Legal and Compliance Officer
Job grade: FGIV
Internal job grade: FGIV
Type of position: Contract agent
Selection procedure reference: EMA/CA/11424
Job title: Legal and Compliance Officer
Talent Pool: Compliance and Legal
Deadline for applications: 20 May 2026 at 23:59 CET
Salary: 4249,97 Euro (including local weighting) [1] plus benefits (see calculators on the right) (based on a full time contract (40hrs/week))
Location: Amsterdam; Netherlands (NL) (relocation to take up duties is mandatory)
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About this job:
EMA is creating a reserve list for a Legal and Compliance Officer role. In this position, you will provide continuous legal support including monitoring, updating and following-up on internal processes while ensuring that compliance with legal, administrative and data protection rules and principles are effectively managed in collaboration with the Legal Department and Data Protection Office.
The Legal and Compliance Officer ensures collaboration and coordination with different departments within the Division, as well as with external and internal stakeholders in the management of multidisciplinary business projects involving procurement and contract management projects.
The main focus of the position is supporting the preparation and drafting of compliance documentation, providing guidance and training to internal stakeholders, and contributing to the implementation of the data protection ''by design and by default principle'' in the establishment of new processes or the redesign of existing ones.
The role equally includes assisting in the compliance assessment of new technologies, e.g. AI, Advanced Analytics tools, and providing support during their selection, development and deployment.
In this job you will:
- Liaise with the Data Protection Officer and the network of data protection coordinators to participate to Agency wide compliance initiatives and assure the division and its internal controller are kept informed and can assure that the relevant compliance documentation is kept "up to date";
- Participate to and support procurement procedures and contractual negotiations with vendors of solutions processing personal data, assuring that, from the technology selection onwards, "compliance by design and by default" is enshrined in the relevant documentation;
- Support the development of digital transformation initiatives, participating as a member of the agile team (the EMA has adopted SAFe as its way of working) to agile ceremonies and events to establish a product development culture with, at its centre, the implementation of the "data protection and compliance by design and by default" principles.
Apply if you meet these eligibility criteria:
To be eligible for consideration for this position, you are required to meet the following general and specific eligibility conditions:
General conditions:
- Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway;
- Have a thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2);
- Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service.
Specific condition:
-
A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice in: Law.
General Condition 1 and Specific Condition 1 will be verified firstly based on the application form and then you will be required to provide documentary evidence at the interview stage. Failure to present these documents may result in the disqualification from the selection procedure.
Only eligible candidates will be assessed by the Selection Committee.
You will also Need:
Experience:
- At least two years of relevant professional experience to the duties and responsibilities outlined in the vacancy notice.
Skills and Knowledge:
- Knowledge of public procurement and data protection frameworks;
- Knowledge of public financial and digital legal frameworks.
Competencies You Need to Have:
Sub-family competencies:
Administrative excellence Intermediate
Governance, legal and control Intermediate
Applied knowledge Basic
Grade competencies:
Adaptability and agility Intermediate
Coping with pressures and setbacks Intermediate
Analysing and problem solving Intermediate
Core competencies:
Ethics and integrity Intermediate
Team collaboration Intermediate
Customer centricity Intermediate
Results orientation Intermediate
Communication Intermediate
Cross-cultural sensitivity Intermediate
Continuous learning and self-development Basic
For more information about definitions of competencies and associated proficiency levels, please refer to the EMA Competency Framework.
These are Nice to Have:
Education:
- Master degree in Law, EU Law, EU data protection law;
Experience:
- In litigations before national or EU courts in relation to EU law, EU pharmaceutical law and/or EU data protection law;
- Professional experience in working with and/or within EU institutions or agencies;
- Work experience in a multicultural environment.
Skills and Knowledge:
- Knowledge of EU AI framework.
Selection procedure timelines
|
Deadline for applications |
20 May 2026 23:59 CET |
|
Preliminary Assessments |
12 June 2026 |
|
Final assessments |
30 June - 01 July 2026 |
|
Decision expected |
early July 2026 |
Selection process
Only eligible candidates (see eligibility criteria) will be assessed by the Selection Committee.
Suitability and qualifications of eligible candidates will be assessed against the assessment criteria and competencies in different steps of the selection procedure.
Note: Candidates who fail any assessment linked to any Need to Have requirement, Sub-family competencies, Grade specific competencies and Core competencies at any stage of the process are disqualified, despite getting points on other criteria.
Before the start of the selection procedure, it is decided which criteria and competencies will be assessed at each stage of the process. Certain criteria / competencies will be assessed / scored only for shortlisted candidates during interviews (and/or tests). Please consult the Careers at EMA - Guidance on selection and recruitment (section 1.3. selection procedure) for an overview of the criteria and competencies assessed at each stage of the process.
Shortlisting
In order to allow the Selection Committee to carry out an objective assessment of all candidates in a structured way, as part of their application, all candidates must answer the pre-defined set of questions based on Need to have criteria and Sub-family competencies.
The Selection Committee will therefore assess eligible candidates using the information provided in the responses to those questions and in their application. When answering a question, you should include all relevant information, even if it is already mentioned in other sections of your application form.
To carry out this assessment, each of your responses will be awarded points (0 to 10). The points are added up to identify those candidates whose profiles best match the duties to be performed as advertised in the vacancy notice.
Only the candidates with the highest total marks at the shortlisting stage will progress to the next stage. The Selection Committee will decide to limit the number of candidates invited to the next stages. Please consult the Careers at EMA - Guidance on selection and recruitment (table on section 1.3.6 Preliminary and final assessments) for an overview of the thresholds.
Assessments
Next steps of selection will include a preliminary assessment. Most assessments will be conducted remotely (i.e. Webex/Teams, remote test, etc.). All assessments are based on the assessment criteria listed in this vacancy notice.
Shortlisted candidates will participate in personality assessments (e.g. SHL occupational personality questionnaire OPQ32) to assess their Core competencies (pass score is 26 out of 100 points and above). In addition, selected Core competencies may be assessed throughout the process.
Additional assessments, such as cognitive (e.g. deductive reasoning) assessments might also be foreseen as part of the selection process. Furthermore, motivation and overall fit for the job and knowledge of EU relevant to role may be assessed.
Please consult the Careers at EMA - Guidance on selection and recruitment (section 1.3.3 selection procedure) for an overview of the criteria and competencies assessed at each stage of the process and the type of assessment tools used.
Reserve list and/or job offers
The aim of this selection procedure is to create a reserve list of qualified and suitable candidates. Each candidate having reached the final step of the selection procedure will be notified via e-mail whether she/he has been placed on the reserve list, and relevant Talent Pool. Candidates should note that the placement on a reserve list and/or Talent Pool does not guarantee an employment offer.
We strongly encourage that candidates do not apply for the vacancies that are at the same grade and the same subfamily as the Talent Pool they have been placed on, as this will not improve their chances of being considered for a vacant post within the Agency.
When a vacancy becomes available, candidates on the reserve list may be contacted for an additional interview.
More information about selection and recruitment (including administrative complaint procedure) at the EMA is available at our careers website.
Conditions of employment
In principle, the Agency offers a five-year renewable contract. Contracts of a shorter duration may be offered to the candidates.
The successful candidate will be required to relocate to the Netherlands to pick up duties.
[1] The local weighting adjusts salaries to the cost of living in the Netherlands compared to Brussels. The current weighting for the EMA's location in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is 114.6. Please consult the Eurostat and Commission websites for more information on weightings.
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Domenico Scarlattilaan 6 - 1083 HS Amsterdam - The Netherlands
Telephone +31 (0)88 781 6000 - Email recruitment@ema.europa.eu
© European Medicines Agency, 2025. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
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