Notice of open competition EPSO/AD/234/12 — Interpreters (AD 5/AD 7) for Croatian language (HR)
Date: 2012-06-21
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: Croatia, EPSO, competition (EU), information profession








CA2012180EN.01001001.xml










21.6.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 180/10





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/AD/234/12 — INTERPRETERS (AD 5/AD 7) FOR CROATIAN LANGUAGE (HR)
(2012/C 180 A/03)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit conference interpreters (1).

EPSO/AD/234/12 (grades AD 5 and AD 7) Interpreters for Croatian language (HR)

The purpose of this competition is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the institutions of the European Union, in particular the Parliament, the Commission and the Court of Justice.


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 by grade






AD 5


AD 7




15


20










2.


Remarks






This competition covers two grades and several options. You may apply for only one grade and only one option. You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after your online application form has been confirmed and validated.
However,






—


if you have applied for grade AD 7, and










—


you have passed the admission tests,










—


but you do not meet the conditions for admission to grade AD 7 and while you do meet the conditions for admission to grade AD 5,




the selection board may, with your consent (2), reassign your application to grade AD 5.
Any reassignment will take place only after it has been established that you meet the conditions for admission based on the information given in your online application form. This process takes place before you are invited to take the preliminary interpreting test in the case of grade AD 5 or to attend the assessment centre in the case of grade AD 7.
Also, after the assessment centre session:






—


if you have applied for grade AD 7, and










—


you have failed one of the interpreting tests, but your results qualify as a pass in the tests for grade AD5,




OR






—


if you have applied for grade AD 7, and










—


you have passed all the assessment tests,










—


but you do not meet the conditions for admission to grade AD 7 while you do meet the conditions for admission to grade AD 5 and your results qualify as a pass,




the selection board, may with your consent (2), place your name on the reserve list for grade AD 5.
Such reassignment will be by order of merit. It will apply after it has been established that you meet the conditions for admission based on the supporting documents provided when you come to the assessment centre and before the reserve list is drawn up.
In any event, the number of successful candidates on the AD-5 list after reassignment shall not exceed one and a half times the number of successful candidates sought for grade AD 5.

This competition is intended for candidates who have a perfect command (3), both written and spoken, of the Croatian language (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 main duty of a conference interpreter is to ensure that the discussions held at various meetings are correctly interpreted into an official language of the European Union. This can entail either simultaneous or consecutive interpreting. Interpreters will be expected to study both the subject matter of meetings and terminology lists in advance.
The job of interpreter calls for exceptional adaptability (frequent meetings and irregular hours) and the ability to grasp varied and often complex issues, to react swiftly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. You must be able to work frequently under pressure, both independently and as part of a team, and to adjust to a multicultural working environment. You will be expected to upgrade your professional skills — including technology — throughout your career. You may also be asked to expand your language combination to meet the needs of the service (4).
Interpreters may in addition be required to evaluate the work of auxiliary conference interpreters (ACI) and to carry out administrative duties associated with interpreting.
Working as a conference interpreter can involve frequent travel, except in the case of interpreters at the Court of Justice, who work primarily in Luxembourg.
For recruitment to the Court of Justice, an understanding of written French is required.
More information on the interpreting services can be found on the websites of the three institutions concerned:
http://europa.eu/interpretation/index_en.htm
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, a citizen of Croatia, the acceding country.










(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





NB: experience as a court interpreter, liaison interpreter, company interpreter or interpreter for social or other public services will not be considered experience as a conference interpreter.




2.1



Diplomas/Qualifications





Either (a)


You must have successfully completed a full course of training as a conference interpreter equivalent to four years of studies at university level and obtained the relevant qualification.




or (b)


You must have a level of education which corresponds to full university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma AND completed training as a conference interpreter attested by a certificate or other proof of success.




or (c)


You must have a level of education which corresponds to full university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma AND one year's professional experience as a conference interpreter, evidenced by documents clearly indicating the number of days worked as a conference interpreter.




2.2



Professional experience





 


Grade AD 5
No professional experience is required unless you are applying under III.2.1(c), in which case the experience must have been gained since you obtained the first qualification required under that heading.




 


Grade AD 7
You must have at least four years' graduate-level professional experience gained since obtaining your first degree or diploma.
Such professional experience must include at least 100 days of conference interpreting since the date when the condition set out in III.2.1 (a), (b) or (c) was fulfilled.
These four years must be additional to both the training as a conference interpreter evidenced by the relevant qualification and the one year of experience working as a conference interpreter required under III.2.1 (b) or (c) above.




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, the acceding country:






 


HR (Croatian)




‘Language combination’ means the languages used by conference interpreters in their work. Working languages are either ‘active’ or ‘passive’ languages, and are defined below as ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ languages.




Active languages


‘A’ or ‘A*’ language
Your main language (mother tongue or an exact equivalent), of which you have a perfect command and into which you work from all your working languages, both simultaneously and consecutively.
‘B’ language
Although not your main language, a language of which you have a full command and into which you interpret from language A, both simultaneously and consecutively.




Passive language:


‘C’ language
Language from which you interpret and which you understand fully.

NB: please note that your general competencies will be tested at the assessment centre in English (EN), French (FR) or German (DE); the language chosen must be different from active language A*.




 


Grade AD 5





Option 1(a)


(A + CC)



Active A language: Croatian
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)




—


:


C2


:


an EU language (must be different from languages A and C1)









Option 2(a)


(A + B)



Active A language: Croatian
Active B language:






 


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)









Option 3(a)


(A*+CC)



Active A* language:






 


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)




Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


Croatian




—


:


C2


:


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian) (must be different from language A*)




English is compulsory as the C2 language if the active A* language is German.




 


Grade AD 7





Option 1(b)


(A + CCC)



Active A language: Croatian
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)




—


:


C2


:


an EU language (must be different from languages A and C1)




—


:


C3


:


an EU language (must be different from languages A, C1 and C2)









Option 2(b)


(A + B+C)



Active A language: Croatian
Active B language:






 


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)




Passive C language:






 


an EU language (must be different from languages A and B)









Option 3(b)


(A*+CCC)



Active A* language:






 


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian)




Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


Croatian




—


:


C2


:


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), FR (French) or IT (Italian) (must be different from language A*)




—


:


C3


:


an EU language (must be different from languages A*, C1 and C2)









NB: A thorough knowledge of other languages would be an advantage.




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 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 are declaring 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 completed 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.




 


Aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c): 8




Test (d)


verbal reasoning


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




Language of the tests


tests (a), (b) and (c): English, French or German; must be different from the active A*language
test (d): an official language of the EU; must be different from the active A* language and the language chosen for tests (a), (b) and (c)




V.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre






—


if you have obtained the minimum pass mark in the admission tests, and










—


for grade AD 5 only, if you have obtained the minimum pass mark in the preliminary interpreting test (see point 2 below), and










—


if the assessment made on the basis of the information given in your online application (5) shows that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.




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.


Preliminary interpreting test (if applicable)




Nature, marking and duration


For grade AD 5 only, a preliminary interpreting test will be held.
This test consists in the simultaneous interpretation of a recorded speech. It may involve the use of audiovisual material at a test centre.
Choice of language for this test:






C1


for option 1(a)




B


for option 2(a)




C2


for option 3(a)




Duration: approximately 12 minutes
This test will be marked out of 20
Pass mark: 10
The marks obtained in this test will not be added to those obtained in the assessment centre session.










3.


Assessment centre






The role of the assessment centre is to assess the following competencies:
A.   Specific competencies
These competencies will be tested by means (6) of:






 


a consecutive interpretation test and a simultaneous interpretation test for each language chosen by the candidate.










 


Consecutive tests will be based on a speech no more than six minutes long and simultaneous tests on a speech no more than 12 minutes long.




and
B.   General competencies (7):






—


Analysis and problem-solving










—


Communicating










—


Delivering quality and results










—


Learning and development










—


Prioritising and organising










—


Resilience










—


Working with others










—


Leadership




These general competencies are tested by means (7) of:






(a)


a structured interview










(b)


a group exercise










(c)


an oral presentation




You will be assessed in Brussels, normally during a two-day session.




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


 










4.


Language for the assessment centre






English, French or German; must be different from active language A*










5.


Marking (8) and breakdown of marks






A.   Specific competencies
Each interpretation test will be marked out of 20
Pass mark: 10
Weighting: 75 % of the overall mark
B.   General competencies
Marks: a total of 80 for all general competencies (10 per competency)
Pass mark: an aggregate of 40 for all eight general competencies
Weighting: 25 % 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 have obtained the specified pass marks (9) and are one of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in your assessment centre, and










—


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




The verification of supporting documents will be made 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 (10) 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






Reserve lists will be drawn up by grade 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 (11) 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 should be deemed also to constitute a reference to a person of the female sex.

(2)  You will be asked to give this consent when registering online.

(3)  See the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/CEF/LanguageSelfAssessmentGrid.csp) — required levels: A, A* or B language = C2, other languages = C1.

(4)  For successful candidates recruited by the Parliament, this will be considered a duty of service.

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

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

(7)  Details of these competencies are set out in point 1.2 of the guide to open competitions.

(8)  In the event of reassignment to the reserve list of grade AD 5 (see Section I.2), only the results of the tests required to pass grade AD 5 will be taken into account.

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

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

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