Notice of open competition EPSO/AD/233/12 — Croatian-language (HR) translators (AD 5)
Date: 2012-06-21
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: Croatia, EPSO, competition (EU), information profession








CA2012180EN.01000501.xml










21.6.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 180/5





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/AD/233/12 — CROATIAN-LANGUAGE (HR) TRANSLATORS (AD 5)
(2012/C 180 A/02)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising the following open competition, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit translators (1) (AD 5).

EPSO/AD/233/12 Croation-language (HR) translators (AD 5)

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.



ASSESSMENT CENTRE











VI.



RESERVE LISTS











VII.



HOW TO APPLY





I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND













1.


Number of successful candidates






Option 1


Option 2




45


25




Successful candidates on these lists will be recruited in both Brussels and Luxembourg.










2.


Remarks






This competition includes two options. You may apply for only one of these options.
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 perfect command (2), 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
AD 5 is the starting grade for a career as administrator — linguistic or other — in the European institutions.
The principal role of linguistic administrators (translators) is to enable the institution or body for which they work to accomplish its mission by delivering high-quality translations within the deadlines set and by providing linguistic advice.
The duties of a linguistic administrator (translator) include translation from at least two foreign languages into their main language as well as revision of such translations and terminology research. The often complex subject areas covered are generally of a political, legal, economic/financial, scientific or technical nature, encompassing all the European Union's areas of activity. Performing these tasks requires the intensive use of specific IT and other office-technology tools.
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 or, under the terms of Article 28(a) of the Staff Regulations, of Croatia, an acceding State.










(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

A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma.




2.2.



Professional experience

No professional experience is required.




2.3.



Knowledge of languages


The official languages of the European Union are:





BG (Bulgarian)
CS (Czech)
DA (Danish)
DE (German)
EL (Greek)
EN (English)
ES (Spanish)
ET (Estonian)


FI (Finnish)
FR (French)
GA (Irish)
HU (Hungarian)
IT (Italian)
LT (Lithuanian)
LV (Latvian)
MT (Maltese)


NL (Dutch)
PL (Polish)
PT (Portuguese)
RO (Romanian)
SK (Slovak)
SL (Slovenian)
SV (Swedish)





The language of Croatia, acceding State:







 


HR (Croatian)










Option 1:




 




Language 1:








—


main language
perfect command of Croatian








Language 2:








—


first source language
a thorough knowledge of one of the following languages:






—


DE (German), EN (English) or FR (French)












Language 3:








—


second source language, must be different from language 2
a thorough knowledge of one of the following languages:






—


DE (German), EN (English) or FR (French)














Option 2:




 




Language 1:








—


main language
perfect command of Croatian








Language 2:








—


first source language
a thorough knowledge of one of the following languages:






—


DE (German), EN (English) or FR (French)












Language 3:








—


second source language, must be different from language 2
thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union








IV.   ADMISSION TESTS
The admission tests are organised by EPSO and you will do them on a computer. The selection board decides on the difficulty of the tests and approves their subject matter on the basis of proposals made by EPSO.













1.


Invitation






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 ability as regards:




Test (a)


verbal reasoning


marking: this test will be marked out of 20.




Test (b)


abstract reasoning


marking: this test will be marked out of 10.




 


Aggregate pass mark for tests (a) and (b): 15




Test (c)


numerical reasoning


marking: this test will be marked out of 10.
Pass mark: 4




Test (d)


language test


marking: this test will be marked out of 10.
Pass mark: 5




Test (e)


language test


marking: this test will be marked out of 10.
Pass mark: 5










3.


Language of the tests






Language 2: tests (a), (b) and (c).
Language 1: test (d).
Language 3: test (e).




V.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre






—


if you have obtained the pass mark in the admission tests (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e),










—


if you (3) have obtained one of the highest aggregate marks for the admission tests (a), (b), (d) and (e), and










—


if the assessment made on the basis of the information given in your online application (4) shows that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.




Test (c) is eliminatory however the points scored on this test will not be added to the scores of the other tests used to identify the candidates invited to the assessment centres.
The number of candidates invited to the assessment centre will be approximately three times the number of successful candidates indicated in the competition notice and it will be published on EPSO's website (www.eu-careers.info).










2.


Assessment centre






The role of the assessment centre is to assess the following competencies:






—


Specific competencies
The specific competencies will be tested by means of (5):






(a)


a translation test from language 2 to language 1 (with a dictionary)










(b)


a translation test from language 3 to language 1 (with a dictionary)




and










—


General competencies (6)







—


Analysis and problem solving










—


Communication










—


Delivering quality and results










—


Learning and development










—


Prioritising and organising










—


Resilience










—


Working with others










—


Leadership








The general competencies will be tested in your first source language (language 2), i.e. English (EN), French (FR) or German (DE), by means of:






(c)


a structured interview










(d)


a group exercise










(e)


an oral presentation




You will be invited to sit the translation tests (7) and to participate in the other elements of the assessment centre, probably in Brussels, over one or two days.




Each general competency will be tested twice, as follows:




 


Structured interview


Group exercise


Oral presentation




Analysis and problem-solving


 


x


x




Communicating


x


 


x




Delivering quality and results


x


 


x




Learning and development


x


x


 




Prioritising and organising


 


x


x




Resilience


x


 


x




Working with others


x


x


 




Leadership


x


x


 










3.


Marking and breakdown of marks






A.   Specific competencies ((a) and (b))
Each translation test will be marked out of 80
Pass mark: 40
Weighting: 65 % of the overall mark
B.   General competencies ((c), (d )and (e))
Marks: a total of 80 for all general competencies (10 per competency)
Pass mark: an aggregate of 40 for all eight general competencies
Weighting: 35 % of the overall mark




VI.   RESERVE LISTS












1.


Candidates placed on the reserve lists






The selection board will place your name on the reserve list






—


if you (8) have obtained the specified pass marks and are one of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in your assessment tests, and










—


if your supporting documents show that you meet all the eligibility requirements.




The supporting documents will be verified in descending order until the number of candidates who can be placed on the reserve list and who actually fulfil all the conditions for admission reaches the threshold.
The files of candidates below this threshold will not be examined. If verification shows that the information (9) given by any candidate in their online application form is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, they will be disqualified from the competition.










2.


Classification






Lists will be drawn up for each option and names will be listed in alphabetical order.




VII.   HOW TO APPLY












1.


Online application






You must apply online by following the instructions on the EPSO website and particularly in the online application manual.
Deadline (including validation): 24 July 2012 at 12.00 (noon), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files






If you are one of the candidates invited to the assessment centre, you will have to bring with you (10) your full application file (signed online application form and supporting documents) when you come to the assessment centre.
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)  Please consult the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/CEF/LanguageSelfAssessmentGrid.csp) — level required: language 1 = C2, languages 2 and 3 = C1.

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

(4)  This information will be verified against the supporting documents before the reserve list is drawn up (see Section VI.1 and Section VII.2).

(5)  The content of these exercises is approved by the selection board.

(6)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the guide to open competitions.

(7)  Depending on logistical constraints, the translation tests may be organised in test centres in the Member States and/or in Brussels, separately from the other assessment centre tests.

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

(9)  Information concerning the general conditions is verified by EPSO and information concerning the specific conditions by the selection board.

(10)  You will be notified in good time via your EPSO account of the date when you have to attend the assessment centre.