Who can apply ?

General requirements

- National of a member State of the Council of Europe.
- Relevant degree, diploma or training (see specific requirements for further details).
- Previous professional experience (see specific requirements for further details).
- Fluency in one of the official languages (English and French). Good knowledge of the second official language required for many posts. Candidates of English or French mother tongue are expected to have a very good knowledge of the other official language. Knowledge of other European languages is considered as an advantage (especially German, Italian, Spanish or Russian).
- Good drafting skills.
- Adaptability to a multicultural and multilingual working environment.
- Ability to work in a team.
- Ability to use modern computer technologies.

Specific requirements

Administrative Officers (grade A1 to A2)

Candidates must hold a university degree of at least a standard sufficient for entry to the senior category of their national civil service and normally possess relevant professional experience. Appointments are usually made in grade A1 or A2, depending on age and experience.

Administrative Assistants (grades B4 to B6)

External recruitment at this level mainly concerns qualified specialists such as computer assistants, information scientists, laboratory technicians, etc. Candidates must have successfully completed a course of advanced secondary education, possess appropriate professional qualifications and usually have at least two to five years' experience in a relevant field of activity. Though chiefly engaged in executive and supervisory duties, the tasks and responsibilities in this category vary considerably.

Secretarial staff (grade B1 to B3)

English or French mother tongue level, very good knowledge of the other official language of the Council of Europe. For vacancy notices requiring mother tongue level of other European languages, very good knowledge of at least one of the official languages of the Council (English/French) is required.
A full-time secretarial college course diploma (UK), a BTS (France) or equivalent (other countries). Previous secretarial experience of at least one year at the time of recruitment; audio-typing and word processing experience.

Translators (category LT)

English or French mother tongue. Excellent knowledge of the other official language. Good knowledge of at least one other European language (preferably German, Italian, Spanish, Russian or another major East European language). Relevant university degree or training. Considerable translation experience.

Interpreters (category LI)

Perfect knowledge and pronunciation of both English and French, plus a very good knowledge of German, Italian, Spanish or major languages of Central and Eastern Europe. Relevant university degree or training. Professional experience of at least six months in an international organisation.

Technical staff (grade C1 to C6)

Staff in this category is normally recruited locally and relevant competitions are organised as and when required. In recent years, recruitment opportunities to this category have been extremely limited.

Additional requirements applicable to particular posts are described in the relevant Vacancy Notices.

List of current vacancies