Directorate-General for Development & Cooperation (EuropeAid) — Publication of a vacancy notice for a Director function (AD 14), in Brussels (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) — COM/2014/10348
Date: 2014-02-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrator, job vacancy, managing director








CA2014035EN.01000601.xml










6.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 35/6





Directorate-General for Development & Cooperation (EuropeAid)
Publication of a vacancy notice for a Director function (AD 14), in Brussels
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2014/10348
(2014/C 35 A/02)
We are
Within the European Commission, DEVCO/EuropeAid is the Directorate-General responsible for formulating the European Union's development and neighbourhood policy. The Directorate-General is additionally responsible for defining sectoral policies in the field of external aid aimed at reducing poverty in the world, ensuring sustainable economic, social and environmental development, and promoting democracy, the rule of law, good governance and the respect of human rights. Furthermore, DEVCO/EuropeAid fosters coordination between the European Union and the Member States on development cooperation and it ensures the external representation of the European Union in this field.
In this context, DEVCO/EuropeAid is responsible (either on its own or together with the European External Action Service) for the multiannual programming and implementation of the European Union's external aid instruments, which are co-financed by the budget of the European Union and the European Development Fund.
DEVCO/EuropeAid implements cooperation policy in a devolved way through EU Delegations in third countries and international organisations. For this purpose, it defines, establishes and runs the management, supervision, support and control systems required to ensure the highest levels of regularity, quality, impact and visibility for the programmes implemented.
Directorate D is responsible for bilateral and regional cooperation with East and Southern Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as for horizontal coordination of development to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. It is the Commission's Focal Point for the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), as well as for Pan-African institutions, policy processes and institutional capacity building. Directorate D is in charge of Programming, Management and Implementation of the African Peace Facility (APF), and contributes to policy work on the nexus between Peace, Security and Development (thematic support, policy definition and coherence). As part of this effort, the Directorate ensures communications, public relations and visibility of the JAES and the APF.
We propose
The role of the Director is to ensure overall strategic orientation and management of the Directorate, under the guidance of the Director-General and the Deputy Director-General, as well as to motivate staff and ensure that the Directorate gains the confidence of its partners and fulfils its intended role in contributing to transforming the Directorate-General into a centre of excellence for development policy and the management of external assistance within the role and mission of the European Commission and, whenever relevant, in cooperation with the European External Action Service.
The Directorate is responsible for an overall annual budget of approximately EUR 1,5 billion in commitments and approximately EUR 1 billion in payments (1), mainly under the European Development Fund.
The total staff number in the Directorate is approximately 500 people, of which 420 work in 20 delegations.
We look for
The ideal candidate should have:






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Good general knowledge of the European Union's policies and the European Union policy-making and decision-making processes;










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Good knowledge of the European Union's Development policy and the financial instruments used by the European Commission (namely European Development Fund, Development Cooperation Instrument, European Neighbourhood Instrument), the thematic and horizontal programmes, as well as the new financial instruments proposed from 2014 onwards;










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Extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of development and external assistance at operational level, preferably coupled with field experience;










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Proven experience in the development areas relevant to the job;










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Solid knowledge of and experience with budgetary, financial, and human resources management issues preferably in a European Union context;










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Experience in formulating and implementing efficient and effective policies or legislation;










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Proven leadership qualities, innovative and creative nature;










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The capacity to lead and inspire multidisciplinary teams of highly qualified staff;










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Proven negotiating and coordination skills, being able to discuss effectively with internal and external stakeholders at a high level; including solid experience in coordinating and/or negotiating at interinstitutional or international level;










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Excellent presentational and communication skills.




Candidates must (eligibility criteria):
Candidates will be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal criteria to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:






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Nationality: candidates must be a national of a Member State of the European Union.










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University degree or diploma. Candidates must have:






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either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more;










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or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years (this one year's professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).














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Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years postgraduate professional experience at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. Candidates should clearly indicate for each high level function its title and the exact role they have exercised.










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Management experience: at least five years of the professional experience referred to above must be in high-level management function(s) (2)











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Languages: have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (3) and an adequate knowledge of at least another of these official languages.










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Age limit: not have yet reached regular retirement age; for staff entering the service of the European Commission as from 1 January 2014, retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 52(a) of the Staff Regulations).




Independence and declaration of interests:
Candidates are required to confirm their willingness to make a declaration of their commitment to act independently in the public interest and will declare any interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.
Appointment and conditions of employment:
The Director will be selected and appointed by the Commission according to its selection and recruitment procedures (see also: Compilation Document on Senior Officials Policy (4)). A shortlist of candidates will be called for an interview by the Commission's Consultative Committee on Appointments and an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Salaries and conditions of employment are those laid down in the Staff Regulations for AD 14 grade officials of the European Union. Applicants should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.
The successful candidate will be recruited as an official under the terms of the Staff Regulations.
Equal opportunities:
The European Union applies an equal opportunities policy.

DEVCO/EuropeAid is committed to achieving diversity and is seeking a balanced and diverse workforce. Women are particularly encouraged to apply.

Application procedure:
This post may be published in parallel with other senior official posts. Candidates who wish to apply for more than one post must submit a separate application for each one.

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria (‘Candidates must’), particularly those concerning the types of diploma and professional experience required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

If you want to apply, you must register via the internet by going to the website
https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/
and follow the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time (5). Do not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to apply. As a general rule, late registrations via normal e-mail are not accepted.
You must have a valid e-mail address. This will be used to identify your registration and to keep you informed of the progress of the selection procedure. Therefore, please, inform the Commission of any change in your e-mail address.
To complete your application, you will need to upload a CV in WORD or PDF format, and to fill out, online, a cover letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Both the CV and letter must be written in English, French or German.
The selection process, including correspondence with selection panels during this selection procedure, will be carried out in English and/or French (6).
On completion of your online registration, you will receive on-screen a registration number. This will be your reference number in all matters concerning this specific selection procedure. When you receive this number, the registration process is finished — it is confirmation that your data are registered.

If you do not receive a number, your application has not been registered!

Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application online. The European Commission will contact you directly regarding the status of your application.

If you have a disability that prevents you from registering online, you may submit your application (CV and letter of motivation) on paper by registered mail
 (7)
, postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between the Commission and you will be by post. In this case, you must enclose with your application a certificate attesting your disability, issued by a recognised body. You should also set out on a separate sheet of paper any special arrangements you think are needed to make it easier for you to take part in the selection.

If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an e-mail to HR-A2-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu.
Closing date:
The closing date for registration is 6 March 2014. Online registration will not be possible after 12.00 noon Brussels time.
Important information for candidates
Candidates are reminded that the work of the selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with members of these committees, or for anybody to do so, on their behalf.
Protection of personal data
The Commission will ensure that candidates' personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (8).


(1)  The figures for payments and commitments will have to be reviewed in 2014.

(2)  In their curriculum vitae (CV) candidates should indicate at least for these five years during which high-level management experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of management positions held; (2) numbers of staff overseen in these positions; (3) the size of budgets managed; (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below; and (5) number of peers.

(3)  http://ec.europa.eu/languages/policy/language-policy/official_languages_en.htm

(4)  http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/official_policy_en.pdf

(5)  No later than 12.00 noon, Brussels time, on 6 March 2014.

(6)  The selection panels will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of languages of the selection procedure.

(7)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, Unit for Executive Staff and CCA Secretariat, COM/2014/10348, SC11 8/59, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË.

(8)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.