We are

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) was established in 2002. Its mandate (Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1)) was updated over the years, with a significant broadening of the scope in 2013 (Regulation (EU) No 100/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)) and further actualisation in 2025 through Regulation (EU) 2025/2434 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), as part of the Maritime Safety Package. EMSA provides technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission and the Member States in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, environmental sustainability of the maritime sector, prevention of, and response to pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.

EMSA carries out a comprehensive programme of visits and inspections to support the effective and harmonised implementation of Union maritime legislation. This includes regular visits to Member States’ maritime administrations to assess their capacity to implement and enforce EU requirements, identify areas for improvement and promote best practices. The Agency also hosts a wide range of IT applications and databases that support these objectives.

The Agency conducts inspections of recognised organisations (classification societies) to verify that they comply with the applicable EU standards when acting on behalf of Member States, thereby contributing to the safety and reliability of the EU fleet. In addition, EMSA evaluates third countries’ systems for the training and certification of seafarers, in accordance with the requirements of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention. These assessments ensure that certificates issued by third countries and recognised within the Union meet international and EU standards, thereby safeguarding the competence of seafarers serving on board EU ships.

Complementing these audit activities, EMSA plays an important role in capacity-building and knowledge-sharing. Through the EMSA Academy, the Agency provides a wide range of training, workshops and technical assistance to Member States, EU neighbouring countries and other partners. These activities support the consistent application of EU and international rules, strengthen administrative capacity and promote a common understanding of emerging regulatory and technical developments.

EMSA provides key technical assistance for the continuous development of Union legislation and the joint action of the Commission and the Member States at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). EMSA contributes to ensuring a level playing field, enhancing maritime safety, and supporting the consistent and effective enforcement of EU and international maritime rules across the Union and beyond.

A key area under continuous development – and one of increasing strategic importance – is EMSA maritime monitoring, digital and information services. This includes the development and operation of large-scale systems and platforms supporting maritime surveillance, safety, environmental compliance and simplified reporting formalities (such as European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe) and related systems). The Agency also contributes to European cooperation on coast guard functions, working closely with other EU agencies in the framework of the Tripartite Working Arrangement.

Following the adoption of the updated EMSA Founding Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2025/2434), the area of mandated action for the Agency expanded. This results in a change in priorities and tasks, as for example in the area of alternative fuels or in the requirement to establish a 24/7 monitoring centre. In turn, this requires the Agency to accommodate these new tasks in an efficient and non-disruptive manner.

EMSA is based in Lisbon, Portugal. For 2027, the Agency has a total budget of EUR 119 million and close to 300 staff. The budget of the Agency is due to increase in light of the new attributions of the Agency as per Regulation (EU) 2025/2434.

For further information please consult the following website: http://www.emsa.europa.eu.

We propose

The function of the Executive Director of the Agency.

The Executive Director is the legal representative of the Agency and is accountable to the Management Board.

The Executive Director will lead and manage the Agency and take overall responsibility for its operations ensuring the achievement of the Agency’s objectives.

The Executive Director’s specific responsibilities will include:

—	Achieving the Agency’s objectives and the multi-annual strategy established by the Management Board of the Agency,

—	Developing and maintaining effective and efficient cooperation with the relevant European Commission services, Member States, third countries and stakeholders, as appropriate, in accordance with the Agency’s tasks,

—	Cooperating with the Member States’ authorities responsible for the implementation of the EU maritime transport policy,

—	Cooperating with the Executive Directors of other agencies (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)) in the framework of coast guard cooperation, in particular under the Tripartite Working Arrangement,

—	Responding to requests for assistance from the European Commission or from the Member States in accordance with the Agency’s tasks,

—	Developing the Agency’s profile, including its international activities and, where appropriate, cooperation with industry and civil society,

—	Preparing the multi-annual single programming document, annual work programme and the detailed plans for the Agency’s pollution preparedness and response activities and taking the necessary steps for their implementation, in cooperation with the European Commission,

—	Preparing regularly the European Maritime Safety Report (EMSAFE) and European Maritime Transport Environmental Report (EMTER) and presenting them to the European Parliament,

—	Preparing and executing the Agency’s budget in cooperation with the European Commission,

—	Preparing the annual report on the Agency’s activities,

—	Carrying out the day-to-day management of the Agency. Recruiting and evaluating the Agency’s staff, in compliance with the EU Staff Regulations, while fostering a good team spirit and positive working environment,

—	Preparing and implementing HR strategies, in order to maintain and increase the Agency’s attractiveness as an employer,

—	Develop and implement a communication policy for the Agency to effectively promote its work and engage in communication activities on all matters falling within the Agency’s competence.

We look for (selection criteria)

The candidates should have:

Management skills

—	Excellent capacity for managing a decentralised agency, both at strategic and at internal management level,

—	The ability to meet the challenges faced by a body interacting with multiple stakeholders,

—	Knowledge, experience as well as a track record in the management of significant financial resources in a national, European and/or international environment, including budgetary planning and internal control,

—	A proven track record of managing large teams at a high management level, including the ability to lead, motivate and develop the potential of a team with multinational and multidisciplinary backgrounds; experience gained in a multicultural environment is an advantage.

Specialist skills and experience

—	A good understanding of the European Union Institutions and how they operate and interact,

—	Knowledge of European maritime policy in particular maritime transport policy, and legislation,

—	Proven experience in transport and maritime policies; experience acquired in a national, European or international public administration is an advantage,

—	Capacity to develop a strategic vision for the maritime transport sector and the Agency, including safety, security, digitalisation and environmental sustainability of maritime transport.

Personal qualities

—	Ability to communicate effectively and fluently in a transparent and open manner with internal and external stakeholders, including press, the public, European, national, and international authorities, international organisations, as well as to represent the Agency in external fora,

—	Proven ability to maintain effective working relations with EU institutions, with Member States’ competent authorities and other stakeholders,

—	Solid experience of negotiating in an international environment.

Applicants must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will only be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal requirements to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

—	Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union (4).

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University degree or diploma: candidates must have: — either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 4 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 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 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.

—	Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years’ postgraduate professional experience (5) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in the area of the activities of the Agency.

—	Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high-level management function (6) in a field relevant for this position.

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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (7) 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 five 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 (8)).

Selection and appointment

The Executive Director will be appointed by the Management Board of EMSA on the basis of a shortlist provided 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 (9)).

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 the Agency.

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 the Agency (10).

Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the Management Board of EMSA. The latter may decide to interview the candidates before appointing the Executive Director from among the candidates on the Commission shortlist. Inclusion on this shortlist does not guarantee appointment.

Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above. They could also be required to deliver a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament.

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid security clearance certificate from his/her national security authority. A personal security clearance is an administrative decision following completion of a security screening conducted by the individual’s competent national security authority in accordance with applicable national security laws and regulations and certifying that an individual may be allowed to access classified information up to a specified level. (Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a security clearance can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.)

Until the personal security clearance has been granted by the Member State concerned and the clearance procedure completed with the legally required briefing from the European Commission’s Security Directorate, the candidate will not be able to access EU Classified Information (EUCI) at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE / EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, nor attend any meetings at which such EUCI is discussed.

Equal opportunities

The Commission and the Agency 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 (11) 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 EMSA as a Temporary Agent at grade AD 14 (12). The successful candidate will be classified depending on the length of their previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.

The successful candidate will be appointed for an initial mandate of five years, with a possible prolongation for a maximum 5 years according to the Regulation establishing the Agency, 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 Lisbon, Portugal.

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 (13). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up their duties, the Executive Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests, which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

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 (14), and to fill out, online, a motivation letter (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!

Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application online. You will be contacted directly by the European Commission regarding the status of your application.

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 29 September 2026, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.

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(1)  Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency (OJ L 208, 5.8.2002, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/1406/oj).

(2)  Regulation (EU) No 100/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency Text with EEA relevance (OJ L 39, 9.2.2013, p. 30, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/100/oj).

(3)  Regulation (EU) 2025/2434 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2025 on the European Maritime Safety Agency and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 (OJ L, 2025/2434, 29.12.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/2434/oj).

(4)  Subject to a decision of the Management Board of EMSA to authorise an exception in accordance with Article 12.2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union, if necessary, for the appointment of the (Executive) Director, applications can also be submitted by citizens of the following countries that are members of the European Free Trade Association at the closing date for registration: Iceland and Norway.

(5)  Professional experience is only taken into consideration if it represents an actual work relationship defined as real, genuine work, on a paid 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.

(6)  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.

(7)   http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1958/1(1)/2013-07-01.

(8)   http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1962/31(1)/2025-05-13.

(9)   Microsoft Word – Compilation doc on Snr managers policy SEC_2004_1352.doc (europa.eu) (only exists in English).

(10)  Unless the Member of the Commission concerned, in line with the Commission Decision of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007) 1811) and 30 September 2020 (PV(2020) 2351), has delegated this task.

(11)   http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1962/31(1)/2014-07-01.

(12)  The correction coefficient applicable to the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union for Portugal is set at 92,4 % as from 1 July 2025. This coefficient is subject to an annual revision.

(13)  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).

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