Call for expressions of interest for temporary agents for the Directorate-General for Translation

The purpose of these selection procedures is to draw up a list of aptitude from which the respective Language Departments of the above-mentioned Directorate-General of the European Commission will recruit temporary agents as 'translators' (function group AD).

Any reference, in the framework of these selection procedures, to a person of a specific gender must be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of any other gender.

This call and its annexes form the legally binding framework for these selection procedures.

Number of successful candidates sought

• COM/TA/AD/DGT/23 – HR: 20
• COM/TA/AD/DGT/23 – PT: 36

Type and duration of contract

The successful candidates may be offered a temporary contract pursuant to Article 2(b) or 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Union (CEOS) in accordance with the Commission Decision of 16 December 2013 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents (currently under revision).

The initial duration of the contract is four years and may be renewed for a maximum period of two years.

The total duration of the contract will also take into account the relevant provisions in Commission Decision of 28 April 2004 on the maximum duration of recourse to non-permanent staff (seven years over a 12 year period), as amended by Commission Decision C(2013) 9028 final of 16 December 2013 and Commission Decision C(2019)2548 final of 5 April 2019.

Please note that contracts, which may be offered to successful candidates, will be for positions in the European Commission DGT premises in Brussels or Luxembourg.

Successful candidates who are offered a contract of employment will be graded on entry into service in step 1 or step 2 of the relevant grade, according to the length of their professional experience. The basic monthly salaries as an indication, as of 1 July 2022, are:

For grade AD 5:

• Step 1: 5.361,87 €          
• Step 2: 5.587,18 €

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances, including, where applicable, expatriation and family allowances. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.

Successful candidates will be required to translate documents mainly from English into the language of their chosen selection procedure. The texts to be translated, which are often complex, generally deal with political, legal, economic/financial, scientific or technical subjects encompassing all the European Union's areas of activity. Duties may also include revision of translations mainly from English into the language of their chosen selection procedure (both translations by in-house colleagues and by external contractors), contributing to training sessions, terminology work and the development of IT and communication tools. Performing translation and other relevant tasks requires digital skills and intensive use of specific translation-related IT tools.

The job of a translator in the European Commission requires a high degree of adaptability and an ability to deal with a wide range of often complex problems, respond rapidly to changing circumstances and communicate effectively. The successful candidates must be capable of working intensively on a regular basis, both on their own and as part of a team, in a multicultural working environment. They should also be keen to continue their professional training throughout their career.

Candidates will only be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following general and specific conditions that must be fulfilled on the deadline for applications.

Candidates must satisfy the requirements set out in Article 12 of the CEOS, which include:

1) General conditions

• Being a national of one of the Member States of the European Union
• Meeting any obligations under national laws on military service
• Meeting the character requirements for the duties concerned
• Age limit: candidates must not have reached regular retirement age, which for officials of the European Union is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 52 lit (a) of the Staff Regulations).

2) Specific conditions – languages

Article 12.2(e) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) provides that temporary agents may be appointed only on the condition that they produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language.

For the purposes of these selections, candidates must have knowledge of at least 2 official EU languages. In this call we will refer to the languages as:

• Language 1: minimum level C2 (thorough knowledge) of the language of the chosen selection procedure, used for the translation and revision tests;
• Language 2: minimum level C1 (very good knowledge) of English, used for the language comprehension test and the translation and revision tests;

Please note that the minimum levels required above must apply to each linguistic ability (speaking, writing, reading and listening) requested in the application form. These abilities reflect those of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Communication with the candidates who have submitted a valid application will take place in one of the languages they have declared in their application form at C1 level or higher.

Language 1 must be the language of the chosen selection procedure.

Language 2 must be English.

Given that the vast majority of documents in the Croatian and Portuguese Departments are translated from English, candidates are required to have very good knowledge of English in order to be recruited.

3) Specific conditions - qualifications and work experience

• You must have a level of education corresponding to at least 3 years’ completed university studies attested by a diploma.
• You must be able to prove that you have relevant professional experience of 1 year or more.

1) Application process

When completing your application form, you will have to select Croatian or Portuguese as your Language 1 and English as your Language 2. You will also be asked to confirm your eligibility for the selection procedure and provide further information relevant to the procedure (for example: concerning your diplomas and relevant professional experience).

You can complete your application form either in Language 1 (Croatian or Portuguese) or in Language 2 (English).

By validating your application form you declare on your honour that you meet all the conditions mentioned under the section ‘Am I eligible to apply?’ Once you have validated your application form, you will no longer be able to make any changes. It is your responsibility to ensure that you complete and validate your application within the deadline.

Candidates must provide the following documents in their application file confirming the information given therein. Supporting documents must be clearly identified and listed according to the order indicated below. A list of supporting documents must be provided.

1. Application form duly completed either in Language 1 (Croatian or Portuguese) or in Language 2 (English).
2. Copy of a document proving citizenship (identity card or passport); in its original language.
3. Copy of the diploma(s) or certificate(s) of the required level of education; in its original language.
4. If applicable, employment certificates or equivalent documents proving the length of professional experience in its original language. These documents must clearly show the function, the field of activity, the nature of the tasks, the start and end date and continuity of each of the declared periods of professional experience

Final acceptance of the application is subject to presentation of the required supporting documents. If these documents are not received by the deadline for applications, the application will be deemed void.

You must send this information to DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HRec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HR[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) if you have chosen Croatian as language 1.

You must send this information  to  DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PTec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) if you have chose Portuguese as language 1.

2) Pre-selection: Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests

Candidates who validated their application form within the deadline and meet the eligibility requirements according to the data in their online application will be invited to sit a series of Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) pre-selection tests remotely.

Unless instructed otherwise, you must be available on the date mentioned in the invitation to sit the MCQ tests and strictly follow the instructions received. You will be offered only one date on which you can sit the tests remotely.

The Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) pre-selection tests will be organised as follows:

Candidates who validated their application within the deadline will be invited to sit revision and translation tests remotely on the same date as Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) pre-selection tests.

3) Selection: revision and translation tests

Only candidates who obtain one of the highest total marks in Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) pre-selection tests, up to 4 times the number of successful candidates sought for each selection procedure, will qualify for the assessment of the revision and translation tests. Where candidates tie for the last available places, they will all qualify for the assessement of the revision and translation tests.

     1. Revision test (duration 60 minutes): revision of a text translated into Language 1 (Croatian or Portuguese) from Language 2 (English) with the use of candidate’s own non-electronic (paper format) dictionaries. The revision test will be marked out of 80, with a pass mark of 40.

     2. Translation test (duration 90 minutes): translation into Language 1 (Croatian or Portuguese) from Language 2 (English) with the use of candidate’s own non-electronic (paper format) dictionaries. The translation test will be marked out of 80, with a pass mark of 40.

The translation test will be assessed only for candidates who obtain at least the pass mark in the revision test.

Candidates who reach the pass marks in both tests will have both scores added together to constitute the final overall scores. Candidates who do not obtain the pass marks in one of the tests will be eliminated.

4) Eligibility checks

The Selection Committee will check whether candidates meet all eligibility conditions against the data provided in candidates’ online applications, before sending the invitations to the tests. Only candidates who meet all general and specific eligibility conditions will be admitted to the pre-selection stage.

The Selection Committee will check the candidates' applications and supporting documents for eligibility after the assessment of the translation tests in descending order of the final overall scores, until the number of eligible candidates for each selection reaches the number of candidates sought for each selection procedure. Where candidates tie for the last available place, the supporting documents of all of them will be checked. The supporting documents of other candidates will not be checked, even if they obtained the pass marks.

5) List of aptitude

The Selection Committee will draw up a list of aptitude of those eligible candidates who have reached the pass marks and obtained one of the highest overall scores, until the number of successful candidates sought for each procedure is reached.

Where candidates tie for the last available place on the list, they will all be included on the list. Names will be listed alphabetically.

The list of aptitude of successful candidates will be used by the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission for recruitment procedures. The list will be valid for two (2) years and its validity may be extended. Inclusion on an aptitude list does not confer any right to or guarantee of recruitment.

The European Commission endeavours to apply equal opportunities, treatment and access to all eligible candidates.

If you have a disability or a medical condition that may affect your ability to sit the tests, please indicate this in your application form and let us know the type of special adjustments you need.

If a disability or condition develops after you have validated your application, you must inform the European Commission as soon as possible using the contact information indicated below.

Please note that you will have to send a certificate from your national authority or a medical certificate to the European Commission in order for your request to be taken into consideration.

The supporting documents will be examined on a case-by-case basis and where duly justified, in light both of the evidence submitted and of the principle of equal treatment of candidates, special arrangements may be offered within the limits of what is judged to be reasonable.

Because the Commission regularly handles classified documents, DGT translators must have the appropriate security clearance to translate such documents. In the interest of the service, therefore, DGT will hereafter only recruit translators who agree to initiate, if required, a security vetting procedure to get the necessary security clearance. If the applicant is required to initiate the vetting procedure and security clearance is refused for reasons beyond the candidate’s control, the candidate’s appointment may still be confirmed. If the applicant withdraws from the vetting procedure, the appointment will not be confirmed.

The vetting is done by the Member State of which the candidate is a citizen. The procedure varies considerably between Member States and candidates are advised to inform themselves about the procedure before entering the selection.

You must apply online by      

20.12.2023 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.

Your application must be submitted by means of the online application form, following the instructions relating to the various stages of the procedure.

Link to online application platform

Once you have validated your application form, you will no longer be able to make any changes.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you complete and validate your application within the deadline established in the present call for expression of interest.

Candidates must provide the following documents in their application file confirming the information given therein. Supporting documents must be clearly identified and listed according to the order indicated below. A list of supporting documents must be provided.

1. Application form duly completed either in Language 1 (Croatian or Portuguese) or in Language 2 (English).
2. Copy of a document proving citizenship (identity card or passport); in its original language.
3. Copy of the diploma(s) or certificate(s) of the required level of education; in its original language.
4. If applicable, employment certificates or equivalent documents proving the length of professional experience in its original language. These documents must clearly show the function, the field of activity, the nature of the tasks, the start and end date and continuity of each of the declared periods of professional experience

Final acceptance of the application is subject to presentation of the required supporting documents. If these documents are not received by the deadline for applications, the application will be deemed void.

You must send this information to DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HRec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HR[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) if you have chosen Croatian as language 1.

You must send this information  to  DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PTec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) if you have chose Portuguese as language 1.

If candidates are in any doubt about the nature or validity of the documents to be presented, they should contact the secretary of the Selection Committee via the following email addresses:

• for Portuguese TA selection, email to DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PTec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-PT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
• for Croatian TA selection, email to DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HRec [dot] europa [dot] eu (DGT-COM-AD5-TA-HR[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)

Successful candidates who are to be offered a job will, at a later date, be required to produce the originals of all the supporting documents for the purpose of this selection.

Read our FAQ below.