Head of Finance and Procurement Unit

WHO WE ARE

Money laundering and the financing of terrorism are major concerns for the EU. They pose significant risks to the EU economy, to the integrity of the EU financial system and, even more importantly, to the security of its citizens.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Authority (AMLA) was established in June 2024 as a new European Union body to safeguard the European Union’s financial system and its citizens against money laundering and terrorist financing. It is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and will expand to over 400 staff members by the end of 2027.
AMLA’s key responsibilities include:

Directly supervising selected financial sector entities that operate on a cross border basis and present a high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as indirectly supervising other entities in the financial and non-financial sectors
Supporting and coordinating the activities of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) by, for example, facilitating the joint analyses of cross-border cases, enabling information exchange, providing capabilities, advanced data analytics and managing the FIU.net information system
Complementing EU Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules by developing regulatory and implementing technical standards and issuing guidelines

For more information about the Authority, please visit our website. We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to diversity and non-discrimination.

Are you interested to contribute to our mission? Then see below what it takes to accomplish the role.

YOUR ROLE

AMLA is organising a selection procedure for the function of Head of Unit (Middle Management) in the Finance and Procurement area.

Functions and duties

As a newly established EU agency, AMLA offers a unique opportunity to shape its Finance and Procurement unit. The selected candidate will lead a team of financial and procurement experts and contribute to AMLA’s strategic direction from its inception, in alignment with the Authority’s mandate. This leadership role requires strong managerial skills, deep subject-matter expertise, and a firm commitment to safeguarding the EU’s financial integrity.
As a member of AMLA’s middle management, the jobholder will, under the authority of the Executive Director, be responsible for leading the finance, budget, and procurement teams applying detailed knowledge of the EU Financial regulation and a hands-on experience in finance (financial circuits, budget forecasting, planning, monitoring, control and reporting) and procurement under the EU procurement rules. The successful incumbent will be responsible for ensuring sound financial management of AMLA by applying financial procedures in line with the EU financial rules and regulations.

Key responsibilities for this role include:

Budget Management: Lead the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the Agency’s budget, ensuring legality, regularity and sound financial management in line with EU Financial Regulations and AMLA’s mission and objectives. Provide input and advice regarding fee management.
Financial Oversight: Oversee ex-ante verification of financial operations and ensure compliance with internal procedures and financial circuits.
Procurement Oversight: Supervise procurement activities across AMLA, including calls for tenders and contract management as well as ensuring appropriate quality assurance for all outputs of the Procurement team. Oversee the preparation of the annual procurement plan.
Process Improvement: Standardise and enhance budget, finance, contract and procurement processes and procedures, including tools, guidance and reporting mechanisms to ensure efficiency and consistency across AMLA, in line with the current legal and procedural framework and with a practical, problem-solving approach.
Risk Management and Internal Control: Ensure sound corporate risk management within the area of responsibility. Collaborate with internal and external audit, the EU Budgetary Authorities , ensuring the implementation of recommendations.
Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders according to the established business workflows and in line with management guidelines. Coordinate and liaise with relevant EU institutions in the fields of budget, finance and procurement.
Leadership and Team Management: Provide direction, foster collaboration and support the Finance and Procurement team, ensuring balanced workload, high-quality outputs and continuous professional development.

The successful candidates might be required to perform other duties as necessary under the responsibility of their line manager according to the evolution and development of AMLA’s structure and activities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility criteria

To be admitted to the selection process you must meet the following eligibility criteria on the closing date for application and on the date of filling the vacant post:

Be a national of a Member State of the European Union.
Thorough knowledge (C1 level as per the CEFR [1]) of one of the 24 EU official languages and a satisfactory knowledge (B2 level) of another EU official language for the performance of your duties [2].
Enjoy full rights as a citizen and meet the character requirements for the duties involved [3].
Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by national laws concerning military service.
Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post [4].

This vacancy is published internally at AMLA and inter-agency at the grade bracket AD 9 - AD 14.

Education and Professional Experience:

A university degree (minimum 4 years studies) in management, business administration, economics, finance, accounting, commerce, public administration, law or a related field, followed by at least 12 years of relevant professional experience.

A university degree (minimum 3 years studies) in in the fields mentioned above, followed by at least 13 years of relevant professional experience.

[1] Common European Framework Reference Language Skills

[2] Mother tongue English speakers will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of a second EU language.

[3] An official certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record must be submitted prior to recruitment.

[4] If you are not currently working for an EU institution, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment medical examination at a center we specify.

Selection Criteria

To be considered for the assessment phase you must meet the following essential criteria on the closing date for applications. The following criteria will be assessed during the application screening phase:

At least 9 years of professional experience in financial and/or procurement management acquired in the last 10 years.
Professional experience of at least 5 years in managing or coordinating team/(s) of not less than 7 staff members (for example: Head of Unit, Team leader, Head of Sector or equivalent) in the finance, audit and/or procurement area. Please indicate clearly in the application form the level of responsibility, the size of team coordinated and/or the number of line reports as well as the number of years in each work experience listed in the application under the Section "professional experience".

Desirable Criteria

The following criteria are considered as desirable and may be taken into account during the of applications assessment phase:

Professional experience in an EU Institution, or EU bodies/EU agencies, or international organisations in the area of finance and/or procurement.

DATA PROTECTION & APPEAL PROCEDURE

The information provided in the application form is collected for the purpose of the selection/ recruitment procedure(s) at AMLA. Consult the data protection notice for more information about the processing of personal data in the selection and recruitment process.

If you believe a decision made during the selection process has negatively impacted your interests, you can request a review of your application, lodge an administrative complaint, a judicial appeal or a complaint to the European Ombudsman. You can find more information on the appeal procedure in our Guide for candidates.

CONTACT

In case of questions related to careers at AMLA, email us at careers@amla.europa.eu