Several entry points exist for joining the European Commission's department for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, depending on your profile, type of employment, and location.
Brussels headquarters
Regular staff at our Brussels headquarters are not recruited directly by ECHO. They are rather selected through the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) with all other candidates for the EU institutions.
Besides permanent positions, EPSO also hires contract and temporary agents, as well as interim staff on a temporary basis for specialised tasks. Detailed information on recruitment conditions, eligibility, and open competitions are available on the EPSO website.
In addition, the Commission recruits university graduates for 5-months long paid traineeships with possible deployment at the department's headquarters. Further information on eligibility, conditions, and application process are available at the Commission's Traineeship Office.
Vacant posts
Programme Officer
Contract Agent FG IV position in ECHO.A.4
Deadline for application : 16/05/2025
until noon (Brussels time)
Field offices
For specific tasks related to the execution of humanitarian aid projects, the Commission recruits humanitarian experts for a minimum duration of 12 months outside of the EU (unless specified otherwise in case of a short term position).
Candidates with humanitarian background are encouraged to regularly visit our list of vacant positions for humanitarian experts here below as well as to register their candidate profile in our Field Staff Management tool (FSM).
The mandatory registration in the DG ECHO Field Staff Management (FSM) database involves 2 steps:
- Creating an account on EU Login Portal and configuring a two-factor authentication in order to access FSM. Use the detailed guide for external candidates.
- Creating a candidate profile in FSM and uploading your information. If you encounter technical issues while editing your profile in FSM, please contact ECHO-DEV-FSM
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (ECHO-DEV-FSM[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Before registering in FSM, please verify that your profile fulfils the DG ECHO minimum eligibility criteria:
- hold a higher education diploma (degree or masters level) or secondary school leaving certificate;
- possess a minimum of 3 years’ professional experience in humanitarian aid and a minimum of 2 years' relevant experience in their chosen areas of expertise outside the European Union and other industrialised countries, other than their country of origin.National of the country where the post is based is not eligible
- a minimum of 5 years' experience of which 1 year outside the European Union and other industrialised countries, other than their country of origin, is required for areas information and communication) or financial and administrative management of field offices;
- be proficient in at least 1 of the following 3 languages: English, French or Spanish;
- possess a valid driving licence;
- only candidates who are citizens of one of the member states of the European Union, nationals of Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland; or nationals of countries eligible for The European Union projects and programmes may apply.
In case of any question related to your eligibility, please do contact: echo-experts-jobsec [dot] europa [dot] eu (echo-experts-jobs[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Vacant posts
Technical Assistant - Administrative Coordinator
Reference number: 2025-11 (to be quoted in all your communications)
Office location: Dakar, Senegal (Regional Country Office)
Position: Technical Assistant - Administrative Coordinator (AC)
Deadline for application: 23 May 2025
Start date: 01 August 2025
Volunteering in humanitarian aid
Are you looking for volunteering opportunities in humanitarian aid?
As from 2022, the European Solidarity Corps opens up to the world and offers new cross-border volunteering activities in support of humanitarian aid operations in third countries.
You can choose between volunteering as an individual or volunteering in teams. To join the European Solidarity Corps for humanitarian aid volunteering, you need to be between 18 and 35 years old and legally reside in an EU country or a third country associated with the programme (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Türkiye, and North Macedonia).