Type of contract	Temporary Agent (1)
Function group and grade	AD 15
Duration of contract	5 years, with possibility of extension once (2)
Department	ESMA/Senior Management
Place of employment	Paris, France
Deadline for applications	3 March 2026 (23:59 hrs, Paris local time)
Reserve list valid until	31 December 2027

About ESMA

At the European Securities and Markets Authority  (3) (ESMA), we are proud to play a key role in shaping the future of financial markets across Europe. Since our establishment in 2011, we have worked to protect investors and promote stable, transparent, and innovative capital markets.

We are a forward-looking organisation, committed to driving strategic reforms and building the next generation of EU capital markets. Our 2023–2028 strategy  (4) puts a strong focus on integration, accessibility, and innovation – with effective capital markets, strong and consistent supervision and investor protection at the heart of our work. We also actively support the Commission’s Saving and Investments Union (SIU) Strategy  (5) and welcome the European Commission’s legislative proposal on market integration and supervision  (6).

If you would like to learn more about who we are  (7) and what we do, we invite you to visit our website: www.esma.europa.eu.

Job Purpose

The ESMA Chair is a full-time, independent professional, employed by ESMA and based in Paris (France). They are a voting member and a chair of both the Board of Supervisors and the Management Board. In this role, they represent the Authority and provide strategic leadership by defining ESMA’s long-term direction and ensuring the delivery of its key priorities.

The Chair’s term of office shall be five years and may be extended once (2).

Main duties:

The ESMA Chair will be responsible for the tasks laid down in the Regulation establishing ESMA (8), and in particular:

—	Chairing the meetings and setting the agenda of ESMA’s Board of Supervisors and the Management Board;

—	Preparing the work of ESMA’s Board of Supervisors;

—	Acting as the head and external representative of ESMA;

—	Developing ESMA’s strategy and ensuring the achievement of ESMA’s objectives;

—	Fulfilling certain clearly defined tasks and decisions of the Board of Supervisors;

—	Ensuring accountability and representing ESMA before the European Parliament in annual hearings on ESMA’s performance;

—	Preparing ESMA for and leading it through potential future changes in the financial regulatory landscape.

The role and responsibilities are likely to evolve with view to the European Commission’s legislative proposal on market integration and supervision  (9), which includes changes to ESMA’s governance framework.

Who can Apply

To be considered eligible, candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria listed below, by the deadline for submitting applications:

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Have at least a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of four years attested by a diploma (10), and after having obtained the diploma, fifteen (15) years of proven professional experience (11) OR have at least a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of three years attested by a diploma (10), and after obtained the diploma, sixteen (16) years of proven professional experience (11);

—	Be a national of a Member State of the European Union;

—	Enjoy full rights as a citizen (12);

—	Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service;

—	Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union (13) and a satisfactory knowledge (14) of another language of the European Union;

—	Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post (15).

There is no age limit to apply for the position, at the same time the retirement age is 66 (16). With view to the strategic importance of the position for ESMA, it would be important that candidates can complete the first five-year-mandate before reaching retirement age. If a choice must be made between equally qualified candidates, this will be considered.

Requirements for the role

In addition to the eligibility criteria above, the following selection criteria will be assessed throughout the different phases of the selection procedure. Candidates should clearly indicate in their application how they acquired the knowledge and experience allowing them to meet the selection criteria and to give specific examples :

Essential requirements

a)	At least fifteen (15) years of experience relevant for the role (acquired after the required level of education), of which at least five (5) years at a senior position in the area of ESMA’s remit;

b)	Excellent written and spoken English (14).

Advantageous requirements

c)	Thorough knowledge of and proven experience in financial markets, financial regulation and/or supervision/oversight of securities markets at national, EU or international level;

d)	Thorough understanding of the EU Institutions, EU decision-making processes, EU and international activities of relevance to ESMA;

e)	Excellent knowledge of the EU political and legal environment and proven negotiation experiences at EU and/or international level;

f)	Experience in directing an organisation with significant tasks and objectives and steering that organisation to the achievement of its objectives; and

g)	Motivation for the advertised position.

Competences

h)	Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to steer discussions and generate the best possible decisions at strategic and political level without compromising productive working relationships;

i)	Excellent networking abilities and interpersonal skills, including the capacity to deal and negotiate with high level public sector representatives as well as wider stakeholders (such as financial industry and investor representatives) within and outside the EU;

j)	Strategic leadership: strategic vision, decision making and results orientation, change and transformation management, innovation mindset, and

k)	Strong sense of responsibility, integrity, initiative, self-motivation and commitment to work in the public interest and serve the EU as a whole.

What We Offer

—	Impactful work: Change perspectives and shape the future of Europe’s financial markets. Dive in the current dynamic world of the European securities markets regulator and supervisor.

—	Multicultural environment: Join engaged professionals from across the EU, working in an inclusive, diverse, motivated and cooperative international setting.

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Relocating to Paris made easy: — Housing assistance: Reimbursement of a relocation agent to help you navigate the French real estate market. — Language support: Free French language classes in-house (A1-B2) to ease integration. — Schooling: Your children benefit from priority access, free of charge, to the European School in Paris La Défense  (17), offering a multilingual and multicultural education in line with the European Schools curriculum, from kindergarten to the European Baccalaureate.

Please refer to this link to learn more about the practicalities around the recruitment process and the benefits for this position: https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/Chair-Recruitment-Process.pdf.

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(1)  According to the Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) of the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF.

(2)  Under current ESMA Regulation, the term of office of the ESMA Chair shall be five years and may be extended once. The length of the second term is due to be defined in an update to the ESMA Regulation that is currently underway. The probationary period for the first contract is nine months.

(3)   https://www.esma.europa.eu/about-esma/internal-organisation.

(4)   https://www.esma.europa.eu/sites/default/files/library/esma_strategy_2023-2028.pdf.

(5)   https://www.esma.europa.eu/press-news/esma-news/esma-2026-work-programme.

(6)   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2893.

(7)   https://www.esma.europa.eu/about-esma/internal-organisation.

(8)  Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/77/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 84, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/1095/oj).

(9)   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2893.

(10)  Only qualifications that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are subject to equivalence certificates issued by the authorities of an EU Member State shall be taken into consideration. No EU degree? Consult https://www.enic-naric.net/.

(11)  For more information on calculating the professional experience, please consult the ‘Candidates Guidelines’ document published on ESMA’s website https://www.esma.europa.eu/about-esma/careers.

(12)  Candidates invited for interviews will be requested to confirm their character suitability for the position. Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate must provide a police certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record.

(13)  The languages of the EU are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish.

(14)  As evidenced in CV. At least at the level B2, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:

http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr.

Knowledge of the 2nd EU language will be tested orally for candidates invited for interviews.

(15)  Before appointment, the successful candidate undergoes a pre-employment medical check to confirm their physical fitness to perform the duties.

(16)  According to the Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) of the European Union: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF.

(17)   https://ee-parisladefense.ac-versailles.fr/en/.