Notice of open competition — EPSO/AST/130/14 (AST 3)
Date: 2014-02-27
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, architecture, assistant, competition (EU), engineer, occupational safety, project management








CA2014056EN.01000101.xml










27.2.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 56/1






NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION

EPSO/AST/130/14 (AST 3)
(2014/C 56 A/01)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition, based on qualifications and tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit assistants (1) in the building sector.
The purpose of this competition is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts for officials in the institutions of the European Union in Brussels and Luxembourg.


Before applying, you should carefully read the guide to open competitions published in
Official Journal of the European Union 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.



ADMISSION TESTS











V.



ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION AND SELECTION BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS











VI.



OPEN COMPETITION











VII.



RESERVE LISTS











VIII.



HOW TO APPLY





I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND












1.


Number of successful candidates sought







101











2.


Note:






This competition covers six fields. You may not apply for more than one field. You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it once the deadline for applications has passed.
Note:
Recruitment to the European institutions in Luxembourg requires a good understanding of both written and spoken French, as such knowledge is essential for carrying out work duties and dealing with outside parties.





II.   DUTIES
The specialised technicians will be responsible for management, executive, supervisory and monitoring duties in the buildings sector in one of the following fields:
Field 1: Air conditioning — 18 successful candidates sought
Air conditioning, ventilation, heating, water/sanitary installations, techniques and methods for the sustainable use of office buildings, energy management, centralised technical management, automated control.
Field 2: Electromechanical and electrical engineering — 15 successful candidates sought
Electricity (high and low voltage), lifting equipment, automatic equipment, fire detection and protection, IT/phone network wiring, centralised technical management, generator set, emergency lighting, EIB and analogue systems.
Field 3: Architecture and interior design — 15 successful candidates sought
Internal and external fitting: reorganisation of areas, in particular of offices, service areas, meeting rooms and equipment rooms, convenience and safety signs, knowledge of containment standards.
Field 4: Project management — 18 successful candidates sought
Assisting with building project management (construction, renovation, renting of buildings), specialised technology, structural work and finishings: structures, façades, internal and external blinds, roofing, external and internal woodwork, floor and wall coverings.
Field 5: Health and Safety/Hygiene — 17 successful candidates sought
Health and safety at work: implementation of preventive measures for safety and hygiene, coordination of health and safety during planning and construction phases, drawing up safety and hygiene instructions, emergency management.
Field 6: Security — 18 successful candidates sought
Security techniques in terms of evaluating and implementing security protection by both physical means (construction, woodwork, etc.) and electronic means (such as CCTV, entry control, intrusion detection): implementation of security measures, coordination of security systems during planning and construction phases, drawing up security instructions, emergency management, audit of the security installations' maintenance. Drafting business continuity plans and/or crisis management plans, drafting risk assessments.
These tasks also call for administrative and financial management skills and a good knowledge of computer-based tools (office automation, Excel, Word, MS project, etc.) and, mainly in the case of fields 3 and 4, knowledge of management and CAD (computer-aided design) software.
By way of example, the duties may include:






—


tasks connected with the maintenance and fitting-out of buildings;










—


tasks connected with computer-aided maintenance management (CAMM), centralised technical management, thermal and energy management and sustainable use of buildings;










—


tasks connected with fire protection, technical safety of buildings and hygiene or other tasks connected with health and safety at work;










—


analysis of the requirements and multiannual building programming or specific (organisational, operational, etc.) protection equipment/installations;










—


monitoring of complete fitting-out/renovation/construction/rebuilding projects;










—


drafting operating procedures, and user training;










—


assisting with building stock management and/or with the operation of security equipment and installations;










—


drafting specifications prior to the publication of invitations to tender, participation in invitation to tender procedures, monitoring and coordinating work or services specific to buildings management, including security;










—


administrative and technical management (in particular supervision of performance, monitoring, quality control) of contracts concluded in the buildings sector with outside companies providing services, works, supplies and furniture, including maintenance contracts;










—


financial management as part of project management;










—


participation in selection procedures and negotiations with a view to the acquisition/occupation of buildings;










—


drawing up, consulting and updating plans using CAD software;










—


contacts with contractors and national administrations for issues relating to the field of work;










—


risk assessment and drawing up multidisciplinary security solutions;










—


initiating and following up dossiers connected with safety in other fields, such as electricity, ergonomics, prevention, etc.;










—


initiating, monitoring, coordinating and participating in interinstitutional projects and discussions;










—


drawing up and monitoring files of rules and regulations or files of compliance and any action related thereto (ensuring compliance);










—


drawing up safety standards and specifications; reviewing these standards and specifications or taking part in work groups relating thereto;










—


monitoring technological developments.




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









2.1



Qualifications/diplomas and professional experience
Post-secondary education attested by a diploma relevant to the nature of the duties, followed by at least three years' professional experience relevant to the nature of the duties.
OR
Secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to higher education, followed by at least six years' professional experience relevant to the nature of the duties.





2.2




Knowledge of languages (2)






 



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)





Language 1



Main language
A thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union.





Language 2



Second language (must be different from language 1):
A satisfactory knowledge of English, French or German.

In the light of the judgment given by the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) in Case C-566/10 P, Italy v Commission, the EU institutions wish to state the reasons for limiting the choice of the second language in this competition to a small number of official EU languages.


Candidates are therefore informed that the second language options in this competition 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 dealing with cases. Moreover, English, French and German are the most common second languages in the European Union and the most commonly studied as a 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 have a command of 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 competition, it is legitimate to organise tests in the three languages so as to ensure that all candidates are able to work in at least one of them, whatever their first official language. 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.


For these same reasons, it is reasonable to limit the language of communication between candidates and the institution, including the language in which their applications are to be drafted. Furthermore, this ensures uniformity when comparing candidates and checking their application forms.


To ensure equal treatment for all candidates, everyone — including those whose first official language is one of the three — must take some tests in their second language, chosen from among these three.


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.





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.
The admission tests will be organised only if the number of candidates exceeds a certain threshold. The threshold will be determined by the Director of EPSO, as the appointing authority, after the deadline for applications. This threshold can vary from one field to another and you will be informed of the precise details via your EPSO account.
Otherwise, aptitude tests (reasoning abilities) will be held at the assessment centre (see Section VI.2).














1.



Invitation






You will be invited to sit the tests if you have validated your application on time (see Section VIII).

N.B.:







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 reasoning abilities:





Test (a)



Verbal


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





Test (b)



Numerical


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10





Test (c)



Abstract


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10




 


The aggregate pass mark for tests (b) and (c) is 10.











3.



Language of the tests






Language 1




V.   ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION AND SELECTION BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS
1.   Procedure
Initially, compliance with the general and specific conditions will be checked and the selection based on qualifications will be made on the basis of the information given in your online application.






(a)


Your answers to the questions relating to the general and specific conditions will be processed to determine whether you can be included in the list of candidates who fulfil all the conditions for admission to the competition.

If prior admission tests are organised, compliance with the general and specific conditions will be checked for each field in descending order of the marks obtained, until the number of candidates defined by the appointing authority is reached who:







—




have passed the admission tests with the highest marks, and












—




satisfy the eligibility conditions.







Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be included in the selection phase based on qualifications. Online applications of candidates below the threshold will not be examined.











(b)


The selection board will then screen the candidates eligible for the competition on the basis of their qualifications to identify those whose profile (particularly their diplomas and professional experience) best matches the duties and selection criteria set out in this competition notice. This selection is carried out solely on the basis of the information provided in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab and takes place in two stages:






—


each selection criterion is weighted between 1 and 3, according to how important the board considers it to be;










—


the selection board then examines candidates' answers and awards 0 to 4 points for each answer. The points are then multiplied by the weighting for each question and added together to give an overall score.








The selection board will then draw up a list of candidates in the order of the overall scores awarded. For each field, the number of candidates invited to the assessment centre (3) will not exceed 3 times the number of successful candidates sought. This number will be published on EPSO's website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).
2.   Verification of the information given by candidates
Following the assessment centre, and in the light of the results, the information given by candidates in their online applications will be verified against the supporting documents they have provided; for the general conditions this will be done by EPSO, while for the specific conditions it will be done by the selection board. In assessing qualifications, supporting documents will be taken into account only to confirm the information already given under the ‘Talent Screener’ tab. If verification shows that the information given is not borne out by the appropriate supporting documents (4), candidates will be disqualified.
The applications of candidates who have passed assessment centre tests (d), (e), (f), and (g) with the highest aggregate marks will be verified in descending order of merit (see Section VI.2). Those candidates must also have obtained pass marks in tests (a), (b), and (c). Verification will continue until the number of candidates who can be placed on the reserve lists and who are actually eligible reaches the threshold. The files of candidates below the threshold will not be examined.
3.   Selection criteria

For the selection based on qualifications, the following criteria will be taken into consideration by the selection board:

Field 1: Air conditioning






1.


At least two years' professional experience relevant to one of the areas within the field, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


At least nine months' additional professional experience in another area within the field.










3.


At least six months' professional experience in IT: specific software in the field of building construction/planning/maintenance.










4.


Additional diploma in one of the areas within the field.










5.


Additional training, different to the diploma referred to in point 4 above, in the building sector or technical certificates relating to the field.










6.


Professional experience in financial management as part of project management and/or professional experience in the field of invitations to tender (as drafter and/or assessor and/or tenderer).










7.


Professional experience in team management or in coordination of outside contractors.




Field 2: Electromechanical and electronic engineering






1.


At least two years' professional experience relevant to one of the areas within the field, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


At least nine months' additional professional experience in another area within the field.










3.


At least six months' professional experience in IT: specific software in the field of building construction/planning/maintenance.










4.


Additional diploma in one of the areas within the field.










5.


Additional training, different to the diploma referred to in point 4 above, in the buildings sector or technical certificates relating to the field.










6.


Professional experience in financial management as part of project management and/or professional experience in the field of invitations to tender (as drafter and/or assessor and/or tenderer).










7.


Professional experience in team management or in coordination of outside contractors.




Field 3: Architecture and interior design






1.


At least two years' professional experience relevant to one of the areas within the field, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


Professional experience in the field of design support: electronic management of plans (CAD) and maps (GIS).










3.


Professional experience in interior and exterior design.










4.


At least nine months' professional experience in another field (see Section II) related to the field of construction techniques.










5.


Additional training or equivalent professional experience in the field of project management.










6.


Additional training or equivalent professional experience in the field of analysis methods and tools.










7.


Professional experience in coordination of outside contractors.




Field 4: Project management






1.


At least two years' professional experience relevant to one of the areas within the field, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


At least six months' professional experience in IT: specific software in the field of building construction/planning/maintenance.










3.


At least two years' professional experience as project manager, in particular in a design firm or architect's firm.










4.


At least nine months' professional experience in another field (see Section II) related to the field of construction techniques.










5.


Additional diploma in one of the areas within the field.










6.


Additional training, different to the diploma referred to in point 5 above, in the building sector or technical certificates relating to the field.










7.


Professional experience in financial management as part of project management and/or professional experience in the field of invitations to tender (as drafter and/or assessor and/or tenderer).










8.


Professional experience in team management or in coordination of outside contractors.










9.


Professional experience in contract management and monitoring.




Field 5: Health and Safety/Hygiene






1.


At least two years' professional experience in the field of health and safety at work, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


Additional training in the field of building safety, health and safety at work, hygiene (for example, designated worker, health and safety coordinator, health and safety consultant).










3.


Professional experience in the application of standards specific to the field of health and safety at work.










4.


Diploma and/or certificate in the field of health and safety at work.










5.


At least nine months' professional experience in another field (see Section II) related to the field of construction techniques.




Field 6: Security






1.


At least two years' professional experience in the field of engineering or security, in addition to the experience required under Section III.2.1.










2.


Additional training in the field of building security.










3.


Professional experience in the application of standards specific to the field of security.










4.


Diploma in engineering.










5.


Certificate in the field of security.










6.


At least nine months' professional experience in another field (see Section II) relating to security in connection with construction techniques.




VI.   OPEN COMPETITION

















1.



Invitation






If you are one of the candidates






—


who, according to the information given in the online application, fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III,

and











—


who obtained one of the highest marks in the selection based on qualifications,




you will be invited to attend the assessment tests (5), which will normally be held in Brussels over the course of one or two days
 (6).











2.



Assessment centre






You will sit three types of assessment tests, the content of which is validated by the selection board.






—




Your reasoning abilities
, if not already assessed in admission tests, will be assessed by means of:






(a)


a verbal reasoning test










(b)


a numerical reasoning test










(c)


an abstract reasoning test.














—




Your specific competencies
 will be assessed by means of:






(d)


a structured interview on your competencies in the field, based on the information provided in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab of your application.















—




Your general competencies

 (7) will be assessed by means of:






(e)


a case study










(f)


a group exercise










(g)


a structured interview on the general competencies.













These general competencies will be tested as shown in the following table:





 


Case study


Group exercise


Structured interview




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











3.



Language of the assessment centre






Language 1 for parts (a), (b) and (c)
Language 2 for parts (d), (e), (f) and (g)











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; the marks are not added to the marks for the other assessment centre tests.
Specific competencies (d)
Marked out of 100
Pass mark: 50

Weighting: 55 % of the overall mark

General competencies (e), (f) and (g)
Marked out of 10 for each general competency
Pass mark:






 


3 for each competency and











 


an aggregate of 35 out of 70 for all 7 general competencies





Weighting: 45 % of the overall mark





VII.   RESERVE LISTS













1.



Candidates placed on the reserve lists






The selection board will place your name on the reserve list:






—


if you obtained pass marks in tests (a) to (g) and are one of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in assessment tests (d), (e), (f) and (g) (see number of successful candidates sought, Section I.1) (8)











—



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















2.



Classification






A list will be drawn up for each field and names will be listed 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):
1 April 2014 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.











2.



Submission of application files







If you are one of the candidates invited to the assessment tests, you will have to bring with you your full application file (signed online application form and supporting documents) when you attend (9).

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)  See the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) — required level: language 1 = C1, language 2 = B2
(http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/CEF/LanguageSelfAssessmentGrid.csp)

(3)  Candidates who are not invited to take the assessment centre will be sent the results of their assessment and the weighting applied by the selection board to each question.

(4)  Verification against the supporting documents is done before the reserve lists are drawn up (see Section VII.1 and Section VIII.2).

(5)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the assessment centre.

(6)  Organisational constraints may make it necessary to conduct the reasoning tests in test centres in the Member States, separately from the other assessment centre tests.

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

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

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