Call for expressions of interest — Research Administrators contract staff members (function group IV) for parliamentary research
Date: 2014-02-26
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EPSO, administrator, database, job vacancy, research staff, servant (EU)








CA2014055EN.01000101.xml










26.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 55/1






CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Research Administrators contract staff members (function group IV) for parliamentary research
(2014/C 55 A/01)
I.   INTRODUCTION
The European Parliament has decided to issue this call for expressions of interest for the purpose of establishing a database of candidates for recruitment as Research Administrators (contract staff members in function group IV) for parliamentary research. The selection procedure will be organised with technical support from the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO).
Candidates offered a post will be recruited in accordance with the procedure set out in section VIII of this call for expressions of interest.
The terms of employment of these staff members will be those laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS) (1).
The database will be used by the European Parliament. The posts will be based in Brussels. However, in keeping with the institution's needs missions may have to be undertaken to Parliament's other places of work.
Selection procedures for contract staff usually attract a large number of highly qualified candidates, many of whom then pass the procedure in question. Candidates should therefore be aware that the number of names in the database may exceed the number of persons the institution needs to recruit.
Some 50 posts are available for 2014. Contracts will be concluded for an initial period of one (1) year and may be renewed; their total duration may not exceed six (6) years.
Successful candidates' initial basic monthly salaries are given in the table below (step 1, grades 13 to 18) and will be set on the basis of each candidate's training and specific professional experience. The basic salary may be supplemented by allowances laid down in the CEOS.
Pay is subject to Union tax and to other deductions laid down by the CEOS. It is exempt from any national tax.







Function group


Basic salary (in EUR)




Minimum


Maximum




IV


3 145,45


5 832,42




The European Parliament is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.
Any reference to a person of the male sex in this call for expressions of interest is deemed also to refer to a person of the female sex.
II.   JOB DESCRIPTION
The FG IV contract staff members will carry out, on the basis of the programmes drawn up and the priorities set by parliamentary bodies and their superiors, the following tasks:






—


answer specific requests for information, analysis and research in respect of European Union policies made by individual Members or groups of Members or by a parliamentary body, in particular by drawing up appropriate notes,










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provide content relating to those policies for Parliament's external and in-house websites,










—


liaise with counterpart services in the other European Union institutions and with external think tanks and research institutes.




III.   INDICATIVE TIMETABLE FOR THE SELECTION PROCEDURE
The procedure will be administered by the European Parliament in cooperation with EPSO, with the assistance of a selection panel consisting of representatives of the European Parliament.
The indicative timetable is as follows:






—


selection on the basis of qualifications: April-May 2014










—


announcement of results: June-July 2014




IV.   ELIGIBILITY
On the closing date for applications candidates must meet the following conditions:
A.   General conditions






—


be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union,










—


enjoy full rights as a citizen,










—


have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by national laws concerning military service,










—


produce the appropriate character references as to your suitability for the performance of your duties.




B.   Specific conditions
1.   Qualifications/experience
An officially recognised diploma corresponding to completed university studies of at least three years' duration in one of the following areas: political science, economics, European studies, public administration, law, social sciences, international relations, natural sciences, statistics, history;
and
at least three (3) years' professional experience relevant to the job description.
On the closing date for applications, diplomas obtained outside the European Union must have been approved by the competent national authority of a Member State.
2.   Knowledge of languages
You must have a thorough knowledge of one of the European Union's official languages (language 1 — main language) (2) and a very good knowledge of English, French or German (language 2, different from language 1).


In accordance with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) in Case C-566/10 P, Italian Republic v Commission, the European Parliament must state the reasons for limiting the choice of second language in this selection procedure to a small number of official EU languages.




Candidates are therefore informed that the second languages for this selection procedure have been laid down in the interests of the service, which require new recruits to be immediately operational and capable of communicating effectively in their daily work. Otherwise, the effective functioning of the institution might 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 in performing day-to-day work. Moreover, where candidates in competitions and other selection procedures are free to choose their second language, these three are by far the most common choices. This confirms what can currently be 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 of the service and the abilities of candidates, and given the particular field of this selection procedure, it is legitimate to organise tests in these three languages so as to ensure that all candidates are able to work in at least one of them, whatever their first official language.




To ensure equal treatment for all candidates, moreover, everyone — including those whose first official language is one of the three — is required to take the tests in their second language, chosen from among these three. Assessing specific competences in this way allows the European Parliament to evaluate candidates' ability to be immediately operational in an environment that closely matches the reality they would face on the job.


V.   HOW TO APPLY AND DEADLINE FOR APPLYING
You must apply online on the EPSO website, at the following address:
http://europa.eu/epso/apply/jobs/index_en.htm
and follow the instructions given there, in particular in the online application manual. You must fill in the application form in English, French or German.
The responsibility for completing your online application by the deadline is entirely yours. We advise you not to wait until the last minute before applying, since if the lines are exceptionally busy, or if the internet connection goes down, you may have to repeat the whole online application process, by which time the deadline may have passed.
Once you have validated your application, you will no longer be able to make any changes; the data entered are immediately processed by the European Parliament, in cooperation with EPSO, with a view to organising the selection procedure.

DEADLINE (including validation):


31 March 2014 at 12.00 (midday) Brussels time.

VI.   STAGES IN THE SELECTION PROCEDURE
The selection procedure will include selection on the basis of qualifications and an assessment of candidates' detailed answers to the ‘Questionnaire’ included in the application form.
Candidates will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:






1.


possession of a postgraduate diploma in one or more of the following areas: political science, economics, European studies, public administration, law, social sciences, international relations, natural sciences, statistics, history;










2.


more than three years' professional experience in an area relevant to the job description;










3.


possession of a doctorate in a subject related to one or more of the areas listed in section IV.B.1;










4.


professional experience as a researcher in a national or European think tank;










5.


professional experience as a researcher in a European Union institution or body or in a public-sector body in a Member State of the European Union;










6.


authorship of articles published in peer-reviewed national/international periodicals on a topic related to one or more of the areas listed in section IV.B.1;










7.


authorship of a book on a topic related to one or more of the areas listed in section IV.B.1;










8.


experience of drafting documents (reports, notes, articles, etc.);










9.


experience of drafting documents (reports, notes, articles, etc.) in English, French or German.




The panel will apply a weighting of between 1 and 3 to each question in the ‘Questionnaire’. It will award 0 to 4 points for each of the detailed answers. The final mark will be obtained by multiplying the points awarded for each answer by the weighting for the relevant question.
If, at any stage of the procedure, the information provided on the application form is found to be incorrect, not to be confirmed by the documents submitted or not to prove that a candidate meets all the conditions laid down in this call for expressions of interest, the candidate in question will be excluded from the procedure.
VII.   RESULTS OF THE SELECTION PROCEDURE
The results of the selection procedure will be published in the candidates' EPSO accounts.
The names of the 180 candidates who have obtained the highest number of points (3) by the end of the selection procedure and who meet the general and specific conditions laid down in section IV, A and B, of this call for expressions of interest will be entered in the database and will not be made public in any other form. The European Parliament will then be given access to the database. The database will remain valid for a period of three years from the date on which candidates are notified of their results.
VIII.   RECRUITMENT

Inclusion of your name in the database is not a guarantee that you will be offered a job.

If a contract becomes available, the recruiting services will consult the database and issue invitations to those candidates whose profiles most closely match the requirements of the post in question.
These candidates will be asked to sit a drafting test and attend an interview in English, French or German (language 2).
They will be asked to produce documents which prove that they meet all the conditions laid down in this call for expressions of interest.
On the basis of the outcome of the drafting test and the interview, candidates may be offered a post.
The contract will be drawn up in accordance with Articles 3a, 84 and 85 of the CEOS.
IX.   REVIEW/APPEAL PROCEDURES
Candidates who consider that a decision has adversely affected them may request a review of the decision, initiate one of the appeals procedures or lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman (4).






—



Requests for review

You can submit a duly substantiated request for a review:






—


either by e-mail to the specific mailbox for the procedure:
ACrecherche@ep.europa.eu










—


or by fax to the following number: +32 22831717




within 10 calendar days from the date of publication of the result of the selection procedure in your EPSO account. A reply will be sent as soon as possible.










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Appeals (this option is available at any stage of the selection procedure)






—


You may lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Union, which should be addressed to:





M. le Secrétaire général




Parlement européen




Bât. Konrad Adenauer




L-2929 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG




Please note that selection boards enjoy wide discretionary powers; their decisions are reached independently and cannot be changed by the Appointing Authority. This wide discretion is not amenable to review unless a clear breach of the rules governing selection boards' work has occurred. In that event, a decision by a selection board may be challenged directly in the European Union Civil Service Tribunal even if no complaint has first been lodged under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations.










—


You can submit an appeal to the:





European Union Civil Service Tribunal




L-2925 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG,




under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations.




This option is available only in relation to decisions taken by the selection panel.
You may submit an appeal to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal against administrative decisions denying you admission to the selection procedure on the grounds that your application does not comply with the relevant conditions set out in section B.1 of the call for expressions of interest only after having first lodged a complaint as described above.
Appeals to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal may be made only through a lawyer authorised to practise before a court of a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area.
The time limits laid down in Articles 90 and 91 of the Staff Regulations (5) which apply to these two types of appeal start to run either from the date of notification of the original decision adversely affecting you or, only in the case of a request for a review, from the date you are notified of the selection panel's original reply to the request.










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Complaints to the European Ombudsman

Like any citizen of the European Union, you are entitled to make a complaint to the European Ombudsman:





European Ombudsman




1, avenue du Président Robert Schuman — BP 403




67001 STRASBOURG CEDEX




FRANCE,




under Article 228(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties (6).
Please note that complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the time limit laid down in Article 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging appeals with the European Union Civil Service Tribunal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.




X.   COMMUNICATION
The European Parliament will contact you via your EPSO account or by e-mail. It is up to you to consult your EPSO account at regular intervals — at least twice a week — to keep track of the progress of the procedure and to check the information relevant to your application. If you are prevented from doing so by a technical problem, you must notify EPSO immediately via the specific mailbox for the procedure.
ACrecherche@ep.europa.eu
For all correspondence relating to the procedure, please send an e-mail to that specific mailbox.
To ensure that all general texts and all communication sent to candidates are clearly understood, only English, French or German will be used for correspondence between candidates and the European Parliament.
XI.   GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION LINKED TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS
The European Parliament takes great care to ensure that the principle of equal treatment is observed. Consequently, if at any stage in the procedure EPSO finds that you have created more than one EPSO account, that you have made more than one application to this selection procedure or that you have made any false declarations, you will be disqualified from the selection procedure.
Appropriate action will be taken against anyone found guilty of fraud or attempted fraud. In that connection, we would point out that any person recruited by the institutions must display the highest possible degree of integrity.
XII.   SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Candidates who have a disability or whose specific circumstances might give rise to problems during the drafting test or the interview should tick the corresponding box on the application form and provide all the information required so that Parliament's Administration can make appropriate arrangements, where possible.


(1)  See Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1), as amended by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 723/2004 (OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1) and as last amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 15).

(2)  The official languages of the European Union are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish.

(3)  If several candidates have the same number of points and are equal in 180th place, the selection panel will admit them all.

(4)  Requests for review, appeals or complaints to the European Ombudsman will not interrupt the work of the selection panel.

(5)  See Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1), as amended by Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 723/2004 (OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1) and as last amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 15).

(6)  OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15.