Detail of the vacancy notice
- Directorate: RENEW EUROPE group at the European Committee of the Regions
- Management: no
- Grade: Temporary staff AD6
- Location: Brussels
- Period: Open ended, with a 9-month probationary period. Expected entry into service: 1st January 2026
- Application: recruitment@cor.europa.eu
Nature of the duties and profile
The qualified temporary agent with responsibility to work as Political Advisor within the Secretariat of the Renew Europe Group will be responsible, under the authority of the group’s president and its secretary-general, for two areas of work in particular: a) preparing the political participation of Renew Europe members in the CoR's COTER commission, and in relation to COTER files in the CoR's plenary sessions, and b) coordinating external impact for our rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs across all policy areas, in particular within the EU legislative institutions.
The main duties are to:
- gather evidence on how the Union is functioning on the ground (successes, challenges, recommendations) and contribute this evidence into policy work of the CoR and of target groups to help EU decision-makers have a better understanding of what is needed from EU legislators;
- help EU/national leaders (especially of Renew Europe) know and understand the Union from the subnational perspective;
- help Renew Europe subnational leaders know, understand, communicate EU objectives to their constituencies;
- Help Renew Europe CoR members and networks understand, influence, and implement EU and CoR policy and operational objectives;
- prepare and follow up the work of Renew Europe Members in CoR commissions and plenary sessions, primarily related to COTER;
- draft political briefings and analyses with appropriate political advice;
- propose amendments and voting recommendations;
- monitor developments in the EU legislative process in relevant policy areas;
- draft speeches;
- maintain relevant contacts in other EU institutions, and in the wider liberal democrat political family, in Brussels and around Europe.
- build on their work as Political Advisor and liaise with the other political staff of the Renew Europe Secretariat in order to coordinate the input in response to requests from external partners such as MEPs and their APAs, or Renew EP policy advisors, but also seeking to identify/create opportunities for input from our side into the work of external partners, such as MEPs, Renew EP Coordinators, European Commissioners and their public consultations, Council presidencies.
Although the above list represents the core body of work, other tasks and responsibilities are to be expected with a view to assisting in achieving the objectives and impact goals of the Group. Furthermore, other duties can be added in line with changing needs of the Group. The successful candidate will be expected to offer advice to the Renew Europe Secretary-General and Members about the Group’s response and initiatives in the policy commissions they are responsible for and will be expected to identify relevant political and impact opportunities arising within the relevant CoR commissions, in the EU inter-institutional process, or the wider Renew Europe political family.
The Political Advisor will assist all Group members in carrying out their duties and will contribute to the good functioning of the Secretariat, including assisting other colleagues, as required. They will also be required to maintain good working relations with counterparts in other political groups and within the administration of the CoR. Good diplomatic skills are therefore a requirement.
The duties of a Political Advisorr in the Renew Europe Group Secretariat require a high degree of availability (frequently heavy meetings schedule, irregular working hours, occasional-to-frequent travel), flexibility, ability to adapt to a changing workload and to tight deadlines, and an ability to work as part of a team in an international environment.
Knowledge and experience:
- a detailed knowledge of EU current affairs, the EU's legislative process and of EU policies relating to at least one of the following CoR commissions: COTER;
- excellent written and oral communication skills;
- proficiency in office IT skills (Microsoft Office, Internet, Email, etc.)
- excellent skills in negotiation and interpersonal relations;
- experience managing multiple simultaneous projects.
In addition, the ideal candidate will have:
- a good knowledge of the EU institutions and how EU policies relate to local and regional authorities;
- a good knowledge of the EU’s political systems and in particular of the European Committee of the Regions and its political aims, as well as the administrative and political organisation of local and regional authorities in Europe;
- experience or knowledge of the organisation, activities and objectives of the Renew Europe family, and be committed to the Renew Europe Group’s values;
- a strong team-player attitude;
- a good ability to adapt to a fast-paced environment;
- a "can-do" attitude;
- very good organisational skills and be able to meet deadlines;
- a sense of responsibility and the ability to work under pressure;
- experience working with local and regional authorities;
- experience working in a multicultural and multilingual environment;
- a positive and constructive attitude towards teamwork and colleagues;
- availability for occasional-to-frequent travel.
Any or all of the following will be considered an advantage:
- a good knowledge of EU budget matters, such as the functioning of the EU budget, of European Structural and Investment Funds, as well as of the annual budget procedure of the EU institutions;
- experience working directly with politicians of the Renew Europe political family;
- good contacts within the Renew Europe political family, including at least one member party of ALDE or EDP.