GENERAL INFORMATION

Department	JUR.5 Justice / Home Affairs
Place of work	Brussels, Justus Lipsius Building
Title of post	Director
Function group and grade	AD 14
Security clearance required	SECRET UE/EU SECRET
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS	24 June 2025 – 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 the 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, elaboration of compromises, 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.

The Legal Service is the legal adviser to the European Council and the Council, assisting the European Council, the Council and its preparatory bodies, the Presidency and the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) in order to ensure the legality and drafting quality of acts. It contributes, taking a creative approach where appropriate, to identifying legally correct and politically acceptable solutions, in cooperation with other GSC services. To that end, it gives opinions in complete impartiality - orally or in writing, at the request of the Council or on its own initiative - on any question of a legal nature. The Legal Service also represents the European Council and the Council in proceedings before the Courts of the Union. It is responsible for checking the drafting quality of legal acts of the European Council and the Council and ensuring that they are legally and linguistically consistent in all of the Union’s official languages. The constant objective of the Legal Service is to provide timely contributions which are distinguished by their full respect for the law, their impartiality and their clarity.

The Legal Service comprises six thematic Directorates that cover all of the Union’s areas of activity and one Directorate which is responsible for the quality of legislation.

Directorate ‘Justice / Home Affairs’ (Directorate JUR.5) is responsible for files relating to asylum and migration, border protection, judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters and e-justice, police and customs cooperation, fundamental rights, data protection, counter-terrorism, drugs policy, civil protection, cyber issues and hybrid threats.

We propose

The post of Director of Directorate JUR.5 is a challenging position in a politically and legally interesting environment, heading a team of 11 highly qualified lawyers and support staff.

Under the authority of the Director-General, you will manage 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 Legal Service, with other GSC services and with a variety of external stakeholders.

On your own initiative or upon request, you will provide advice and written or oral opinions at high level on legal, institutional and procedural questions to the President of the European Council, the Council, Coreper and other preparatory bodies and the Presidency, to the Secretary-General of the Council and to the GSC in respect of dossiers falling within the Directorate’s remit. You will take part in meetings of the Council, Coreper, and other preparatory bodies, and in briefings and negotiations, with a view to reaching compromises and finding legally correct and politically acceptable solutions. You will represent the Legal Service at Director level both within the GSC and externally. You will also assist and represent the European Council and the Council in legal disputes and, as the case may be, in cases before the Courts of the Union.

You will generally 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, usually within the EU (in particular to Luxembourg and Strasbourg) are required.

We look for

We are seeking a lawyer with an extensive knowledge of EU law and of the functioning and procedures of the EU as well as a good knowledge of the areas covered by the Directorate. Experience in providing legal advice at high level in a politically sensitive environment would be an asset.

All GSC managers are expected to advise their hierarchy and stakeholders, to manage their staff and financial resources, and to represent the GSC. These expectations are set out in the GSC horizontal manager’s profile (1).

Furthermore, the jobholder will need to possess:

—	the ability to think and plan strategically, to anticipate and identify potential problems and to propose workable compromises and solutions,

—	leadership and the ability to promote a strong team spirit and to guide, motivate and empower staff in a multicultural and diverse environment, with a strong emphasis on staff development,

—	a sense of diplomacy, knowing when to be flexible and when to be firm and maintaining attention to detail without losing sight of the overall picture,

—	the ability to promote and maintain good working relationships with a range of internal and external interlocutors,

—	the ability to reach common agreements and goals by providing targeted advice to stakeholders and by effectively and constructively facilitating discussions,

—	the ability to organise the overall work of the Directorate so as to meet critical deadlines and ensure a fair distribution of workload within the team as well as succession planning,

—	the ability to manage change and support staff through change,

—	excellent communication skills, including interpersonal communication skills.

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 (2), — have at least fifteen 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: (1) This post requires security clearance allowing access to classified information (SECRET UE / EU SECRET level). Candidates applying for the post must be prepared to undergo security screening under Council Decision 2013/488/EU (3). Appointment to the post will only take effect on condition that the selected candidate has obtained a valid security clearance certificate. A candidate without security clearance will be offered a temporary contract until the result of the security clearance procedure is obtained. (2) The successful candidate must be prepared to follow the GSC management training programme.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

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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.

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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 July 2025,

—	the first interviews are foreseen to take place in the first half of July 2025,

—	the assessment centre is expected to take place around mid-July 2025,

—	the second round of interviews is foreseen for the beginning of September 2025. NB: The above schedule is purely indicative and can 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 (4).

HOW TO APPLY

The closing date for applications is 24 June 2025 at 12:00 (noon) Brussels time.

Applications will be only accepted by email and must be sent to applications.management@consilium.europa.eu  (5) 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/197/25 JUR.5 JHA).

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 (6): 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 latest the day before the first interview, may be considered as ground 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 emails 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.

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(1)   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/53279/gsc-manager-profile-en.pdf.

(2)  Article 5(3)(c) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (the Staff Regulations) requires 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.

(3)  Council Decision 2013/488/EU of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1).

(4)  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%3A01962R0031-20250401.

(5)  This email address is linked to a functional mailbox and can only process messages with sensitivity option set to ‘Normal’; emails 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 25 MB. If your email, together with its attachments, exceeds this maximum size, please split your attachments over a number of emails.

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