Change and Programme/Project Management Assistant

European Medicines Agency; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 39,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Excellent health insurance

Retirement pension

Job summary

European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is seeking a Change and Programme/Project Management Assistant on a Contract Agent basis. The role combines change management support with project administration and coordination to drive delivery and adoption of organisational changes.

You will work under supervision with project and programme management specialists, sponsors and teams, contributing to stakeholder engagement, communications, learning and adoption activities, and

Qualifications

• General eligibility to work in the EU and English proficiency (C1) with B2 in another EU language.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in change management or project coordination.
• Ability to coordinate meetings, prepare reports and ensure documentation quality.

Responsibilities

• Support change management strategies and plans with the project team.
• Provide administrative and technical support for project planning, governance, and reporting.
• Organise meetings, prepare communications, and assist with training and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Change management

Project coordination

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Type of position: Contract agent

Job Type: 18 November 2026 at 23.59 CET

Job grade: FGIII

Selection procedure reference: EMA/CA/11614

Job title: Change and Programme/Project Management Assistant

Talent Pool: FGIII Change, Programme & Project Management

Deadline for applications: 18 November 2026 at 23.59 CET

Monthly Net Salary: 3864,57 Euro (including local weighting) [1] plus benefits (see calculators on the right) (based on a fulltime contract (40hrs/week))

Location: Amsterdam; The Netherlands (relocation to take up duties is mandatory)

About This Role

The Change and Programme/Project Management Assistant supports the successful delivery and adoption of organisational and project-related change. Working under supervision and in close cooperation with project and programme management specialists, business sponsors, subject matter experts and operational teams, the jobholder helps translate change strategies into coordinated, practical activities.

The role combines change management support with project administration and coordination. It contributes to stakeholder engagement, communications, learning and adoption activities, while also supporting project planning, progress monitoring, governance, reporting and the organisation of project teams and meetings.

In This Job You Will

Change management support

• Support the assessment of the scale and impact of change, including the current and future state, change readiness and the Agency's capacity to absorb change.
• Contribute to the co-creation and implementation of change management strategies and plans with the project manager, business sponsor and project team.
• Support stakeholder identification and analysis, stakeholder engagement activities and the creation and effective operation of change enabler networks.
• Identify and analyse risks to change adoption and potential resistance, and support the development and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.
• Contribute to detailed change impact analyses and translate findings into practical actions.
• Propose and track indicators of change adoption; support reporting, analysis, feedback collection, and follow-up actions.
• Support the development and implementation of communications strategies and plans, including newsletters, surveys, presentations and other stakeholder materials.
• Support learning needs analysis and the design, coordination and implementation of training and capability-building activities.

Project and programme support

• Provide administrative and technical support in an international environment for project or programme planning, progress monitoring, management reporting and governance activities, in line with the Agency’s Agile delivery methodology, including Lean-Agile (SAFe) practices where applicable.
• Coordinate and organise project activities, workstreams and team contributions to support delivery (e.g. digitalisation and business initiatives, and regulatory submission projects) within agreed timelines, resources and budgets.
• Maintain project documentation, plans, action logs, risk and issue registers, resource information, forecasts and other project controls, as assigned.
• Support business design, requirements gathering and process improvement activities within the relevant area.
• Organise project meetings and workshops and, where applicable, relevant Agile ceremonies, including agendas, logistics, materials, minutes, decisions and follow‑up actions.
• Prepare and format project board, steering group and stakeholder communications, using established templates and style requirements.
• Support compliance with quality requirements, formal acceptance of deliverables, maintenance planning and end‑user support arrangements.
• Assist with vendor and service‑provider coordination, maintaining timely, transparent and constructive communication.
• Capture operational information and support cross‑departmental coordination to mobilise resources and implement project activities.

Link to role description of the Change management assistant outlining generic duties and responsibilities.

Apply If 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

• Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway;
• Have a thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2);
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service.

Specific Condition

• A level of post‑secondary education attested by a diploma, or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post‑secondary education and appropriate professional experience of at least three years.

General Condition 1 and Specific Condition 1 will be verified firstly based on the application form and then you will be required to provide documentary evidence at the interview stage. Failure to present these documents may result in the disqualification from the selection procedure. Only eligible candidates will be assessed by the Selection Committee.

Experience

You will need:

• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience appropriate to the level of the role. Experience should demonstrate practical involvement in change management and/or project or programme coordination.
• Experience in coordinating and organising projects, initiatives, workstreams, meetings or workshops.
• Experience in dealing with internal and/or external stakeholders.

Skills And Knowledge

• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
• Ability to draft and format clear communications, presentations, minutes and reports.
• Ability to organise work, maintain accurate records and follow established procedures, templates and quality requirements.
• Ability to analyse information logically, identify issues and contribute to practical solutions.
• Good communication skills, including appropriate professional etiquette and the ability to adjust messages to different audiences.

Competencies You Need To Have

Sub‑family competencies

Managing change and transition Intermediate

Programme and project management Intermediate

Applied knowledge management Basic

Grade competencies

Adaptability and agility Basic

Coping with pressures and setbacks Intermediate

Analysing and problem solving Intermediate

Core competencies

Ethics and integrity Basic

Team collaboration Intermediate

Customer centricity Basic

Results orientation Basic

Communication Intermediate

Cross‑cultural sensitivity Intermediate

Continuous learning and self‑development Basic

For more information about definitions of competencies and associated proficiency levels, please refer tothe EMA Competency Framework.

These Are Considered As Nice To Have

• A degree in communications, organisational psychology, human resources management, business administration, project management or a related field.
• Experience preparing presentations, newsletters or surveys, presenting to audiences, facilitating workshops, coaching or supporting training delivery, particularly in support of change initiatives.
• Experience in institutional, public‑sector, international or highly regulated environments.
• Knowledge of PRINCE2, Agile, SAFe or another recognised project delivery framework, including an understanding of Lean‑Agile ways of working.
• Knowledge of project management and planning tools, including Microsoft Project or Agile planning tools, such as Azure DevOps.
• A relevant professional certification in change management, project management or Agile delivery.
• Experience supporting stakeholder engagement, change communications or the adoption of new processes and ways of working.
• Ability to think creatively, demonstrate curiosity, embrace new ideas, and proactively identify opportunities to improve processes and ways of working.

Selection procedure timelines

Deadline for applications

18 November 2026 23:59 CET

Preliminary Assessments

First week of December 2026

Final assessments

Janaury 2027

In the interest of fairness and equal treatment of all candidates, requests for re‑scheduling of tests/interviews may only be considered in compelling and exceptional circumstances. Such requests must be supported by appropiate documentary evidence.

Selection process

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

Suitability and qualifications of eligible candidates will be assessed against the assessment criteria and competences in different steps of the selection procedure.

Note: Candidates who fail any assessment linked to any Need to Have requirement, Sub‑family, grade specific 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

In order to allow the 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 sub‑family competences.

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 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

Next steps of selection may include a preliminary assessment. 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.

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 EU relevant to role may be assessed.

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 tolls used.

Reserve list and/or job offers

The aim of this selection procedure is to create a reserve list of qualified and suitable candidates. Each candidate having reached the final step of the selection procedure will be notified via e‑mail whether she/he has been placed on the reserve list, and relevant Talent Pool. Candidates should note that the placement on a reserve list and/or Talent Pool does not guarantee an employment offer.

We strongly encourage that candidates do not apply for the vacancies that are at the same grade and the same subfamily as the Talent Pool they have been placed on, as this will not improve their chances of being considered for a vacant post within the Agency.

When a vacancy becomes available, candidates on the reserve list may be contacted for an additional interview.

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 to pick up duties.

[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.

Domenico Scarlattilaan 6 - 1083 HS Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Telephone [phone] - Email [e-mail]

European Medicines Agency, 2025. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

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.

Read more about Contracts and Salary

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• Careers at EMA - Guidance on Recruitment
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