According to the Staff Regulations of European Union civil servants, all permanent EU officials who are in the Assistant (AST) group are categorised into administrative grades ranging from 1-16. For Assistants, this goes from 1-11 where AST1 is the entry level for clerk tasks with little or no work experience and AST11 is the highest level in the hierarchic system for Assistants.
A senior 'executive' assistant, who is the manager of a team comprising other assistants (or even administrators), is usually at least AST5 or higher. From AST3 onwards, a domain knowledge or other specific qualification is required, e.g. for project management, ICT coordination or other types of assistant positions.
See also:
Assistants (AST) | Administrators (AD)
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