Legal Officer - Policy & Legislative Consultation Unit

Legal Officer - Policy & Legislative Consultation Unit

EDPS - European Data Protection Supervisor

Brussels, Belgium

WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Someone who:

• fits in an informal and friendly yet professional working environment;
• appreciates working collaboratively with other colleagues on a variety of different projects;
• brings their creativity and initiative to the table;
• engages constructively with stakeholders, based on our core values: integrity, impartiality, transparency and pragmatism.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Our job vacancy is in the Policy & Legislative Consultation Unit. The unit is in charge of:

Advising European institutions on data protection matters, in particular in the context of legislative consultation in accordance with Regulation (EU)2018/1725 which lays down the rules for data protection in the EU institutions (EUDPR). This includes in particular advising the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council on legislative proposals, draft implementing and delegated acts, and international agreements that have an impact on the protection of personal data.

Developing and maintaining expertise related to data protection in various areas of EU law, including AI and digital regulation, as well as judicial and police cooperation in criminal matters, interoperability and large-scale IT systems.

We follow related policy developments at national and international level, as well as the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Court of Human Rights.

Contributing and coordinating the EDPS involvement as a member of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the EUDPR. This involves contributing to the drafting of EDPB documents as well as attendance at EDPB plenaries and expert subgroup meetings.

Your main responsibilities will include:

As a Legal and Policy Officer, your main responsibilities will include:

• Following EU policy and legislative developments that may have an impact on the protection of personal data;
• Analysing (draft) EU legislative initiatives and assessing their impact on personal data protection, including compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and interplay with the GDPR, EUDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive 2016/680;
• Drafting and co-drafting opinions, informal and formal comments, guidelines, decisions, reports and othe documents;
• Desk research in data protection, digital policy and related areas of EU law, including relevant case law of the Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights;
• Taking part in the work of the expert subgroups of the European Data Protection Board, including through attendance at meetings and contributing to the drafting of documents;
• Contributing to the Unit's relations with other EU institutions and bodies; representing the EDPS in external meetings, and, where appropriate, in public events.

You may also be required to carry out additional tasks when necessary and in the interest of the service. These activities may require missions away from Brussels.

OUR ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA

Eligibility criteria:

For your application to be considered, you must meet the following criteria by the deadline for submitting applications:

• be a EU Official in the function group ‘Administrator’ and a grade between AD5 and AD12;
  OR
• be a laureate of an EPSO competition for ‘‘Administrators’’.

Selection criteria:

For this job vacancy, we are looking for someone with the following essential and advantageous skills and experience:

Essential:

• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience as a legal officer/lawyer, preferably in the field of data protection;
• Good knowledge of the data protection legislation and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the EU;
• Good knowledge of the structure and functioning of the European Union and of its institutions, the treaties, and other fields of EU law in relation to the position;
• Very good problem-solving skills, combining pragmatism and creativity in proposing possible solutions in ompliance with the applicable rules;
• Proven capacity for analysis and excellent writing skills;
• Demonstrated resilience in view of high workload periods and the ability to respond quickly and decisively in the case of urgencies;
• Very good organisational and prioritising skills in a very varied workload with demanding deadlines;
• Strong ability to work collaboratively;
• Very good level of written and spoken English, which is the main working language of the EDPS and the EDPB Secretariat.

Advantageous:

• Experience in an EU institution, in particular with exposure to external decision-making and legislative processes;
• Proven experience with and knowledge of different areas of digital regulation (such as on artificial intelligence, platform regulation, data governance, consumer protection, telecommunications, and electronic identity) and of sectoral legislation (finance, transport, etc.);
• Proven experience in international cooperation (International cooperation (including international cooperation among data protection authorities and/or intergovernmental organisations, preferably in the area of data protection);
• A clear understanding of the of role of the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection in the development of new technologies and legislation.