EC: Auditor

 

External Auditor

Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) of the European Commission

Selection reference: EMPL/COM/2026/2973

Domain: Cohesion Policy, External Audit

Where: Unit EMPL.REGIO.DAC.3, Audit III, Brussels
Staff category and Function Group: Temporary agent 2b – Administrator

Grade range: AD5-7

Publication deadline: 02.02.2026 – 12.00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

The Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL) and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO) have created a Joint Audit Directorate for Cohesion (hereafter DAC, standing for ‘Direction d’Audit de la Cohésion’, in French) by merging their operational and coordination audit units into one entity. The successful candidate will be part of this DAC Directorate. Unit DAC3, to which the successful candidate chosen will be assigned, is in charge of auditing European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF- European Social Fund (ESF), Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cohesion Fund (CF)) in the Member States of Germany, Austria, Lithuania, Netherlands and Belgium. The mission of the DAC audit units is to contribute to the declaration of assurance of the Authorising Officers by Delegation (AOD) of EMPL and REGIO: that they have reasonable assurance that the resources assigned under their responsibility (mainly ESIF) have been used for their intended purpose and in accordance with the principles of sound financial management, and that the control procedures put in place give the necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. To achieve their mission, the DAC audit units ensure that (1) Member States have set up the required management and control systems for the implementation of programmes; (2) which ensure the legality and regularity of expenditure declared to the Commission; (3) when necessary corrective measures are taken to address deficiencies in the management and control systems, including financial corrections to bring the cumulative residual risk of each programme under the materiality level of 2%.

More specifically, the DAC audit units:

– provide quality audit services in an independent and objective manner, based on high professional standards;

– coordinate with the audit units of other Commission services and audit authorities of the Member States for the audit strategy; and planning and the performance of audit missions;

– deliver an annual audit assessment for each programme, covering both annual accounts and legality; and regularity of the expenditure declared by Member States to the Commission;

– contribute to the implementation of a strict policy of warnings/interruptions/pre-suspensions to protect the EU budget.

WE PROPOSE

A post of External Auditor for the audit of the European Structural and Investment Funds’ (specifically ESF/YEI/FEAD/ERDF/ CF) programmes in the Member States. Work consists of:

a) providing assurance that required management and control systems for the implementation of the programmes are functioning properly; follow-up of the conclusions from national audits;

b) supporting the geographical desks of EMPL and REGIO with the relevant audit expertise;

c) accompanying other auditors in Member States for which he/she is not principally in charge of.

The candidate will be required to carry out approximately 3-5 audit missions per year. Missions may be on-the-spot or remote.

WE LOOK FOR

We look for a motivated colleague who will contribute with a relevant expertise to the work of the unit. The candidate should have a solid professional experience in audit, financial management, programme management or legal experience. He/she should also demonstrate a good understanding of audit and/or implementation of the Cohesions Funds, both on the EU and the Member State national authorities’ level. Excellent knowledge of English and very good analytical and drafting skills are essential. Proficiency in German and/or Dutch would be an asset to the unit, knowledge of French is an additional plus.

HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST?

You should send your documents in a single pdf in the following order:
1. your CV 2. completed application form.
Please send these documents by the publication deadline to indicating the selection reference EMPL/COM/2026/2973in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.