Notice of open competitions EPSO/AD/236/12 to 239/12 — Conference interpreters (DA/DE/EN/SK)
Date: 2012-07-05
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: Denmark, EPSO, Germany, Slovakia, United Kingdom, competition (EU), information profession








CA2012197EN.01000601.xml










5.7.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 197/6





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS EPSO/AD/236/12 TO 239/12 — CONFERENCE INTERPRETERS (DA/DE/EN/SK)
(2012/C 197 A/02)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising the following open competitions, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit conference interpreters (1).

CONFERENCE INTERPRETERS








DANISH LANGUAGE (DA):




EPSO/AD/236/12 (grades AD 5 and AD 7)






GERMAN LANGUAGE (DE):




EPSO/AD/237/12 (grades AD 5 and AD 7)






ENGLISH LANGUAGE (EN):




EPSO/AD/238/12 (grade AD 7)






SLOVAK LANGUAGE (SK):




EPSO/AD/239/12 (grades AD 5 and AD 7)





The purpose of these competitions 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.
The Parliament is not involved in the Danish language competition (grades AD 5 and AD 7), nor in the grade AD 5 German language competition and will therefore not be recruiting successful candidates from those lists.
The Court of Justice is not involved in the grade AD 5 German language competition and will not be recruiting successful candidates from that list.


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 competition and by grade






 



AD 5




AD 7






EPSO/AD/236/12 — DA




10




10






EPSO/AD/237/12 — DE




10




35






EPSO/AD/238/12 — EN




—




25






EPSO/AD/239/12 — SK




10




10











2.


Remarks






The competitions for Danish, German and Slovak cover two grades and several options. The English competition covers one grade (AD 7) and several options.
You may apply for only one competition, one grade and 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 an AD 7 competition, and










—


you have passed the admission tests, but










—


you do not meet the conditions for admission to the AD 7 competition, while you do meet the conditions for admission to the AD 5 competition,




the selection board may, with your consent (2), reassign your application to the AD 5 competition.
Any reassignment will take place only when 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 the AD 5 competition or to attend the assessment centre in the case of the AD 7 competition.
Also, after the assessment centre session:






—


if you have applied for an AD 7 competition, and










—


you have failed one of the interpreting tests, but your results qualify as a pass in the tests for the AD 5 grade within the same competition,




OR






—


if you have applied for an AD 7 competition, and










—


you have passed all the assessment tests, but










—


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




the selection board may, with your consent (2), place your name on the reserve list for the AD 5 grade within the same competition.
Such reassignment will be by order of merit, 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 that list.

This competition is intended for candidates who have a perfect command (3), 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 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).
For all the institutions, a thorough knowledge of other languages would be an advantage (even if they are not official languages of the EU).
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 website 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.










(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 successful completion of the course.




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 in that capacity.




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)





Acceding country language:







 



HR (Croatian)






Other language (only for open competition EPSO/AD/238/12 — EN):







 



RU (Russian)





‘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.





Please note




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 or A*.





2.3.1.



Language combinations required for the following competitions





 


EPSO/AD/236/12 — DANISH (DA)
Grade AD 5




Option 1(a)
(A + CC)


Active A language: Danish
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


English, French or German




—


:


C2


:


an EU language, with the exception of Swedish (must be different from languages A and C1)








 


Grade AD 7




Option 1(b)
(A + CCC)


Active A language: Danish
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


English, French or German




—


:


C2


:


an EU language, with the exception of Swedish (must be different from languages A and C1)




—


:


C3


:


an EU language, with the exception of Swedish (must be different from languages A, C1 and C2)








Option 2(b)
(A + B+C2)


Active A language: Danish
Active B language:






 


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




Passive C2 language (must be different from languages A and B):






 


an EU language, with the exception of Swedish (must be different from languages A and B)








 


EPSO/AD/237/12 — GERMAN (DE)




Option 1(a)
(A + CC)


Grade AD 5
Active A language: German
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


English




—


:


C2


:


ES (Spanish), FR (French), HU (Hungarian), IT (Italian) or PL (Polish)








 


Grade AD 7




Option 1(b)
(A + CCC)


Active A language: German
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


English




—


:


C2


:


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




—


:


C3


:


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








 


EPSO/AD/238/12 — ENGLISH (EN)
Grade AD 7




Option 1(b)
(A + CCC)


Active A language: English
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


French or German




—


:


C2


:


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




—


:


C3


:


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








2.3.2.



Language combinations required for the competition





 


EPSO/AD/239/12 — SLOVAK (SK)
Grade AD 5




Option 1(c)
(A + CC)


Active A language: Slovak
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


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




—


:


C2


:


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








Option 2(c)
(A + B)


Active A language: Slovak
Active B language:






 


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








Option 3(c)
(A*+CC)


Active A* language:






 


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




Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


Slovak




—


:


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(d)
(A + CCC)


Active A language: Slovak
Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


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




—


:


C2


:


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




—


:


C3


:


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








Option 2(d)
(A + B+C2)


Active A language: Slovak
Active B language:






 


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




Passive C2 language:






 


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








Option 3(d)
(A*+CCC)


Active A* language:






 


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




Passive C languages:








—


:


C1


:


Slovak




—


:


C2


:


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




—


:


C3


:


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




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




IV.   ADMISSION TESTS
The admission tests are organised by EPSO and you will take 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).
Important:






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
Active A or A* language


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




Test (b)


Numerical reasoning
Active A or A* language


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10.




Test (c)


Abstract reasoning
Active A or A* language


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10.




 


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




Test (d)


Verbal reasoning
Active B language
(for options 2(b), 2(c) and 2(d))
Passive C1 language
(for the other options)


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




Test (e)


Verbal reasoning
Passive C2 language
In the following cases, test (e) will be in the same language as that used for test (d):






—


when HR (Croatian) or RU (Russian) have been selected as passive language C2,
and










—


for option 2(c)






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




V.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE
















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre:






—


if you have obtained pass marks in the admission tests, and










—


for the AD 5 competition only, if you have obtained a pass mark in the preliminary interpreting test (see 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 published on EPSO's website (www.eu-careers.info).










2.


Preliminary interpreting test (if applicable)




Nature, marking and duration


For AD 5 level 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 options 1(a) and 1(c)










 


B for option 2(c)










 


C2 for option 3(c)




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 of (6):






 


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 of (6):






(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 or 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 and are one of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in your assessment tests (9),










 


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




The verification 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 given by any candidate in their online application form (10) is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, they will be disqualified from the competition.










2.


Classification






Reserve lists will be drawn up by competition and by grade, and names will be listed in alphabetical order.




VII.   HOW TO APPLY












1.


Online application






You must apply online, following the instructions on the EPSO website and particularly in the online application manual.

Deadline (including validation): 7 August 2012 at 12 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 must 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 service requirement.

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

(8)  
In the event of reassignment to the reserve list of the AD 5 competition (see Section I.2), only the results of the tests required to pass the AD 5 competition 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 while information concerning the specific conditions is verified 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.