Senior Civil Administrator
A top-grade generalist who designs how public services actually run — budgets, regulations and reform projects across ministries.
Top grade: university degree plus one of the hardest competitive exams, leading policy and management roles. What does this group mean?
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- Typical pay
- €34k–€62k
- Usual education
- University degree (law, economics, political science) + Group A competitive exam
- Outlook
- Competitive to enter, very secure afterwards, with clear progression into senior management of the administration.
A day in the life
You might spend the morning drafting the reasoning behind a new regulation, then defend the numbers of your unit's budget in a meeting with the finance department. Later you brief a director general with a two-page note, and review the legal report a junior officer prepared.
Ways in
- Law, economics or political science degree then 2–3 years preparing the Grupo A oposición with a preparador
- Enter at Grupo A2 (Gestión) and promote internally
- National schools of public administration (INAP in Spain, ENA/INSP in France)
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales
Portugal
Ciências Socioeconómicas
Italy
Liceo classico / scienze umane
Netherlands
Profiel Economie & Maatschappij
Austria
AHS Oberstufe
Belgium
ASO – General secondary
Exams you'll need
The gates between you and this job, and when each one comes.
EPSO competitions
The route into the same kind of work inside the EU institutions.
RequiredOposición Grupo A1
Entry to this post is through the competitive exam for its group.
Skills that matter
Places that hire for this
Administração Pública Central (Portugal)
Vacancies are published in the Diário da República and on the Bolsa de Emprego Público.
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Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
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Ajuntament de Barcelona
Recruits through public competitions across administrative and technical grades.
Ayuntamiento de Madrid
Recruits through public competitions across administrative and technical grades.
Ayuntamiento de Sevilla
Recruits through public competitions across administrative and technical grades.
Ajuntament de València
Recruits through public competitions across administrative and technical grades.
Banco de Portugal
Highly selective entry by concurso público; economics and statistics profiles dominate.
German Federal Administration
Recruits through public competitions across administrative and technical grades.