Notice of open competition EPSO/AST/117/11
Date: 2011-11-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EPSO, assistant, competition (EU), secretarial staff








CA2011336EN.01000501.xml










17.11.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 336/5





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/AST/117/11
(2011/C 336 A/02)


Are you interested in working for the European institutions?




Does your profile meet our criteria?




Why not apply?




Give yourself a chance to succeed.


The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising a test-based open competition to establish a reserve pool from which to recruit assistants (1).

EPSO/AST/117/11 (AST 1) in the secretarial field


for the following languages:


(EL) Greek, (EN) English, (ET) Estonian, (FI) Finnish, (FR) French, (GA) Irish, (HU) Hungarian, (IT) Italian

The purpose of this competition is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the institutions of the European Union.


Before applying, you should carefully read the guide to open competitions published in Official Journal C 315 A of 28 October 2011 and on the EPSO website.




This guide is an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the rules governing the procedure and how to apply.


CONTENTS






I.



GENERAL BACKGROUND











II.



DUTIES











III.



ELIGIBILITY











IV.



ADMISSION TESTS











V.



OPEN COMPETITION











VI.



RESERVE LISTS











VII.



HOW TO APPLY





I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND












1.


Number of successful candidates per language







EL = 25


EN = 79


ET = 11


FI = 26


FR = 62


GA = 18


HU = 8


IT = 28











2.


Remarks






You may apply for only one of these languages.
You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have confirmed and validated your online application form.

This competition is intended for candidates who have a thorough command, both written and spoken, of the language of the competition (mother tongue or equivalent knowledge). If you do not have such a command, we would strongly advise that you do not apply.





II.   DUTIES
The institutions are looking for people to carry out secretarial tasks within their departments.
The main role is that of director's assistant, specialised secretary, non-specialised secretary, administrative assistant, etc. These tasks, often described as administrative, can vary according to the post. In general, a secretary provides autonomous support to one or several people or units within the institution. A secretary's duties consist of shaping information, transforming it and distributing it.
The tasks are varied and can include:






—


preparing files,










—


organising and coordinating the department's activities (meetings, official travel),










—


document management (receipt, processing, follow-up, and filing of documents and correspondence),










—


preparing, processing, finalising, and checking documents (editing, page layout, formatting, tables),










—


finding, compiling and disseminating information (updating databases, files),










—


in translation departments: receiving, managing, and processing translation requests, in particular preparing, processing, and finalising documents, mainly using translation software, feeding material into and updating translation memories, and typing, page layout, and formatting work.





The general profile of candidates sought by the institutions is described in point 1.2 of the guide to open competitions.

III.   ELIGIBILITY

On the closing date for online applications, you must fulfil all the following general and specific conditions:












1.


General conditions






(a)


You must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union.










(b)


You must enjoy your full rights as a citizen.










(c)


You must have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service.










(d)


You must meet the character requirements for the duties involved.


















2.


Specific conditions








2.1.



Diplomas/qualifications





Either (a)


Post-secondary education attested by a diploma in the secretarial field.




or (b)


A level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, followed by at least three years' professional experience in the secretarial field with tasks that are in the main directly related to the secretarial duties described in Section II.




2.2.



Knowledge of languages











(a)


Language 1







Main language:

Thorough knowledge of the language chosen for the competition from: EL, EN, ET, FI, FR, GA, HU and IT.




and


 










(b)


Language 2







Second language (must be different from language 1):

a satisfactory knowledge of English, French or German.




IV.   ADMISSION TESTS













1.


Invitation to the tests






You will be invited to sit the tests if you have validated your application on time (see Section VII).

NB:







(1)


By validating your application you declare that you meet the general and specific conditions listed in Section III;










(2)


You must reserve a date to sit the tests; this must be done by the deadline notified to you via your EPSO account.














2.


Nature and marking of tests






A series of tests comprising multiple-choice questions to assess your general aptitudes and competencies as regards:




Test (a)


Verbal reasoning


Marking: this test will be marked out of 20
pass mark: 10




Test (b)


Numerical reasoning


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10




Test (c)


Abstract reasoning


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10




 


The aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c) is 10




Test (d)


Professional skills:
accuracy and precision


Marking: this test will be marked out of 40




Test (e)


Professional skills:
prioritising and organising


Marking: this test will be marked out of 40




 


The aggregate pass mark for tests (d) and (e) is 40




Test (f)


Competence in the secretarial field


Marking: this test will be marked out of 40
pass mark: 20










3.


Language of the tests






Language 1 for tests (a), (b) and (c)
Language 2 for tests (d), (e) and (f)




V.   OPEN COMPETITION















1.


You will be admitted (*) to the assessment tests












—


if you have obtained one of the highest aggregate marks (2) in the admission tests (3), and











—


if the information given in your online application shows that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.










(*)



Admission will be confirmed subject to subsequent verification of the supporting documents which you must bring with you to the assessment tests. Supporting documents will be verified for candidates who satisfy the eligibility conditions and who have obtained the highest aggregate marks in the assessment tests, in descending order, until the number of successful candidates sought in the notice of competition is reached.
The files of candidates below this threshold will not be examined.














2.


Assessment tests






You will be invited to sit the assessment tests, normally in Brussels, in a one-day session.
You will be assessed on your specific competencies in the field by means of:






(a)


a practical test (4) involving the preparation and/or processing of an MS Word/Excel document;










(b)


a practical test to assess your drafting skills (particularly spelling, syntax, and grammar).




You will also be assessed on the following general competencies:






—



Analysis and problem solving











—



Communication











—



Delivering quality and results











—



Learning and development











—



Prioritising and organising











—



Resilience











—



Working with others





Details of how these competencies are defined are set out in point 1.2 of the guide to open competitions.
These general competencies are tested by means of:






(c)


an in-tray exercise;










(d)


a structured interview;










(e)


situational judgement.





These general competencies will be tested as shown in the following table:





 


In-tray


Structured interview


Situational judgement




Analysis and problem solving


x


 


x




Communication


 


x


 




Delivering quality and results


x


 


x




Learning and development


 


x


 




Prioritising and organising


x


 


x




Resilience


 


x


x




Working with others


 


x


x










3.


Languages for the assessment tests






Language 1: tests (a) and (b)
Language 2: tests (c), (d) and (e)










4.


Marking






Specific competencies
Test (a): marked out of 20
pass mark: 12
Test (b): marked out of 10
pass mark: 6

Weighting: 30 % of the overall mark

General competencies
Each general competency will be marked out of 10
pass mark:






 


3 for each competency and











 


an aggregate of 35 out of 70 for all 7 general competencies





Weighting: 70 % of the overall mark





VI.   RESERVE LISTS












1.


Candidates placed on the reserve lists (5)







The selection board will place you on the reserve list if you have obtained the pass marks and one of the highest aggregate marks in the assessment tests (6) (see number of successful candidates, Section I.1) and provided your supporting documents show that you meet all the eligibility requirements.










2.


Classification






The lists will be drawn up by language and by merit group (maximum of four groups) and names will be listed in alphabetical order within each group.




VII.   HOW TO APPLY












1.


Online application






You must apply online, following the instructions on the EPSO website.

Closing date: 20 December 2011 at 12 noon, Brussels time.










2.


Application form







At a later stage, if you are one of the candidates admitted to the assessment tests (7), you will be asked to bring with you a full application file (signed online application form and supporting documents).

Procedure: see point 6.1 of the guide to open competitions.






(1)  Any reference in this notice to a person of the male sex must be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of the female sex.

(2)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the assessment tests.

(3)  The number of candidates invited to the assessment tests will be approximately 2,5 times the number of successful candidates indicated in the competition notice and it will be published on EPSO's website (www.eu-careers.eu).

(4)  Details of the keyboards available will be included in the invitation to the assessment tests. Standard European keyboards will be provided.

(5)  The Commission has begun negotiations with a view to amending the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. This amendment may concern in particular the careers and types of post held by officials and other servants. Candidates placed on the reserve list of this competition may receive an offer of recruitment based on the new provisions of the Staff Regulations once they have been adopted by the legislator without prejudice to other consequences of a legal or financial nature.

(6)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be placed on the reserve list.

(7)  You will be informed of the date in good time via your EPSO account.