EU funds manager to regional development policy officer
An EU funds manager already meets 52% of what the regional development policy officer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
45.7/ 100
1 How much of what a regional development policy officer is expected to do is already part of an EU funds manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the regional development policy officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A regional development policy officer role treats 5 of its required skills as things an EU funds manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- government policy
- government policy implementation
- liaise with local authorities
- maintain relationships with government agencies
- manage government policy implementation
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A regional development policy officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an EU funds manager background worth leading with.
- already held develop interregional collaboration strategies management skills
- already held macro-regional strategy social sciences, journalism and information
- already held advise on eligibility of expenditures communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess administrative burden information skills
- already held state aid regulations business, administration and law
- already held inspect government policy compliance information skills
All 17 carried skills, including the 5 the regional development policy officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn maintain relations with local representatives required
- still to learn advise on economic development required
- still to learn advise on legislative acts required
- still to learn create solutions to problems required
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- still to learn rural development strategies required
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- optional, not held social justice optional
- still to learn perform scientific research required
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held develop economic policies optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a regional development policy officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 maintain relations with local representatives practise this
- 02 rural development strategies study this
- 03 advise on economic development practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held government policy knowledge
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held liaise with local authorities skill
- already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations knowledge
- already held advise on eligibility of expenditures skill
- already held analyse community needs skill
- already held analyse economic trends skill
- already held assess administrative burden skill
- already held carry out strategic research skill
- already held develop interregional collaboration strategies skill
- already held inspect government policy compliance skill
- already held liaise with politicians skill
- already held macro-regional strategy knowledge
- already held project management principles knowledge
- already held state aid regulations knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- optional, not held advise legislators optional
- optional, not held develop economic policies optional
- optional, not held develop professional network optional
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held social justice optional
38 held skills the regional development policy officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role EU law knowledge
- not needed by the target role audit contractors skill
- not needed by the target role audit techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role community-led local development knowledge
- not needed by the target role complete administration skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role decide on providing funds skill
- not needed by the target role develop strategy to solve problems skill
- not needed by the target role follow up the issued grants skill
- not needed by the target role fraud detection knowledge
- not needed by the target role give out grants skill
- not needed by the target role implement strategic planning skill
- not needed by the target role indicators used in EU funds programme operations knowledge
- not needed by the target role inform on government funding skill
- not needed by the target role instruct grant recipient skill
- not needed by the target role internal auditing knowledge
- not needed by the target role leadership principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage government-funded programmes skill
- not needed by the target role manage grant applications skill
- not needed by the target role manage project changes skill
- not needed by the target role manage project information skill
- not needed by the target role manage relationships with stakeholders skill
- not needed by the target role microfinance knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor policy proposals skill
- not needed by the target role national generally accepted accounting principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform political negotiation skill
- not needed by the target role perform resource planning skill
- not needed by the target role prepare audit activities skill
- not needed by the target role procurement legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
- not needed by the target role socio-economic trends in your sector knowledge
- not needed by the target role urban planning knowledge
- not needed by the target role urban planning law knowledge
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn rural development strategies required
- optional, not held policy analysis optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held social justice optional
Common questions about this move
Can an EU funds manager become a regional development policy officer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An EU funds manager already covers 52% of what a regional development policy officer is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 5 of which the regional development policy officer role treats as required.
What skills does an EU funds manager need to become a regional development policy officer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is maintain relations with local representatives.
How hard is the move from EU funds manager to regional development policy officer?
Its learning distance is 45.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.