Jan-Paul Brouwer holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and a Postgraduate qualification in Accounting from the University of Leuven Business School, Belgium.

He began his professional international career as Youth Conference Coordinator at the International Peace Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, before joining Rabobank in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, as a Client Advisor.

In 2000, Jan-Paul became a Policy Officer for a Member of the European Parliament. Four years later, he was appointed Finance and Procurement Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise (DG ENTR).

In 2005, he moved to Italy to join the European Food Safety Authority in Parma, where he served as Finance Officer for Human Resources, later becoming Head of Recruitment. He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Head of Unit for Human Resources & Staffing and Team Leader for Personnel Services.

In 2011, Jan-Paul returned to Brussels as Deputy Director for Corporate Services and Head of Human Resources at the European Defence Agency.

From 2017, he worked as Deputy Secretary General for Human Resources and Finance of the Greens/EFA Group and Administrative Manager at the Office of the Secretary General of the European Parliament.

In 2021, Jan-Paul relocated to Italy to take up the role of Director of Human Resources (CHRO) at the European University Institute in Florence.

In 2024, he transitioned into consultancy and coaching, advising companies, organisations, and individuals on organisational strategy and well-being.

On 1 November 2025, Jan-Paul joined CERN to prepare for his role as Director of Finance & Human Resources, officially assuming the position on 1 January 2026