19.2.2026






Vacancy Notice for the Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)
Amsterdam (Temporary Agent – Grade AD 14)
COM/2026/20118
(C/2026/994)


          
      

We are

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) established by Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), is the European Union’s agency responsible for coordinating the authorisation, supervision, and safety monitoring of medicines for human and veterinary use through the work of its scientific committees and a large expert network put at its disposal by Member States. It also monitors and helps addressing medicine and medical device shortages, facilitates a coordinated EU-level response to public health emergencies and supports the regulation of certain medical devices and the Health Technology Assessment processes.
A description of EMA’s mission and tasks can be found in its Founding Regulation. According to a decision of Executive Director on the Linguistic Regime of EMA, English is the working language of the Agency.
For further information, please consult the following website: http://www.ema.europa.eu/.

We propose

The function of the Executive Director of EMA.
The Executive Director is the legal representative and public face of EMA and is accountable to the EMA Management Board, set up under Article 65 of the EMA Regulation. They will lead and manage EMA and take overall responsibility for its operations ensuring the achievement of EMA’s objectives. In 2025, EMA’s budget amounted to approximately EUR 600 million with a total staff of 900.
The Executive Director shall be completely independent in the performance of their duties, without prejudice to the respective competencies of the European Commission and the Management Board.
The Executive Director’s specific responsibilities include:






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the day-to-day administration of EMA in line with applicable legislation in force and with the decisions of its Management Board,










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responsibility for managing EMA’s staff, fostering team spirit and a good working environment,










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drawing up a proposal for EMA’s Strategy and Work Programmes in consultation with the Commission, and reporting on their implementation to the Management Board,










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responsibility for the overall performance of the tasks assigned to EMA including supervising the quality of its internal control and management systems,










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preparing and executing EMA’s budget and ensuring that it is managed efficiently and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management,










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responsibility for the financial matters of EMA including, inter alia, final accounts and financing decisions,










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representing EMA and engaging with the range of stakeholders and the public in relation to all matters within its mission,










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ensuring cooperation between EMA, the Commission, the European Parliament, the EU agencies, the Member States as well as with the relevant actors at international level,










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ensuring appropriate coordination between its committees,










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providing the secretariat for the Management Board.





We look for (selection criteria)

The candidates should have:






a)


Management skills:






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proven capacity to lead an important organisation, both at a strategic and at operational management level,










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excellent capacity to develop and implement a strategic vision, to set objectives and to motivate and lead large teams in a multicultural and multilingual environment,










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proven capacity for leading organisational change and in particular digital transformation processes,










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ability to manage, and keep at the state of the art a multidisciplinary, multinational system aiming at delivering scientific evaluations, expertise and communication,










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clear vision of promoting EMA’s mission at EU and international level.














b)


Specialist knowledge:






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very good knowledge of the European legislation applicable in the area of the EMA’s activities,










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experience and practice in one or more of the following areas: healthcare science, medicine, medical sciences, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, veterinary sciences would be an asset. Ideally this experience should have been acquired in a national, European or international public administration involving contacts with the pharmaceutical industry,










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good understanding of the European institutions and how they operate and interact,










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good understanding and/or practice of the three interconnected components of risk analysis, i.e. risk assessment, risk management and risk communication,










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experience in budgetary, financial and human resources management in a national, European and/or international context.














c)


Personal qualities and skills:






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ability to behave with integrity and communicate efficiently and fluently at all levels, in a transparent and open manner, with stakeholders, general public, European, international, national and local public authorities, international organisations, the press, and to represent the agency in international fora,










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interpersonal, organisational and negotiating skills and the ability to build trusted working relationships with stakeholders: e.g. with the European Union’s institutions, the EU agencies, the Member States,










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very good understanding and adherence to EMA’s guiding principles of openness, transparency, independence and scientific excellence.









Applicants must (eligibility criteria)

In order to be considered for the selection phase, candidates must fulfil the following criteria by the closing date for applications:






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Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union.










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University degree or diploma: candidates must have either:






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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










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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 (this one year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).




Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities of one of these Member States may be taken into consideration.










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Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years postgraduate experience (2) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission; at least 5 years of the professional experience must be of similar nature as the type of activities carried out by the EMA.










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Management experience: at least 5 years of the post graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high-level management function in a field relevant for this position (3).










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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (4) and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these official languages. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language. This may include (part of) the interview being conducted in this other language.










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Age limit: candidates must be able to complete, at the deadline for application, the full mandate of 5 years before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union, the retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union (5)).





Independence and declaration of interests

The Executive Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests which might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence. Applicants must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.
Due to the particular nature of the functions, applicants invited to preselection interviews will be required to sign a declaration relating to their current or future interests that might be considered prejudicial to their independence.
In accordance with Article 16 of the Staff Regulations (6), which provisions apply by analogy to Temporary Agents, the Executive Director shall, after leaving the service, continue to be bound by the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits.
This includes the obligation to inform the Management Board of EMA sufficiently in advance of the intention to engage in an occupational activity, whether gainful or not, within two years of leaving the service. If that activity is related to the work carried out during the last three years in service and could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of EMA, the Management Board may, having regard to the interests of the service, either forbid from undertaking it or give its approval subject to any conditions it thinks fit.

Selection and appointment

The Executive Director will be appointed by the Management Board of EMA on the basis of a shortlist drawn up by the European Commission.
To establish this shortlist, the European Commission organises a selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see the Compilation Document on Senior Officials Policy (7)).
As part of this selection procedure, the European Commission sets up a pre-selection panel. This panel analyses all applications, proceeds with a first eligibility verification and identifies candidates having the best profile in view of the selection criteria mentioned above, and who may be invited for an interview with the pre-selection panel. Candidates may be requested by the European Commission to provide documents supporting the information provided in their application at any moment of the procedure. Failure to provide those documents within the deadline set in the request may lead to the exclusion from the selection.
Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel draws up its conclusions and proposes a list of candidates for further interviews with the European Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). The CCA, taking into consideration the conclusions of the pre-selection panel, will decide on the candidates to be invited for an interview.
Candidates who are called for an interview with the CCA participate in a full-day management assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Taking account of the results of the interview and the report of the assessment centre, the CCA establishes a shortlist of candidates it considers suitable to exercise the function of Executive Director of EMA.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for the Directorate-General in charge of the relations with EMA.
Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the Management Board of EMA. Inclusion on this shortlist does not guarantee appointment. The Management Board of EMA will interview these candidates and appoint a candidate. Before appointment by the Management Board, the candidate shall be invited without delay to make a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer questions put by members of this institution.
Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above.

Equal opportunities

The Commission and EMA pursue a strategic objective of achieving gender equality at all management levels by the end of its current mandate and apply a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (8) encouraging applications that could contribute towards more diversity, gender equality and overall geographical balance.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union.
The successful candidate will be engaged by the Management Board of EMA as a Temporary Agent at grade AD 14 (9). The successful candidate will be classified depending on the length of their previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.
They will be appointed for an initial mandate of five years, with a possible mandate renewal for a maximum five years according to Regulation establishing EMA as applicable at the time of appointment.
Applicants should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Amsterdam (Netherlands), where EMA is based.

Important information for candidates

Candidates are reminded that the work of the selection panels is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. Any query has to be addressed to the secretariat of the respective panel.

Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all eligibility requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, high-level professional experience as well as linguistic capacity required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.
If you want to apply, you must register via the internet on the following website and follow the instructions concerning the various stages of the procedure:

https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/.
You must have a valid email address. This will be used to confirm your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the procedure. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your email address.
To complete your application, you need to upload a CV in PDF format, preferably using the Europass CV format (11), and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Your CV and your letter of motivation may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union.
It is in your interest to ensure that your application is accurate, thorough and truthful.
Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an electronic mail confirming that your application has been registered. If you do not receive a confirmation mail, your application has not been registered.

Applications sent by email will not be accepted. If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations will not be accepted.

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 
               19 March 2026
            , 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.


(1)  Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 laying down Union procedures for the authorisation and supervision of medicinal products for human use and establishing a European Medicines Agency (OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/726/oj).

(2)  Professional experience is only taken into consideration if it represents an actual work relationship defined as real, genuine work, on apaid basis and as employee (any type of contract) or provider of a service. Professional activities pursued part-time shall be calculated pro rata, on the basis of the certified percentage of full-time hours worked. Maternity leave / parental leave / leave for adoption is taken into consideration if it is in the framework of a work contract. PhDs are assimilated to professional experience, even when unpaid, but for a duration of three years maximum, provided that the PhD has been successfully completed. A given period may be counted only once.

(3)  In their curriculum vitae, candidates should clearly indicate for all years during which management experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of management positions held; (2) numbers of staff overseen in these positions; (3) the size of budgets managed; (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below; and (5) number of peers.

(4)  EEC Council: Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community (OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01958R0001-20130701).

(5)  Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385/62, consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20260101:EN:PDF).

(6)  Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385/62, consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20260101:EN:PDF).

(7)  
            https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/d30847ac-43c6-4048-8970-f80683c3e706_en?filename=compilation-of-the-senior-official-policy-at-the-european-commission_en.pdf (document only exists in English).

(8)  Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385/62, consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20260101:EN:PDF).

(9)  The correction coefficient applicable to the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union for the Netherlands is set at 113,2 % as from 1 July 2025. This coefficient is subject to an annual revision.

(10)  Regulation (EU) 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) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj).

(11)  You can find information on how to create your Europass CV online at: https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/994/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)