Recruitment notice PE/148/S
Date: 2011-10-14
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: budget policy, foreign policy, job vacancy, supervisor








CA2011303EN.01000101.xml










14.10.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 303/1





RECRUITMENT NOTICE PE/148/S
(2011/C 303 A/01)
The European Parliament has decided to organise a selection procedure on the basis of qualifications and tests for the purpose of establishing a reserve list to fill the post of

HEAD OF UNIT (AD 9)


UNIT FOR FOREIGN AND BUDGETARY AFFAIRS

(female or male)


Before applying, please read the guide for candidates attached to this recruitment notice carefully.




The guide, which is an integral part of the recruitment notice, will help you to understand the rules governing selection procedures and how you should go about applying.


CONTENTS






A.


DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY (PROFILE SOUGHT)










B.


PROCEDURE










C.


APPLICATIONS




A.   DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY (PROFILE SOUGHT)
1.   Introduction
The appointing authority has decided to open the procedure for filling the post of head of unit (function group AD, grade 9) in Parliament's Directorate-General for Communication — Directorate for the Media, in accordance with Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union.
The European Parliament is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.
2.   Job description
On the basis of instructions from the Director for the Media, the head of unit will be responsible for running the Unit for Foreign and Budgetary Affairs.
Based in Brussels (1), he/she will manage one or more teams; his or her duties will include regular travel between the European Parliament's three places of work.
He/she will work closely with the other departments of the Directorate-General to ensure effective and consistent cooperation among the various departments at all levels, and will provide management with timely and appropriate advice and information on issues within his/her area of responsibility.
The job calls for forward-planning and communication skills, the ability to handle information and to identify key issues, and the ability to lead a team.
Particular emphasis will be placed on candidates' ability to grasp a range of often complex problems, to respond rapidly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. Candidates must display initiative, imagination and strong motivation. They must be capable of working intensively on a regular basis, as dictated by Parliament's timetable, both independently and in a team, and adapting to a multicultural and multilingual working environment. Lastly, they must be ready to develop their skills throughout their careers.
Candidates should note that this post is subject to the mobility policy rules adopted by Parliament's Bureau on 29 March 2004.
The main tasks are as follows:
Information and communication






—


Preparing, drafting, publishing and disseminating to the media and the general public information on Parliament's activities and press releases on the work of the committees and plenary and on the other activities of the institution,










—


developing relations with the media and briefing its representatives whenever required,










—


assisting Members in their dealings with the press,










—


organising information seminars for representatives of the audiovisual media.




Managerial and supervisory






—


Managing, supervising, motivating and coordinating one or more teams in order to optimise the use of human resources, whilst maintaining quality of service (organisation, management of human and budgetary resources, innovation, etc.) in the relevant fields of activity,










—


passing on directives, objectives, instructions and information and advising higher management, colleagues and Members of the European Parliament in his or her areas of expertise,










—


devising, drawing up, formalising, proposing, implementing and monitoring objectives and action plans within the parameters laid down by higher management.




In addition to the tasks listed above, the head of unit will be expected to perform the following tasks, more specifically relating to the fields of foreign and budgetary affairs:






—


advising the spokesperson,










—


devising a media strategy to raise Parliament's profile,










—


developing a network of contacts with specialist journalists in the various media, particularly TV,










—


liaising with delegations from non-EU countries and organising media contacts on the spot for them.




3.   Eligibility (profile sought)
On the closing date for applications, candidates must meet the conditions set out below:
(a)   General conditions
Pursuant to Article 28 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, you must:






—


be a national of one of the European Union Member States and enjoy full rights as a citizen,










—


have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service,










—


provide character references appropriate to the performance of the duties concerned.




(b)   Specific conditions
(i)   Qualifications and skills required
Candidates must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma officially recognised in one of the European Union Member States in a field relevant to the job description given in Section A.2:






—


of at least four years' duration, when the normal period of university education is four years or more,
or










—


of three years' duration, followed by one year's appropriate professional experience (2) in an area relevant to the job description, when the normal period of university education is three years or more.




The selection committee will take account of the different education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are shown in the table reproduced in the guide for candidates.
(ii)   Professional experience required
After gaining the qualifications stipulated in Section A.3(b)(i), candidates must have acquired at least 10 years' professional experience in areas relevant to the job description, including three years in a managerial position.
(iii)   Knowledge of languages
Candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the European Union's official languages, namely: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish or Swedish, and a very good knowledge of at least one more of these languages.
For practical reasons, a very good knowledge of English, French or German is required.
The selection committee will take account of knowledge of other official languages of the European Union.
B.   PROCEDURE
1.   Admission to the selection procedure
The procedure will be organised on the basis of qualifications and tests.






(a)


The appointing authority will draw up a list of candidates who have submitted their applications in the form required by the closing date and who meet the general conditions set out in Section A.3(a). This will be forwarded to the selection committee with the application files (for more details see the guide for candidates).










(b)


The selection committee will consider the application files and draw up a list of candidates who meet the specific conditions set out in Section A.3(b).




It will base its decisions exclusively on the information given on the application form and substantiated by the supporting documents enclosed with it (for more details see the guide for candidates).
2.   Assessment of qualifications
On the basis of criteria laid down in advance, the selection committee will assess the qualifications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure and draw up a list of the 12 best candidates, who will be admitted to the tests.
When assessing candidates' qualifications, the selection committee will take particular account of:






—


experience of planning, organising and implementing communication campaigns using various means of communication (websites, audiovisual productions, texts for the general public),










—


experience of journalism, relations with the press and public relations,










—


theoretical and practical knowledge of the various technologies involved in television and/or radio,










—


knowledge of the media in the EU Member States,










—


experience of multicultural environments,










—


knowledge of the European Union and/or international affairs and particularly of the functioning of the European Parliament,










—


experience of management and leading, motivating and coordinating teams,










—


experience of management of budgetary and financial resources.




Marking: 0 to 20 points.
3.   Compulsory tests
To assess the candidates' ability to perform the duties described in Section A.2, the following tests will be held:
Written tests






(a)


Drafting test, in English, French or German (second language — candidates will not be able to take this test in their main language), to test the ability of candidates to analyse and summarise and to draft a press release.
Time allowed: 1 hour.
Marking: 0 to 30 points (pass mark: 15 points).










(b)


Drafting test, in English, French or German, based on a set of documents (maximum 20 pages), to test candidates' capacity for management (knowledge of the rules and regulations applicable to the European Union institutions, notably in the field of personnel and finance, and administrative management skills).
Time allowed: 3 hours.
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20 points).




The six candidates who have scored the highest number of points in the course of the assessment of the qualifications and of the written tests, provided that they have attained the pass mark in each test, will be invited to the oral tests.
Oral tests






(c)


Interview with the selection committee in English, French or German to assess, taking account of all the information contained in the candidates' application files, their suitability to perform management tasks at a European Union institution, working in a multicultural environment. The selection committee may decide to test candidates' knowledge of languages as indicated on the application form.
Maximum time allowed: 45 minutes.
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20 points).










(d)


Group discussion in English, French or German (second language — candidates will not be able to take this test in their main language) to enable the selection committee to assess candidates' adaptability, negotiating and decision-making skills and performance in a group.
The selection committee will determine the duration of this test on the basis of the ultimate composition of the groups.
Marking: 0 to 20 points (pass mark: 10 points).




4.   List of suitable candidates
The list will contain, in order of merit, the names of the three candidates who have obtained the highest overall scores in the tests and have passed each of the tests.
Candidates will be informed individually of their results, and the list of suitable candidates will be posted on the official notice boards in Parliament's buildings.
The candidates on the list will be invited to the standard interviews held as part of the procedure for filling head of unit posts. The list of suitable candidates will remain valid until the post in question has been definitively filled, and recruitment will be at grade AD 9.
C.   APPLICATIONS
Candidates must use the official application form supplied with the recruitment notice and printed in the Official Journal by the Publications Office of the European Union.
Candidates are asked to read the guide for candidates carefully before completing their application forms.
The application form and photocopies of documents must be sent, by registered post
 (3), by 14 November 2011 at the latest (), to the following address:





PARLEMENT EUROPÉEN




Unité Concours et procédures de sélection — PRE 04A009




Procédure de sélection PE/148/S




(this selection procedure reference number must be quoted)




2929 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG




Please DO NOT TELEPHONE to ask about the timetable for the procedure.
In keeping with your responsibilities as a candidate, you are asked to send a fax (+352 4300 27740) or write to the Competitions and Selection Procedures Unit if you have not received a letter concerning your application by 14 January 2012.


(1)  This post may be transferred to one of Parliament's other places of work.

(2)  This year of experience will not be taken into account when evaluating the professional experience stipulated in Section A.3(b)(ii).

(3)  Dispatch by private courier company will be accepted as equivalent to dispatch by registered post. In this case, the date appearing on the delivery form will be taken as the date of dispatch.