Head of Department: Veterinary Evaluation and Innovation Department (V-EI)

Job grade: AD 10 Inter-agency job grade: , Internal EMA job grade: AD08 (with 2 years seniority in the grade) and above Type of position: Temporary agent Selection procedure reference: EMA/AD/11525 Job title: Head of Department: Veterinary Evaluation and Innovation Department (V-EI) Talent Pool: not applicable Deadline for applications: 04 September 2026 at 23.59 CET Monthly net Salary: 9.093,92 Euro (including local weighting) [1]plus benefits Location: Amsterdam; The Netherlands (relocation to take up duties is mandatory)

XX About this role:

The Agency is looking to recruit a Head of the Veterinary Evaluation and Innovation Department, who will provide scientific leadership for the Department whilst leading its operations, people and overall resources, as a senior member of the Veterinary Division management team. The Department acts as the Agency’s scientific centre of excellence for evaluation and innovation of veterinary medicines, ensuring that veterinary medicines are safe, effective and can reach the EU market efficiently. Development of EU and international scientific guidance on quality, safety and efficacy of veterinary medicines used by regulatory networks and stakeholders is supported by specialist teams within the V-EI Department. The Department also provides advice to the European Commission, other EU agencies and international organisations on scientific aspects of veterinary medicines or substances under its areas of responsibility. Communication, diplomacy and negotiation skills are key to bring together decisive outcomes in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders. In this job you will:

• Provide scientific leadership for the Department and contribute to shaping veterinary regulatory science and innovation across the European Medicines Regulatory Network.
• Be responsible for the management of operations, staff and overall resources across the two Services of the department (pharmaceuticals and biologicals).
• Build strategic thought-partnerships with leaders, stakeholders and staff.
• Set and lead the Department strategy in alignment with the Division and Agency strategy and priorities.
• Coach and mentor Heads of Service, staff and teams to deliver business results while paving the way for their growth and development.
• Provide input and actively engage in the strategic planning process and strategic initiatives that are central to the Agency and the Division;
• Translate strategic priorities of the Agency and the Division (e.g. from the EU Medicines Agencies’ Strategy, and CVMP workplans) into concrete Departmental plans/ work programmes by driving collaboration across functions/ services/ offices;
• Provide steering, guidance and operational management on strategic priorities and programmes to the Department and keep the Department well-informed, motivated and accountable;
• Drive timely delivery of management reporting ensuring information from the relevant governance bodies and senior managers is well understood and cascaded;
• Lead and manage matrix activities as necessary (e.g. product teams, ad hoc task forces);
• Take responsibility for ensuring that organizational capabilities, required to meet department’s objectives, are planned and allocated appropriately;
• Establish and oversee departmental objectives and performance indicators; ensure the department delivers objectives effectively and efficiently and that all related activities are conducted in accordance with organisational policies, processes and standards;
• Recognise employees' strengths and value to successfully delegate responsibilities.

Link the full role description of the Head of Department outlining generic duties and responsibilities. Specific duties & responsibilities

The specific tasks of an individual job holder, linked to this role description, are further detailed and referenced in:

• activities of the organisational entity within which the job holder carries out those tasks;
• the set of annual performance and development objectives, which are established together with the reporting officer;
• the requirement to comply with SOPs, WINs, Confidentiality Undertaking and other documentation relevant to the role and its scope. These will be agreed upon with the reporting officer upon assuming duties. Apply if you fulfil 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:

1. Full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway;

2. Thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1 in speaking, writing and reading) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2 in speaking, writing and reading);

3. Fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service.

Specific conditions:

1. Possess a university degree in life sciences of minimum four years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice and 12 years from the time when a university degree was awarded on completion of a minimum of four years of study.

or

Possess a university degree in life sciences of three years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice and 13 years from the time when a university degree was awarded on completion of a minimum of thee years of study.

For general condition 1 and for specific conditions 1 and 2 you will be required to provide evidence in the application form and a proof at the interview stage. Failing to present these documents may result in the disqualification from the selection procedure.

Only eligible candidates will be assessed by the Pre-selection Committee in accordance with the Assessment Criteria below. Eligibility criteria for Internal and Inter-agency candidates Applicable only to Inter-agency and Internal (AD08 and above) candidates

To be considered you will need:

• be a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway
• be an established member of temporary staff as referred to in Article 2(f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. As regards inter-agency publication, Article 9 of the General Implementing Provisions (GIPs) on temporary staff 2(f) shall apply;
• be in grade AD9, AD10, AD11, AD12, AD13 or AD14 or in the case of an EMA temporary agent to be in grade AD08 and have a seniority of at least two years in that grade;
• already occupy a management function or have occupied such a function in the EU Institutions or Agencies.
• possess the qualifications specified in the vacancy notice; You will also need: Experience
• Proficient level of expertise evidenced by 9 years of professional experience in veterinary and/or human medicines’ product development, lifecycle management and regulatory affairs, including relevant professional experience in the veterinary field at the level required to assist, consult with or lead other professionals in this area.
• Proficient level of expertise evidenced by 7 years of professional experience in leadership and management at the level required to lead, manage and guide other managers, multidisciplinary teams and staff within a complex scientific and regulatory environment;
• Experience in financial management and budgeting;
• Experience in managing a complex stakeholder structure within large international organisations.
• Solid understanding of current evolutions in the field of veterinary medicines and the EU regulatory system, including innovations in animal health and relevant horizontal legislation.

Skills & knowledge

• A high degree of competence in organising work, resources and procedures to achieve operational effectiveness.
• Experience and previous involvement in organising and leading high-impact strategic initiatives.

Competencies you need to have: Role competencies

Continuous improvement Intermediate

Managing change and transition Intermediate Core Managerial competencies

Decision-making Intermediate

Coaching and developing Advanced

Collaborative team leadership Intermediate

Inspiring and engaging Intermediate

Relating and networking Intermediate

Talent management Advanced

Visionary thinking and strategic planning Intermediate Core competencies

Ethics and integrity Intermediate

Team collaboration Advanced

Customer centricity Advanced

Results orientation Advanced

Communication Advanced

Cross-cultural sensitivity Advanced

Continuous learning and self-development Intermediate

For more information about definitions of competencies and associated proficiency levels, please refer to the EMA Competency Framework:

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/other/role-description-head-department_en.pdf These are considered nice to have: Education

Master in the field of Life Sciences; alternatively, certificates or diplomas showing attendance of specialisation courses on matters relevant to the role. Experience

Good knowledge of the Agency’s governance and of the workings of the European medicines regulatory network and the EU institutions;

In risk identification and mitigation in the relevant professional area.

Facilitating alignment between IT development initiatives and the operational needs of business teams.

Skills & knowledge

Advanced user of MS Office, knowledge and understanding of modern technology and aptitude to learn other IT tools and systems used by EMA and the EU veterinary regulatory network (e.g. Union Product Database, IRIS).

Certificates

In Management / leadership.

Selection procedure timelines

Deadline for applications

04 September 2026 at 23.59 CET

Preliminary Assessments

09-13 October 2026

Final assessments

09-11 November 2026

Assessment Centre

Early December 2026

Decision expected

End of December 2026

Selection process

The selection process for this position will be executed in accordance with the EMA decision on middle management staff (EMA/MB/299672/2018).

Only eligible candidates (see eligibility criteria) will be assessed by the selection committee.

Note: Candidates who fail any assessment linked to any Need to Have requirement, Core managerial competencies, Role 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 competences will be assessed at each stage of the process. Certain criteria / competences 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 competences assessed at each stage of the process.

Shortlisting

According to Article 9(1)(a) of the IR on middle management, the pre-selection committee using assessment checklists shall consider all applications received having regard to the vacancy notice.

To allow the pre-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 Core Managerial 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 Pre-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

The pre-selection committee will draw up a shortlist of the applicants who best match the profile sought, giving reasons for its choices.

On this basis, shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview with the pre-selection committee. The procedure may include a written test.

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 the EU relevant to role may be assessed.

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.

Please consult the Careers at EMA - Guidance on selection and recruitment (section 1.3.3 selection procedure) for an overview of the criteria and competences assessed at each stage of the process and the type of assessment tools used.

As a result of those assessments, the pre-selection committee will recommend the most suitable candidate(s) to be interviewed by the Executive Director and at least one member of a grade and management function equal or superior to that of the function to be filled. Those candidates shall also take part in the evaluation conducted by the Assessment Centre.

This selection procedure is being conducted to fill a specific vacancy. Following the assessment process, one candidate will be appointed, while 2–3 additional qualified and suitable candidates may be identified as alternates. These alternate candidates may be considered for the position if the selected candidate declines the offer, is unable to accept it, or does not successfully complete the probationary period. However, alternate candidates will not be placed on a reserve list or included in a Talent Pool.

The selected candidate, as well as the alternates, will be informed accordingly of the result of the selection procedure.

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 in order to take up the position and perform the duties of the role.

Successful and selected EMA internal staff currently in grade AD08 (with 2 years of seniority), who do not fulfil the eligibility criterion with regards of years of experience required for the AD10 post (please see eligibility criteria), shall be appointed in accordance with the middle management rules at AD09 level.

[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 113.2. 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

Join us to work for every patient in Europe!

Who we are?

Serving a population of 500 million citizens, we promote and protect public animal health in EU Member States, as well as the countries of the European Economic Area, by ensuring that all medicines available on the EU market are safe, effective and of high quality.

What do we offer?

• Meaningful work contributing to protecting the health of every individual and animal in Europe within multinational, multidisciplinary team
• Development opportunities (e.g. internal mobility, mentoring, peer coaching, career reflection programme, etc.)
• Work-life balance (flexible working arrangements, teleworking, generous annual leave plus official holidays)

Benefits

(applicable only to Temporary Agent and Contract Agent vacancies)

• In principle, initial 5 year renewable contract with competitive monthly national tax-free salary and household & children’s allowances (where applicable).
• Privileges including expatriation (for expatriate staff) and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave.
• Relocation assistance.
• Excellent health insurance scheme and social benefits.
• Retirement Pension Plan.