Seconded National Expert - Communications Officer (G3) ECHA/SNE/2026/002

Telakkakatu 6, Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu

OPEN CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR SECONDED NATIONAL EXPERTS AT THE EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY (ECHA), HELSINKI

Seconded National Experts (SNEs) are drawn from the civil services of EU countries. They bring their unique skills and knowledge to ECHA for a period of time before taking the experience acquired during their stay at the Agency back to their home administration.

ECHA offers job opportunities for Seconded National Experts (SNEs) in the following profile:

Profile Reference Profile Title ECHA/SNE/2026/002 Seconded National Expert – Communications Officer

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE AGENCY’S TASKS

ECHA is the driving force among regulatory authorities in implementing the EU's ground -breaking chemicals legislation for the benefit of human health and the environment as well as for innovation and competitiveness. ECHA helps companies to comply with the legislation, promotes the safe use of chemicals, provides information on chemicals and addresses chemicals of concern.

You will find more information on ECHA and the different Regulations on ECHA website at: http://www.echa.europa.eu

1. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Candidates for secondment must:

• Have current employment in the national, regional or local public sector or international civil service. Alternatively candidates may be employed in a non-profit or voluntary sector;
• Hold a university degree in a field relevant to the areas of work described in this call;
• Be a national of an EU or EFTA Member State or a candidate country as decided by the Council;
• Be able to communicate in written and spoken English as this is the working language of ECHA. 3. SECONDMENT The secondment will be subject to an exchange of letters between the Head of People and Development of ECHA and the applicant’s employer. The duration of the first secondment is a maximum of one year. This period may be renewed for a maximum of three additional years.

Seconded National Experts remain in the service of their employer throughout the period of their secondment. The sending organisation must continue remunerating the SNE, who will thus benefit from social security coverage. During their secondment, SNEs will receive subsistence allowances and reimbursement of expenses as set out in the “Rules on the secondment of national experts to the European Chemicals Agency” (Decision ED-0050).

The SNE Rules

Telakkakatu 6, Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu

1. PROFILE

Seconded National Expert – Communications Officer; ref.: ECHA/SNE/202 6/002

Our ideal candidate is a communications professional with experience gained working in a national authority, national ministry, European institution or European agency. Comfortable in a changing environment, you are adaptable, resilient and have good interpersonal and networking skills. You are curious about developments in your field and communications more broadly. The Unit is responsible for ECHA’s communications activities, including press relations, external and internal communications, social media, digital communications and its website. We focus on delivering professional proactive, clear and strategic communications services, that support the Agency’s activities and promote ECHA’s work and achievements. We support the delivery of ECHA’s mandate, purpose, vision and goals through:

• building, maintaining and protecting ECHA’s reputation by enhancing its visibility and stakeholder engagement;
• promoting chemical safety through science, collaboration and knowledge;
• positioning ECHA as the EU’s chemicals agency;
• ensuring that relevant, reliable and objective information is available for the public and interested parties; and
• optimising communications channels for effective outreach.

JOB DESCRIPTION :

The Seconded National Expert will work in the Communications Unit – G3.

The Communications Officer will contribute to the Unit’s daily interaction with internal and external stakeholders. The jobholder will also be responsible for relations with internal business areas on specific regulatory topics in support of ECHA’s external communications strategy. The role for this profile will be assigned according to the Unit’s needs and the jobholders’ competencies. Duties will include, depending on needs: External Communications:

• Drafting press releases, briefings, speeches etc.;
• Developing content for ECHA’s website;
• Dealing with press queries, interviews and briefings;
• Supporting senior management with media appearances;
• Organising and supporting events for external stakeholders;
• Support the production of webinars and videos;
• Support the management of the Agency's corporate communication channels and social media presence; ,
• Acting as a spokesperson when required; and
• Working with colleagues across ECHA to determine communication priorities and key messages to be delivered to internal and external stakeholders. Internal Communications:
• Cooperating with colleagues in determining communications priorities;
• Content development for ECHA’s Intranet;
• Organising and supporting internal staff events; and
• General support to internal communication initiatives.

Telakkakatu 6, Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu

Project Work

The Unit is responsible for a number of ECHA wide projects, where input may be required, including:

• Building a new website;
• Implementing the new ECHA corporate identity;
• ECHA’s 2027

Conference – 20-21 May 2027;

• ECHA’s 20 th Anniversary 1 June 2027-31 May 2028;
• Chairing the EU Agencies Heads of Communications & Information Network – 1 March 2027- 28 February 2028; REQUIREMENTS :

Successful completion of a full course of university studies attested by a degree, where the normal duration of university education is three (3) years or more.

Of your total professional experience, at least one (1) year must be in a field or fields relevant to the areas of work mentioned above e.g. for example, external/internal communications or stakeholder relations. Only qualifications issued by EU Member State authorities or EEA authorities and qualifications recognised as equivalent by the relevant EU or EEA Member State authorities will be accepted.

SELECTION CRITERIA :

If you meet the requirements set out above, you will be assessed on the basis of the following selection criteria. The candidates who are judged to be the most suitable on the basis of the selection criteria will be invited to a (remote) interview.

The following will be considered as assets:

• Ability to communicate effectively in English at all levels both orally and in writing;
• Experience of working in a communications/stakeholder relations function in a complex regulatory environment; and
• Demonstrated understanding of the link between your current experience, the Communications Officer’s role and ECHA’s strategic priorities.

1. HOW TO APPLY

In order to be considered, applications must:

• Be submitted online, through the Apply button
• Include the following mandatory documents:
• CV in European Format: saved with CV_selection title_your surname and first name http://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17100/europass_cv_en.doc
• Employer Statement: saved with Employer statement_selection title_your surname and first name

http://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17100/sne_employer_statement_en.pdf

• Letter of Motivation: saved with Motivation letter_selection title_your surname and first name

Candidates are requested to submit one application per profile. Candidates applying for several profiles should submit a separate application for each profile. Applications for each profile will be considered and assessed separately.

Telakkakatu 6, Box 400, FI-00121 Helsinki, Finland | Tel. +358 9 686180 | echa.europa.eu

After successfully submitting your application, a confirmation message will appear on your screen and you will receive an automatically generated email as an acknowledgement of receipt, sent to the email address that you provided in the form.

Please contact us at traineeships@echa.europa.eu if you are not able to successfully submit your application.

NB: Applications that are incomplete or do not fulfil the criteria set out above will not be taken into account.

1. ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS

Applicants will be assessed on the basis of their academic and professional qualifications and their relevance to the job. Short-listed candidates will be required to undergo a telephone and/or face-to-face interview. Human Resources will contact the successful candidates and their employers to initiate an exchange of letters between the Agency and the employers.

1. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA The information submitted during the selection process will be used solely for that purpose. The legal basis for the processing is found in the Rules on the secondment of national experts to the European Chemicals Agency (Executive Director Decision ED-0050). The European Chemicals Agency will ensure on its part that applicants' personal data is processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Only ECHA staff directly involved in the selection procedure in question shall have access to this data. For non-recruited candidates the personal data will be stored for a maximum period of two years. Documents related to recruited candidates are kept in the SNE’s personal file, which are kept until 10 years after the SNE has terminated the secondment at the Agency, provided there are no pending claims or any other open issues. Any party submitting personal data to ECHA is entitled to access and rectify that data (after the closing date of the application deadline, rectification is limited to identification data however). To exercise these rights, contact the data controller at traineeships@echa.europa.eu . Furthermore, you also have the right to recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor.