Interpreter - in the Bulgarian Unit

Directorate-General for Interpretation (DG SCIC) of the European Commission

Selection reference: SCIC/COM/2026/2319 and 2321

Domain: Interpretation

Where: Unit SCIC.A. BG (Bulgarian) Interpretation), Brussels

Staff category and Function Group: Temporary agent 2b – Administrator

Grade range: AD5-7

Publication deadline: 11.11.2026 - 12.00 (Brussels time)

WE ARE

The Directorate-General for interpretation provides quality interpretation in meetings organised by the Commission and the other Institutions it serves and is the domain leader for meeting room and conference management. It aims to facilitate the EU's democratic decision-making through multilingual communication and supporting the well-functioning of Commission meetings and conferences. The Directorate A-Interpreters is responsible for providing quality interpretation in meetings serviced by DG SCIC and for participating in the conception and practical implementation of the DG's policies. The Directorate works on quality assurance, HR management of staff interpreters and ACIs, fostering actions in favour of the next generation of interpreters, awareness raising efforts, liaising with national stakeholders and collaborates with other Directorates and external stakeholders to achieve its goals.

WE PROPOSE

The Bulgarian Interpretation unit of DG SCIC is seeking to hire 2 interpreters.

The position will consist of the following:

• To provide high-quality interpreting into the active working languages at the meetings to which the job holder is assigned, including hybrid and fully online meetings, and to perform all related activities.
• To carry out tasks of quality assessment at the request of the Head of Unit.
• To undertake tasks relating to interpretation tests and the professional development of interpreters at the request of the Head of Unit.
• To expand one's language combination in accordance with service priority needs as well as

personal development goals.

• To enhance one's thematic and terminological knowledge.

WE LOOK FOR

We are looking for 2 interpreters for the Bulgarian Interpretation unit.

Candidates must have:

1) successfully completed at least four years of training as a conference interpreter and obtained the relevant university-level qualification,

or

2) successfully completed a full course of university education lasting at least three years and obtained a degree AND successfully completed training as a conference interpreter and obtained the relevant qualification,

or

3) successfully completed a full course of university education lasting at least three years and obtained a degree AND have one year's proven experience working as a conference interpreter,

AND

4) be accredited as conference interpreters in the interinstitutional list of ACIs working for the European Institutions or demonstrate experience of working as conference interpreter in a European Institution.

A necessary selection criterion for the post is the minimum language profile, which is either:

A: Bulgarian

B: English, French or German

Or

A: Bulgarian

C1: English, German, French, Spanish

C2: English, German, French, Spanish

Language A: Your main language (mother tongue or an exact equivalent), of which you have a perfect command and into which you work from all your passive languages, both simultaneously and consecutively;

Language B: Although not your main language, a language of which you have a full command and into which you interpret from language A, either simultaneously or consecutively;

Language C: Language from which you interpret and which you understand fully.

The European Commission promotes a digital, paperless working environment and therefore requires proficiency in job-specific IT tools.

For a significant number of the meetings serviced by DG SCIC, security cleared interpreters are needed. For this reason, once recruited, successful candidates must undergo a security clearance procedure upon taking up the post.

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 SCIC-TA-INTERPRETER-APPLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu and to Yuliyana.GIBSON@ec.europa.eu indicating the selection reference SCIC/COM/2026/2319 and SCIC/COM/2026/2321 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.

ANNEX 1. Selection

➤ Am I eligible to apply?

You must meet the following eligibility criteria when you validate your application:

Our rules provide that you can only be recruited as a temporary agent at the European Commission if you:

General criteria:

• Are a citizen of a Member State of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service
• Are physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post
• Produce the appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the duties.

Qualifications:

In order to be recruited for this position, you must have at least a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least 3 years attested by a diploma.

Only qualifications issued or recognised as equivalent by EU Member State authorities (e.g. by the Ministry of Education) will be accepted. Furthermore, before recruitment, you will be required to provide the documents that corroborate the eligibility criteria (diplomas, certificates and other supporting documents).

Languages:

• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1) of one of the 24 official languages of the EU²
• AND a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2) of a second official language of the EU, to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.³

² The official languages of the European Union are: BG (Bulgarian), CS (Czech), DA (Danish), DE (German), EL (Greek), EN (English), ES (Spanish), ET (Estonian), FI (Finnish), FR (French), GA (Irish), HR (Croatian), HU (Hungarian), IT (Italian), LT (Lithuanian), LV (Latvian), MT (Maltese), NL (Dutch), PL (Polish), PT (Portuguese), RO (Romanian), SK (Slovak), SL (Slovenian), SV (Swedish).

³ For accredited freelance interpreters, the accredited language combination is deemed to correspond to this criterion.

➤ What about the selection steps?

The post was published internally within the Commission, inter-institutionally, and brought to the attention of competition laureates.

In accordance with Article 29 of the Staff Regulations, applications from Commission officials, officials from other Institutions, and laureates of competitions have priority$^{4}$. If these candidates do not best fit the requirements for the position, the Commission can recruit a temporary agent.

A selection panel will choose a limited number of candidates for interview, based on the CV and application form that they submitted. Due to the large volume of applications, we may receive, only candidates selected for the next step of the selection phase will be notified.

For operational reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates and of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in English/French and possibly in another language.

2. Recruitment

The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements made in their application.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a mandatory pre-recruitment medical check-up, carried out by the Commission. Candidates are required to undergo a security vetting that is conducted with the national administration of the Member State.

➤ Type of contract and working conditions

The place of employment will be Brussels.

In case the successful candidate is not an official or a competition laureate, they will be recruited as a temporary agent under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, in function group AD.

➤ Grade

The recruitment grade, as well as the step in that grade, will be determined in accordance with Commission Decision C(2025)4716 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents and with Commission Decision C(2013)8970 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in step on engagement.

The recruitment grade will be calculated based on the qualifications and the number of years of professional experience, according to Art. 13 of the Commission Decision C(2025)4716. Higher grades may be granted exceptionally.

The duration of the 1$^{st}$ contract will be up to 4 years. The contract might then be extended only once for a maximum of 2 years and in the interest of service, in accordance with Commission Decision C(2025)4716 on policies for the engagement and use of temporary agents.

All new staff have to successfully complete a 9-month probationary period.

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances, including, where applicable, expatriation and family allowances. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. As a member of staff of the European institutions, your pay is subject to a tax raised by those institutions.

The European Commission applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations.

Should you need further information on working conditions, please refer to Working conditions and benefits of EU Careers.

For information related to Data Protection, please see the Specific Privacy Statement under “7. Information to data subjects on their rights”, to find your rights and how to exercise them in addition to the privacy statement, which summarises the processing of your data.