| Post: | EMSA/CA/2026/07 - Support Specialist - Learning Services and Capacity Building |
| Directorate/Unit: | Unit 1.3: Capacity Building |
| Type of post: | Contractual Agent |
| Function group: | III |
| Location: | Lisbon |
| Closing date for applications: | 30 September 2026 |
The selection of candidates will follow the EMSA Staff Recruitment Procedure. Candidates must apply for this post via the EMSA website http://www.emsa.europa.eu - vacancies. Please note that to make an EMSA on-line application you will need to create your EMSA profile using a valid e-mail address and a password.
The European Maritime Safety Agency was established for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety that aims at a maximum reduction of accidents, a high, uniform and effective level of maritime security, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and the environmental sustainability of the maritime sector as well as the prevention of and response to pollution caused by ships and the response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations. The Agency supports digitalisation and the reduction of the administrative burden in the maritime sector by facilitating the electronic transmission of data and supports simplification and the provision of integrated maritime surveillance and maritime situational awareness systems and services to the European Commission and the Member States.
The Agency was established by Regulation (EU) 2025/2434 of the European Parliament and of the European Council of 26 November 2025 on the European Maritime Safety Agency and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002.
The Agency provides technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission and Member States in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of, and response to, pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.
The Agency also contributes to the overall efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport and supports European cooperation on coastguard functions.
EMSA's activities can be broadly described as:
Unit 1.3 is responsible for activities supporting the professional development and training of staff from competent authorities carrying out Flag, Port and Coastal State responsibilities.
It hosts the EMSA Academy and provides technical assistance to Member States, Enlargement and Neighbouring countries.
The Unit is responsible for the designing, developing, keeping up to date and delivering of structured and modular training programs for the benefit of officials from Member States, other EU Agencies, ENP and IPA Countries. This includes, but is not limited to, the management of tools, the development and continuous update of relevant curricula and syllabi, the development and delivery of eLearning and online courses, the development of simulated ship inspections using Virtual Reality, and the assessment and certification of individuals following agreed methodologies. The Unit provides also technical assistance to pre, during and post audit phase for IMSAS audits.
The unit is also responsible for the eLaboratory which is the EMSA Academy's dedicated facility for producing audio-visual learning material and support innovative training delivery.
It manages the Projects having as beneficiaries the ENP Countries in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Black and Caspian Sea in the fields falling under the mandate of the Agency.
The 'Support Specialist - Learning Services and Capacity Building', under the responsibility of the Head of Unit for 'Capacity Building'; will be responsible for the following tasks:
It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another European Union Member State, are not eligible.
Only qualifications that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are subject to the equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the EU Member States will be taken into consideration. Please note, that degrees awarded by the United Kingdom up to 31/12/2020 are considered as valid.
Applicants must meet the required eligibility criteria concerning the required educational qualifications and years of experience, as well as the essential criteria by the deadline for this call for applications.
The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Board depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential criteria.
In order to be eligible the candidate must:
The Support Specialist – Learning Services and Capacity Building will be appointed by the Executive Director, upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.
This vacancy notice concerns a Contract Agent position, pursuant to Article 3a and Title IV of the Conditions or Employment of other servants of the European Union.
The initial duration of the contract is three years, with possibility of renewal.
If recruited from the reserve list, the successful candidate(s)will be recruited in Function Group III (FG III). The grade will be determined in accordance with the number of years of professional experience.
The basic monthly salary, before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 July 2025 for the entry grade of Function Group III (FGIII, Grade 8, Step 1) is 3,211.47EUR.
In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, such as an expatriation allowance (16% of basic salary), household allowance, dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Community tax deducted at source and staff members are exempt of national taxation.
Please note that recruitment is done in the first or second step of the indicated grade, depending on the duration of the acquired professional experience. EMSA offers a comprehensive welfare package including pension scheme, medical, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance. Further information regarding rights and conditions of employment can be found in the following document.
Please note that in line with the Staff Regulations recruited candidates shall be required to demonstrate before their first promotion the ability to work in a third European Community language.
The place of employment is Lisbon, Portugal.
Candidates are advised that if they are offered a post, and accept, they must undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that they meet the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.
EMSA is an Agency focused on gender balance and a harmonic workplace and strongly encourages the applications of women for the positions where they are underrepresented.
Candidates should ensure that they clearly indicate how they meet the selection criteria in their application and motivation letter.
Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EMSA website within the deadline. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) or submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
All candidates will receive an acknowledgement of receipt for their application.
EMSA is an equal opportunities employer. Staff is selected without prejudice as to sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
You may apply in any of the official languages of the European Union, but it would be helpful to apply in English in order to facilitate the selection process.
For each selection process a Selection Committee is nominated. The selection is carried out in two phases:
1. In the first phase all eligible applications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee and scored against the selection criteria. Please note that non-compliance with at least one of the essential selection criteria will result in the exclusion of the candidate from the selection process. Advantageous criteria constitute additional assets and will not result in exclusion, if not fulfilled. The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Committee depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential selection criteria.
On this basis, the Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 15), on condition that they have achieved at least 60% of the highest possible score during the evaluation of applications. Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 15th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited will be increased accordingly to accommodate this.
2. In the second phase, the selected candidates will be invited to pass one or several written tests related to the job profile and to take part in a selection interview.
During this recruitment phase, the selected candidates will be evaluated by the Selection Committee. After the interviews and tests, the Selection Committee will draw up a list of the most suitable candidates to be proposed to the Appointing Authority. Only candidates receiving at least 70% of the maximum points at interview and at the test phase will be included in the list of the most suitable candidates. The Appointing Authority will select the successful candidate and decide whether to also adopt a reserve list. The successful candidates will be informed accordingly.
Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the selection committee, either directly or indirectly. Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.
Please be informed that the interviews and/or the written tests will be organised remotely. Further information on the organisation of the test and interview will be provided upon invitation.
All candidates will receive an information letter of the outcome of their application.
Please note that a binding commitment can only be made after verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.
If established, the reserve list will remain valid until 31/12/2027, with the possibility of renewal. Therefore, candidates whose name will be put on a reserve list could be offered a contract during this time. Please note however, that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.Please note that the selection process may take several months to be completed and that no information will be released during this period. Once a selection process has been completed, its status will be displayed in the e-recruitment.
Please note that once you have created your EMSA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EMSA profile.
For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to recruitment@emsa.europa.eu
Requests for information:
An applicant who would like further information or considers that he/she has grounds for complaint concerning a particular decision of the selection procedure may send a request by e-mail to recruitment@emsa.europa.eu preferably within 10 working days from the date he/she was notified.
EMSA Human Resources will forward the request to the Chairperson of the Selection Committee and the applicant will receive a reply as soon as possible.
How to lodge a complaint:
An applicant may lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities by email to recruitment@emsa.europa.eu or registered mail at the following address:
Human Resources Unit
EMSA
Praca Europa 4
1249-206 Lisbon
Portugal
The time limit for initiating this type of procedure is three months (see Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations as amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013, OJ L 287, 29.10.2013 from the time you become aware of the act allegedly prejudicing your interests.
Applicants can make a complaint to the European Ombudsman. Before submitting a complaint to the European Ombudsman applicants must already have contacted EMSA about the matter and used all the internal administrative options for review and/or complaints provided for in the Staff Regulations.
More information: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/home
Personal Data protection:
The processing of personal data in the Community institutions and bodies like agencies is regulated by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC.
The Applicant shall have the right of access to his/her personal data and the right to rectify any such data that is inaccurate or incomplete. Should the Applicant have any queries concerning the processing of his/her personal data, (s)he shall address them to the delegated controller of the data, Head of Human Resources Unit. The Applicant shall have right of recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor.For more on personal data protection and related documents see the Personal Data Protection page.
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