Latvia's State Chancellery may have violated law with job posting deadline

Latvia's State Chancellery has announced a vacancy for a consultant position in its Strategic Communication and Coordination Department. According to the job posting, the employee would be responsible for producing the government's digital content, preparing video scenarios, filming and editing video materials, coordinating the development of infographics, and photographing events involving the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers and Chancellery officials. Candidates are required to have higher education, experience in digital communication, video production, photography and professional image editing, as well as English proficiency of at least B2. The monthly salary is set at EUR 1,899 to EUR 2,327 before taxes, plus bonuses and social guarantees.

The vacancy was published on the State Employment Agency's portal on 27 July 2026 and on the State Chancellery website the following day, 28 July. Both postings set the application deadline for 3 August. That gives applicants eight calendar days, counting both the publication day and the deadline day. However, Section 8.1 of the Law on Support for the Unemployed and Job Seekers requires state and local government institutions to publish open competitions on the NVA portal and sets the application period at no less than ten and no more than thirty days from the announcement. The publicly visible dates therefore suggest the deadline may have been shorter than the legally permitted minimum.

Additional questions arose from a LinkedIn posting. The vacancy, identified by number 4443255900, showed a "No longer accepting applications" notice roughly one day after being posted, even though the posting stated documents were due by 3 August. Laura Krastiņa, press secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, said the competition is still active and that LinkedIn automatically closed the listing because the number of applications exceeded the limit allowed for free postings. That explanation, however, does not address why the application period appears shorter than the legal minimum.

The publication expresses hope that the State Chancellery will extend the deadline or rerun the competition. It also notes that if the discrepancy was caused by an error by staff responsible for recruitment and advertisement preparation, there would be grounds for an internal review and accountability.