VN 25/63 Secretary/Administrative Assistant in the Office of the Director General

Working in the Office of the Director General (DG), this role of Secretary/Administrative Assistant will provide administrative and secretarial support to the Director General and will report to the Personal Assistant of the Director General. The Office of the Director General also provides secretarial and administrative assistant support to the Office of the EUMETSAT Chief Scientist (CS) and the Internal Audit Division (IA).

The Office of the Director General is located within the Directorate. The mission of the Directorate is to support the DG in carrying out the mission of EUMETSAT, to define the EUMETSAT Strategy, to identify emerging technologies and scientific breakthroughs, to manage EUMETSAT International Relations, to deliver internal and external communications services, to provide quality management, as well as to provide guidance and leadership on scientific aspects of strategic relevance.

Duties

• Support documentation management procedures for the DG Office;
• Interact with the Chief Scientist to support the planning and implementation of key projects, meetings, inbox triage and calendar;
• Liaise with the Chief Scientist in the preparation of Delegate Body documents;
• Organise business travel for the Chief Scientist (CS), CS staff and IA staff;
• Prepare and process internal and external post, register correspondence and files in the documentation management system, schedule appointments, archive documentation and maintain the DG contacts’ database and other related administrative tasks;
  • Respond to external telephone enquiries and deal with administrative enquiries from other Divisions/Departments;
  • Prepare and ensure the smooth running of internal and external meetings (virtual and in-person) and external visits;
  • Provide support in the absence of other secretaries in the DG Office.

    LOCATION Darmstadt, Germany

    QUALIFICATIONS

    Full secondary education is required along with relevant secretarial qualifications.

    LANGUAGES Candidates must be able to work effectively in English and have some knowledge of French.

    DEADLINE

    17 December 2025

    Duties

    • Support documentation management procedures for the DG Office;
    • Interact with the Chief Scientist to support the planning and implementation of key projects, meetings, inbox triage and calendar;
    • Liaise with the Chief Scientist in the preparation of Delegate Body documents;
    • Organise business travel for the Chief Scientist (CS), CS staff and IA staff;
    • Prepare and process internal and external post, register correspondence and files in the documentation management system, schedule appointments, archive documentation and maintain the DG contacts’ database and other related administrative tasks;
      • Respond to external telephone enquiries and deal with administrative enquiries from other Divisions/Departments;
      • Prepare and ensure the smooth running of internal and external meetings (virtual and in-person) and external visits;
      • Provide support in the absence of other secretaries in the DG Office.

        Skills and Experience

        • Proven secretarial / administrative experience in a busy multi-lingual/international environment;
        • Excellent typing skills with a high proficiency in the MS Office tools package (in particular Word, Excel, and PowerPoint);
        • Experience in using documentation management systems and SAP (or another ERP system);
        • Experience of arranging and supporting meetings in a hybrid environment using Webex, Zoom, or Teams etc.;
        • Methodical approach with strong attention to detail, excellent interpersonal / communication skills, and evidence of successfully working within a secretarial team;
        • Ability to exercise discretion and confidentiality at all times;
        • Experience in interfacing with senior officials in the context of the organisation of meetings, workshops and other events would be an advantage.
        • Experience on using AI tools would be an advantage.

          Employment Conditions

          The initial contract will be of 4 years’ duration, with subsequent 5 year contracts being awarded thereafter, subject to individual performance and organisation requirements. There is no limit to the amount of follow-up contracts a staff member can receive up to the EUMETSAT retirement age of 63 and there are certainly opportunities to establish a long career perspective at EUMETSAT.
          This post is graded B2/B4 on the EUMETSAT salary scales. The minimum basic salary for this post is EURO 4301 per month (net of internal tax but excluding pension contribution and insurances) which may be negotiable on the basis of skills and experience. The salary scale provides for increments on the anniversary of taking up employment, and scales are reviewed by the EUMETSAT Council with effect from 1 January each year. In addition to basic salary, EUMETSAT offers attractive benefits. Further information, including salary details, is available on the EUMETSAT web site.
          
          EUMETSAT is committed to providing an equal opportunities work environment for men and women.
          Please note that only nationals of EUMETSAT Member States may apply. The EUMETSAT Convention requires that Staff shall be recruited on the basis of their qualifications, account being taken of the international character of EUMETSAT.

          About EUMETSAT EUMETSAT is Europe’s meteorological satellite agency. Its role is to establish and operate meteorological satellites to monitor the weather and climate from space - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This information is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide.
          
          EUMETSAT also operates several Copernicus missions on behalf of the European Union and provide data services to the Copernicus marine and atmospheric services and their users.
          
          As an intergovernmental European Organisation, EUMETSAT has 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.)