Notice of open competitions — Conference interpreters (EN/FR/RO/SL)
Date: 2013-07-04
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, competition (EU), information profession








CA2013193EN.01000101.xml










4.7.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 193/1






NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS

Conference interpreters (EN/FR/RO/SL)
(2013/C 193 A/01)
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







 



English Language (EN): EPSO/AD/256/13 (AD 5)











 



French Language (FR): EPSO/AD/257/13 (AD 5 and AD 7)











 



Romanian Language (RO): EPSO/AD/258/13 (AD 7)











 



Slovenian Language (SL): EPSO/AD/259/13 (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 European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Court of Justice.
The European Parliament is involved only in the AD 7 French language competition and will therefore only recruit from that list.


Before applying, you should carefully read the Guide to open competitions published in Official Journal C 270 A of 7 September 2012 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.



PRELIMINARY INTERPRETING TEST











V.



INTERPRETING TESTS











VI.



ASSESSMENT CENTRE











VII.



RESERVE LIST











VIII.



HOW TO APPLY





I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND












1.


Reserve list for each competition







Candidates who pass all the tests will be placed on the reserve list.











2.


Remarks






The competitions for EN and RO are for only one grade and involve one and two options respectively.
The competitions for FR and SL are for two grades and involve either one or two options, depending on the grade.
You may not apply for more than one competition, one grade, or one option. 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.




 


Candidates who apply for the AD 7 French and Slovenian competitions may be reassigned to an AD 5 competition (2) via one or more of the pathways described below.
First pathway:
If you apply for the AD 7 competition and verification of the information given in your online application form shows that:






—


you do not meet the conditions for admission,










—


but you do meet the conditions for the same option in the corresponding AD 5 competition,




the selection board may, with your consent, reassign your application to the AD 5 competition.
Second pathway:
If you apply for the AD 7 competition and following the interpreting tests,






—


you have failed one or both tests in the same language,










—


but your results qualify as a pass in the corresponding AD 5 competition,




the selection board may, with your consent, reassign your application to the AD 5 competition.
Third pathway:
If you apply for the AD 7 competition and following the assessment centre session, once the supporting documents you supplied when you attended have been verified before the reserve list is drawn up,






—


you have passed all the interpreting tests and the assessment centre tests,










—


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




the selection board, may with your consent, place your name on the reserve list for the AD 5 grade in the same competition.




 



This competition is intended for candidates who have a perfect command (mother tongue or equivalent knowledge) of the language of the competition, both written and spoken (3). If you are not up to this standard, we would strongly advise you not to apply.





II.   DUTIES
The principal 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 covering a range of subjects 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 languages other than those required by this competition notice would be an advantage (even if they are not official EU languages).
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, a good understanding of written French is required.

You can find more information on the European Union's interpreting services 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 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.



Qualifications





Either (a)


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




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 since obtaining your first degree or diploma.
That 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.
The four years' experience must be additional to your 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


Following the judgment given by the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) in Case C-566/10 P, Italian Republic v Commission, the EU institutions must state the reasons for limiting the choice of second language in these competitions to a small number of official EU languages.




Candidates are therefore informed that the second language options for the assessment centre tests in these competitions have been defined in line with the interests of the service, which require new recruits to be immediately operational and capable of communicating effectively in their daily work. Otherwise the efficient functioning of the institutions could be severely impaired.




It has long been the practice to use mainly English, French and German for internal communication in the EU institutions, and these are also the languages most often needed when communicating with the outside world and handling cases. Moreover, these three are by far the most common choices where candidates for competitions are free to choose their second language. This confirms what is currently expected of candidates for European Union posts in terms of their level of education and professional skills, namely that they should be proficient in at least one of these languages. Consequently, in balancing the interests and needs of the service and the abilities of candidates, and given the particular field of these competitions, it is legitimate to organise tests in the three languages so as to ensure that all candidates are proficient in at least one of them for the purposes of work, whatever their first official EU language.




To ensure equal treatment for all candidates, everyone — including those whose first official language is one of the three — must take the test in their second language, chosen from among these three. Assessing specific competencies in this way allows the institutions to evaluate candidates' ability to be immediately operational in an environment that closely matches the reality they would face on the job. None of this affects the possibility of later language training to enable staff to work in a third language, as required under Article 45(2) of the Staff Regulations.






 



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)
HR (Croatian)
HU (Hungarian)
IT (Italian)
LT (Lithuanian)
LV (Latvian)


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




In addition to the official EU languages, Russian (RU) and Mandarin (ZH) may be used for the competition EPSO/AD/257/13 (AD 7) — Conference interpreters (FR).
‘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’ 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




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.





2.4.



Language combinations required for the following competitions:





 



EPSO/AD/256/13 — English (EN)


Grade AD 5






Option 1(a)


(A+CC)




Active A language: English


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


FR (French) or DE (German)




—


:


C2


:


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








 



EPSO/AD/257/13 — French (FR)


Grade AD 5






Option 1(a)


(A+CC)




Active A language: French


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


EN (English) or DE (German)




—


:


C2


:


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




If you choose English as C1, your C2 language must be one of the following: Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Maltese, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, or Slovenian.




 



Grade AD 7






Option 1(b)


(A+CCC)




Active A language: French


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


EN (English)




—


:


C2


:


DE (German), ES (Spanish), IT (Italian), or NL (Dutch)




—


:


C3


:


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









Option 2(b)


(A+B+C2)




Active A language: French


Active B language:







 


DE (German), EN (English), ES (Spanish), IT (Italian), or PL (Polish)





Passive C2 language:







 


EN (if the ‘B’ language is not EN) or, if the 'B' language is EN, an EU language (must be different from the ‘A’ and ‘B’ languages) or RU (Russian) or ZH (Mandarin)








 



EPSO/AD/258/13 — Romanian (RO)


Grade AD 7






Option 1(b)


(A+CCC)




Active A language: Romanian


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


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




—


:


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+C2)




Active A language: Romanian


Active B language:







 


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





Passive C2 language:







 


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








 



EPSO/AD/259/13 — Slovenian (SL)


Grade AD 5






Option 1(a)


(A+CC)




Active A language: Slovenian


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


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




—


:


C2


:


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








 



Grade AD 7






Option 1(b)


(A+CCC)




Active A language: Slovenian


Passive C languages:









—


:


C1


:


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




—


:


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+C2)




Active A language: Slovenian


Active B language:







 


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





Passive C2 language:







 


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








IV.   PRELIMINARY INTERPRETING TEST (5)


This test is organised solely for AD 5 and AD 7 candidates who do not have interinstitutional accreditation as auxiliary conference interpreters (6).













1.


Invitation






You will be invited to sit the preliminary test:






—


if you validated your application on time (see Section VIII).

Important: By validating your application, you declare that you meet the general and specific conditions listed in Section III (see also Section I.2, first pathway).










—


and if checks on the information given in your online application (7) show that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.














2.


Nature, marking and duration






This test involves the simultaneous interpretation of a recorded speech. It may involve the use of audio-visual material at a test centre in the Member States.
Duration: approximately 10 minutes
The test will be marked out of 20.
Pass mark: 10
Your marks in this test will not be added to those obtained in the interpreting tests.










3.


Language of the test






C1 for options 1(a) and 1(b)
B for option 2(b)




V.   INTERPRETING TESTS (5)













1.


Invitation






You will be invited to Brussels to sit interpreting tests to assess your specific competencies:






—


if you pass the preliminary interpreting test (non-accredited candidates only)

OR











—


(accredited candidates) if:






1.


you validated your application on time (see Section VIII).

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










2.


checks on the information given in your online application (8) show that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.


















2.


Nature, marking (9) and time allowed






A consecutive interpreting test and a simultaneous interpreting test for each language chosen.

The simultaneous interpreting tests may be based on audio/video recordings of speeches.

The consecutive tests will involve a speech no more than 6 minutes long and for the simultaneous tests it will be no more than 12 minutes long.
Each interpreting test will be marked out of 20.
Pass mark: 10
Following the interpreting tests:






—


if you applied for an AD 5 competition










—


but you have failed one of the tests,
or










—


if you applied for an AD 7 competition










—


but you have failed 2 of the tests in 2 different languages,




you will not be invited to the subsequent tests or to the next stage of the competition and your results will be sent to you separately.










3.


Weighting







Specific competencies


75 % of the overall mark





VI.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre if you pass the interpreting tests (see also Section I.2, second pathway). Your marks in those tests will be added to your assessment centre marks.










2.


Assessment centre






You will undergo two types of assessment:






—


reasoning skills: tests (a), (b) and (c)










—


general competencies: tests (d), (e) and (f).





Your reasoning ability will be assessed by means of:






(a)


a verbal reasoning test










(b)


a numerical reasoning test










(c)


an abstract reasoning test.




These tests are organised by EPSO and you will take them on a computer. The selection board decides on the level of difficulty of the tests and approves their subject matter on the basis of proposals made by EPSO.

Your general competencies
 (10) will be assessed by means of (11):






(d)


a structured interview










(e)


a group exercise










(f)


an oral presentation.




You will be assessed in Brussels, normally during a one-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


 










3.


Language for the assessment centre







Tests (a), (b) and (c): Active A language:

Tests (d), (e) and (f): English, French, or German; must be different from active A language










4.


Marking and weighting of marks






Reasoning ability






(a)


Verbal: marked out of 20
Pass mark: 10










(b)


Numerical: marked out of 10










(c)


Abstract: marked out of 10
Aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c): 10




Tests (a), (b), and (c) are eliminatory, but the marks will not be added to your marks in the other assessment centre tests.
General competencies
Marked out of a total of 80 for all the general competencies combined (10 per competency)
Pass mark: an aggregate of 40 for the 8 general competencies

Weighting: 25 % of the overall mark





VII.   RESERVE LIST












1.


Reserve list






The selection board will place your name on the reserve list






—


if you pass all the interpreting and assessment centre tests; and










—


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




If verification of your supporting documents shows that the information given in your online application form is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, you will be disqualified from the competition.










2.


Classification






The reserve list will be drawn up in alphabetical order.




VIII.   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): 6 August 2013 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files







If you are invited to the assessment centre (12), you must bring your full application file (signed online application form and supporting documents) with you.

Details: 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)  When applying online, you will be asked to confirm your choice of languages and to agree to reassignment.

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

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

(5)  The content is validated by the selection board.

(6)  Interinstitutional accreditation is organised by the ‘Inter-Institutional Test Office’ of the European Union interpreting services.

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

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

(9)  If you are reassigned 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.

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

(11)  The content is validated by the selection board.

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