The European Students’ Union is HIRING a new Project Officer!

Are you a value-driven professional passionate about the student movement and advocating for quality and inclusive education? Then apply now for ESU’s position: we are looking for a Project Officer to join our team and implement our work to promote “Equal educational and social opportunities in an open and democratic Europe where students shape a sustainable future.”

The application deadline is 14/09/2025 (23:59 CET)

More about ESU

The European Students Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 43 National Unions of Students from 40 countries and thus represents over 20 million students in Europe. Since 1982, it has represented and promoted students’ educational, social, economic and cultural interests at a European level towards all relevant bodies (European Union, BFUG, Council of Europe, and UNESCO) in the Education sector.

We offer a diverse and multicultural working environment in the centre of the EU district!

About the Position

An experienced, motivated and committed individual to be our next Project Officer. We are looking for a candidate who is passionate about democracy, inclusion and sustainability and wants to make higher education policy-making more understandable and accessible to everyone!

Location: Brussels, Belgium
Starting date: October 2025, exact date to be confirmed
Duration: One-year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension. Employment contract under Belgian employment law with a benefits package. (37.5 hr/week).
The gross monthly salary, according to the Commission Paritaire 329.03 currently applied at ESU, is 2,234.80€, which will be commensurate with abilities and experience, plus attractive additional benefits (transport, food vouchers, per diem during occasional travel, etc.).
Flexibility about home-teleworking some days per week with a 50€ monthly allowance compensation.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

In this role, you will:

Work on the whole project’s cycle (proposal writing, implementation and reporting);
Coordinate and monitor the implementation of the projects under Erasmus+, Council of Europe, European Youth Foundation and other funding streams;
Handle the logistics and all procedures of the projects;
Work on the project’s budget and financial reporting;
Coordinate and organise meetings, conferences, trainings and other project-related events, and prepare the necessary materials, including concept notes, reports, presentations, agendas and minutes;
Act as a liaison between project coordinators and other people involved in the projects;
Regularly report and communicate with the donor institution(s) and/or managing authority.
Liaise with the diverse membership of ESU in matters relating to projects.

The Secretariat of ESU is small, the workload varies according to project cycles, application and reporting periods, therefore project teams assist each other during times of higher workload.

Eligibility requirements and skills/abilities

You are an ideal candidate for this position if you:

Have experience in working in project management for a minimum of a year;

A person who is full of initiative, self-driven, curious, creative, flexible and results-oriented;
Solid project life cycle understanding;
Have a Master’s degree in EU policies, EU law, Project Management or other…
Experience in coordinating and leading a project;
Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and compelling manner;
Good understanding of the functioning of the EU institutions, EU’s political priorities and main policies is an asset;
Understanding of EU Programmes, especially those related to higher education and youth;
Able to communicate information accurately and in a youth-friendly way;
Strong ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team;
Excellent organisational and time-management skills, and the ability to prioritise work, work under tight deadlines and pay attention to detail;
Having background in youth or student organisation is an asset;
Good ICT skills (MS Office, MS Project, Google Drive, etc.);
Proficiency in written and spoken English; knowledge of other languages is an asset.

The position might require travel in Europe several times during the year, fully covered by ESU, and occasional weekends, which would be compensated.

How to apply?

ESU is committed to equality of opportunity and encourages applications from all qualified candidates regardless of sex, age, disability, gender identity, religion, ethnicity or any other direct or indirect type of discrimination.

If you have any question related to the position, please send an email to: louis.brau@esu-online.org.

If you are interested in applying for the position of Project Officer, please send an email to jobs@esu-online.org with the subject line ‘Project Officer – Your Name and Surname’, including the mandatory attachments:

Your CV (maximum 2 pages), Europass is better but not mandatory!
And the application form (in pdf format).

Optional:

A recommendation letter is an asset.

Deadline to apply and agenda:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted to be invited to the following phases of the

recruitment process, which will consist of an interview.

ESU Secretariat must receive all applications by the 14th of September 2025, 23:39 (CET)
Around the 20th of September, shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to an online interview.
Decision and notification shall take place before the beginning of October.
The selected person should start working in the Secretariat of ESU by mid-October.

The selected candidate will need to reside in or relocate to Belgium when the employment contract starts.

Protection of personal data

As the body responsible for organising the competition, ESU ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC. This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data. You can request anytime, by sending an e-mail to office@esu-online.org, to alter, delete your data or information about the data we processed and how it is stored.

For more information, please send an email to: louis.brau@esu-online.org

The Application Form_Project Officer Download