EURAIL.2026.03 Budget and Finance Controller

EURAIL.2026.03

The Europe's Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-RAIL), based in Brussels, Belgium 

establishing a reserve list for a post of

Budget and Finance Controller 
(Temporary Agent, Grade for external publication AD7, Grade bracket for inter-agency mobility AD5-AD8) 

Please send us your application by no later than 07 June 2026 at 23:59 (Central European Time/ Brussels time), following the instructions in the ANNEX. 

The purpose of this call is to establish a reserve list of suitable candidates which might be used to fill in a vacant position. 

1. About EU-RAIL

The Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-RAIL) is a public-private partnership between the European Union and the rail sector, established by Council Regulation (EU)2021/2085 of 19/11/2021. The EU-RAIL, located in Brussels, is responsible for implementing the EU-RAIL Research and Innovation Programme, funded jointly by the Union and Industry Members of the Rail Sector, with a view to contributing to the European Union's Policy priorities and more specifically the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy of December 2020.
EU-RAIL is the legal and universal successor of Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R JU) in respect of all contracts, including employment contracts and grant agreements, liabilities and acquired property of the S2R JU. The EU-RAIL Programme will last until end of 2031.

For further information, please consult the following website: https://rail-research.europa.eu

2.    Job Description

To achieve such an ambitious Programme, EU-RAIL offers the opportunity to join its professional team and make a difference in achieving a European smart and sustainable mobility and transport, via mission-oriented rail research and innovation. 

We are looking for a confident and committed colleague who will report to the Executive Director. The Budget and Finance Controller will contribute to the strategic decisions of the EU-RAIL and advises the Executive Director and its management team. The Budget and Finance Controller will also directly contribute to the implementation of the EU-RAIL work programmes and budget in compliance with EU Financial Regulation and Horizon Europe.

The role entails :

• a leading role in the budgeting process of EU-RAIL, ensuring the planning, preparation, monitoring and reporting of its annual and multi-annual budget.

• a finance management expertise role, in particular by supporting the Head of Corporate Services in supervising 3 financial officers activities and supporting in the area of verification, ensuring the resilient and efficient financial circuits for a sound financial management of EU-RAIL.

• a supporting role to the management of the Back Office Arrangement on Accounting, for which EU-Rail has a leading role and provide accounts service to 10 Joint Undertakings.

More specifically, the Budget and Finance Controller is responsible for the following activities:

Budget planning and implementation

Coordinate the overall JU budget, the resource estimates plan and monitor their implementation:

·     Draft the annual budget plan and any amending budgets including the preparatory steps with the public and private members of EU-RAIL and in close cooperation with the EU-Rail administrative and the operational units;

·     Support the EU-RAIL teams in establishing their budgetary requirements and in monitoring budget execution;

·     Liaise with Commission services for the implementation of the planned budget (annual contributions / the cash flow planning / clearing reports) and the related amendments;

·     Track the reactivation of commitment and payment appropriations and ensure accurate forecasting of future budgets, including on the budgetary multi-annual planning and update management reports;

·     Draft up-to-date budget forecasts for the EU-RAIL annual and multiannual budgets, using known and unknown variables, and give advice on the implications for budget management and implementation;

·     Define and keep up to date the contribution from the private Members both in term of IKOP, IKAA and administrative costs and manage reconciliation exercises;

·     Develop, implement and document measures for the timely execution of processes and procedures related to private members in-kind contribution planning, execution and reporting, as well as EU-RAIL validation. Ensure permanent reviews aiming to document, rationalise and increase efficiencies of processes and procedures;

·     Support the needs of the EU-RAIL with the creation and maintenance of databases or relevant IT tools for budget management, seeking to automate wherever possible;

·     Monitor and report on the execution of the annual budget including the execution of the allocated shares of the EU-RAIL budget and the private Members’ IKOP and IKAA implementation;

·     Ensure the follow-up of the discharge procedure;

·     Contribute to drawing up of the Annual Work Plans, Annual Activity Reports and providing information for internal audits and the Court of Auditors.

Financial implementation optimisation

Monitor and provide suggestions for further improving the EU-RAIL financial circuits to ensure that financial workflows, procedures and systems are in place to maintain resilience, operational excellence, and providing support to users of the common financial management:

·     Provide financial advice and support for operational activities, applying the appropriate financial processes and procedures, in particular by

- supervising 3 financial officers activities;

- acting as Financial Verifying Agent, performing ex-ante verification of the legality and regularity of budgetary and financial transactions;

- performing analysis, preparation and delivery of strategic and business intelligence reports to the management;

·     Develop a plan and keep overview of status of financial processing in particular of Grant Agreements and Operational tenders, and ensure implementation of the EU-RAIL’s Financial Rules and related procedures;

·     Continuously review and report on business processes in financial management.

·     Ensure a regular reporting to the Executive Director and relevant supervisory bodies, including the JU Governing Board, the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the budget authorities (European Parliament, Council) on the progress of the Programme implementation.

·     Ensure the effective implementation of the Internal Control Standards and follow-up of recommendations issued by the Court of Auditors and promote a risk management culture in the JU.

Back Office Arrangement for Accounting Services

In collaboration with the Head of Corporate Services, support the management of the BOA on Accounting:

·     Plan and organise tasks and priorities for a correct functioning of the BOA team;

·     Act as a liaison between the back-office and the clients’ management teams;

·     Define performance metrics and methodology to monitor and report throughout the year;

·     Ensure that viable options exist for the business continuity of the operations;

·     Advise and support the implementation on enlargement of accounting services, e.g. towards other areas of financial management to further streamline financial processes, pool resources in some regular accounting tasks and automatise budget and financial reporting.

 Perform any other task requested by the line management in the interest of the service.

3.    Eligibility criteria 

Candidates will be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following criteria to be fulfilled by the closing date for applications.

 3.1. General conditions

• be a national of a member state of the European Union;

• enjoy his/ her full rights as a citizen¹;

• have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service; 

• be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post²;

• meet the character requirements for the duties involved;

• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official EU languages and a satisfactory knowledge (at least B2 level) of another of these languages to the extent necessary for the performance of their duties.

3.2. Education 

 Have a level of education³ which corresponds to 

• level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university is 4 years or more,

   

  OR

• a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and at least one year of appropriate professional experience when the normal period of university is 3 years;

3.3. Experience

In addition the all of the above, candidates must

• have an appropriate professional experience⁴ of at least 9 years;

• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the EU and a satisfactory knowledge of a second of EU language to the extent necessary to perform his/her duties.  

Eligibility criteria must be fulfilled by the deadline for applications, and maintained throughout the selection procedure and appointment. 

4.    Selection criteria

Candidates selected based on the above eligibility criteria will then be evaluated according to the following selection criteria:

4.1. Essential qualifications and experience

• Suitability to perform the tasks described in section 2 of this vacancy notice;

• Sound knowledge of the EU Financial regulation and the expenditure lifecycle;

• Demonstrated experience in budget reporting and monitoring, including in particular advising stakeholders or management on risks, planning needs and implementation prospects;

• Demonstrated budgetary/financial expertise and experience in a large and complex project-oriented setting

• Very good knowledge of written and spoken English;

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel.

4.2. Advantageous qualifications and experience

• Proven experience in report automation and data visualisation, with tools such as Business Objects, Microsoft PowerBI and Power Query;

• Knowledge of IT finance and budgetary tools used either in the European institutions such as SUMMA/ABAC or outside, such as SAP etc.;

• Knowledge of the European Framework Programmes  for Research and innovation (e.g. Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, etc.).

4.3. Behavioural competences

• Motivation - open and positive attitude;

• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;

• Excellent organizational skills and ability to define priorities;

• Ability to work under pressure and respect deadlines;

• Sense of initiative and team spirit.

In order to be evaluated in the best possible way, candidates are invited to be as detailed and as clear as possible when describing their professional experience, specific skills and competences in their application form.

5.    Appointment and reserve list

The purpose of this vacancy notice is to establish a reserve list of suitable candidates which may be used to fill in a vacant post.

Candidates should note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget. The reserve list for this post will be valid until 31 December 2027 and may be extended at the discretion of the Appointing Authority of EU-RAIL.

The reserve list might be shared with other Joint Undertakings or EU Agencies to cover a similar position. Should this be the case, candidates on the reserve list will be requested to provide their explicit consent prior to sharing their personal data to any other EU entities. More information on when the EU-Rail processes your personal data is available at the EU-Rail Data Protection & Legal Notices and the Data Protection Register and Privacy Notices. 

6.    Conditions of employment

The successful candidates will be appointed by the Executive Director of the EU-RAIL as a Temporary Agent AD7 pursuant to Article 2f of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union for a period of 3 years. The period of engagement will not in any case exceed the lifetime of EU-RAIL.

The place of employment will be Brussels, where the Joint Undertaking premises are located.

Candidates should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants for all new staff to complete successfully a probationary period of nine months.

Expected starting date: As soon as possible

7.    Information reserved for applicants employed under Article 2(f) of the CEOS, in EU Institutions or Agencies other than EU-RAIL

According to EU RAIL’S GB Decision on 7/2015 adopting the implementing rules on the procedure governing the engagement and use of temporary staff under Article 2(f) of the CEOS, and in particular Article 12 (2), if a successful applicant from this external procedure, on the closing day for applications, as well as on the day of taking up duty at EU-RAIL JU:

• Is a member of temporary staff under Article 2(f) of the CEOS, and

• Is employed within their agency in function group and grade included in the range “AD5 – AD8”, EU-RAIL JU shall offer the applicant, in writing, the opportunity either:

a)     To be assigned to the post by means of internal mobility, as per Article 12 of EU RAIL GB Decision 7/2015 . In this case the contract at EU-RAIL JU will be in continuity with the contract of the previous EU Institution (namely with regard to grade, step, seniority in step, and duration).

OR

b)     In case the eligibility, qualification and professional experience requirements for the grade indicated in this vacancy notice, (AD8) are met, to be assigned to the post on the basis of a new contract (first fixed-term) of three years duration, subject to the probationary period of 9 months, at the grade indicated in the vacancy notice (AD8).

8.    Pay and welfare benefits

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances, including expatriation or family allowances. The provisions guiding the calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants available at the following address: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF 

Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead a Community tax at source is paid.
 

Important Note

Candidates are kindly advised to read the ANNEX that represents an integral part of this vacancy and provides information on how to complete the application, the steps of the selection process and appeal procedures.