Notice of open competition — EPSO/AD/277/14 — Administrators (AD 5) in the field of audit
Date: 2014-03-20
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, administrator, audit, competition (EU)








CA2014081EN.01000101.xml










20.3.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 81/1






NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION

EPSO/AD/277/14

ADMINISTRATORS (AD 5) IN THE FIELD OF AUDIT

(2014/C 81 A/01)
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit administrators (1).
The purpose of this competition is to draw up a reserve list from which to fill vacant posts for officials in the institutions of the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg, primarily at the European Court of Auditors.


Before applying, you should carefully read the General Rules governing open competitions published in
Official Journal of the European Union C 60 A of 1 March 2014

and on the EPSO website.




That document 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

Number of successful candidates sought: 40

II.   DUTIES

AD 5 is the grade at which graduates begin their careers as administrators in the EU institutions. Administrators recruited at this grade can undertake, under the supervision of their hierarchical superiors, three main types of work in the institutions: policy formulation, operational delivery and resource management. We are particularly looking for candidates with a potential for career development.
The general role of administrators in the field of audit is to support their immediate superiors and management in fulfilling the mission of their institution.
They also work in areas such as financial, performance and internal audit. Auditors provide assurance and advisory services in all operational fields of the EU with the aim of improving governance and management. This might involve operations in all the Member States of the EU and also in third countries or international organisations, requiring readiness to travel, sometimes frequently, for short periods of time.
They must be prepared to work in multinational and multicultural teams and be willing to update their professional knowledge continuously, by means of the training they are offered.
The nature of the duties requires a wide range of knowledge in fields such as law, accountancy, public administration, finance and economics, project management in the EU's various areas of competence, IT and audit and assessment techniques.
A career in the institutions offers constant opportunities for training and internal mobility.
The main tasks of administrators in the field of audit are:






—


external audit, financial audit, compliance audit, and auditing of sound financial management, including planning, implementation and reporting,










—


documentary and on-the-spot checks and controls, analysis, assessment and improvement of audit systems and project and programme management,










—


internal audit, methodological support, advice and training,










—


interservice coordination and consultation on audit issues,










—


drafting of opinions, advice or recommendations in fields related to their institution's mission.




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 EU.










(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
A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma relevant to the duties involved, or professional training/a professional qualification of an equivalent level relevant to those duties.

Students in their final year at university may take part in the competition provided that their diploma is awarded by 31 July 2014 at the latest.





2.2


Professional experience
No professional experience is required.




2.3



Knowledge of languages (2)






Language 1


Main language
A thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the EU.




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 EU and the most commonly studied as a second language. This confirms what is currently expected of candidates for EU 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 and needs of the service and the abilities of candidates, and given the particular field of this competition, 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. 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 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.













1.


Invitation






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

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 skills:





Test (a)



Verbal reasoning


Marking: this test will be marked out of 20





Test (b)



Numerical reasoning


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





Test (c)



Abstract reasoning


Marking: this test will be marked out of 10




 


The aggregate pass mark for tests (a) and (c) is 15.





Test (d)



Situational judgment


Marking: this test will be marked out of 40
Pass mark: 24










3.


Language of the tests






Language 1 for tests (a), (b) and (c)
Language 2 for test (d)




V.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE
















1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre






—


if you have obtained the pass mark in all the admission tests,










—


if you have one of the highest aggregate marks for tests (a), (c) and (d) (3), and










—


if checks on the information given in your online application (4) show that you fulfil the general and specific conditions listed in Section III.




Test (b) is eliminatory but the marks will not be added to the marks from the other tests in order to identify the candidates to invite to the assessment centre.
The number of candidates invited to the assessment centre will be approximately 2,5 times the number of successful candidates sought that is indicated in the competition notice and will be published on EPSO's website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).










2.


Assessment centre






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






—



specific competencies

Your specific competencies in the field will be tested by means of the case study alone.










—


your general competencies
 (5) will be assessed by means of:






(e)


a case study in the field










(f)


a group exercise










(g)


an oral presentation










(h)


a structured interview.








You will be invited to carry out a case study in the field (an integral part of the overall assessment) and to take the other assessment centre tests (6), which will be normally be held in Luxembourg over one day or a day and a half.





Each competency will be tested as follows:





 



Case study




Group exercise




Oral presentation




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




Leadership


 


x


 


x










3.


Language for the assessment centre






Language 2










4.


Marking and weighting






Specific competencies in the field
Marked out of 20
Pass mark: 10

Weighting: 25 % of the overall mark

General competencies
Marked out of 10 for each general competency
Pass mark:






 


3 for each competency, and










 


an aggregate of 50 out of 80 for all eight general competencies





Weighting: 75 % of the overall mark





VI.   RESERVE LIST












1.


Candidates placed on the reserve list






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






—


if you have passed the assessment centre tests with one of the highest aggregate marks (see number of successful candidates sought, Section I.1) (7),










—



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




Supporting documents will be verified in descending order of merit 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 the threshold will not be examined. If verification shows that the information given in your online application (8) is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, you will be disqualified from the competition.










2.


Classification






The list will be drawn up 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):
23 April 2014 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files







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

Procedure: see point 2.1.7 of the General Rules governing 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)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to the assessment centre.

(4)  This information will be verified against the supporting documents before the reserve list is drawn up (see Sections VI.1 and VII.2).

(5)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the General Rules governing Open Competitions.

(6)  For organisational reasons, the case study may be organised in test centres in the Member States, separately from the other assessment centre tests.

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

(8)  The information relating to the general conditions is verified by EPSO, while the information relating to the specific conditions is verified by the selection board.

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