Notice of open competition EPSO/AST/131/14 — Assistants (AST 3) — Nuclear inspection
Date: 2014-04-03
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, assistant, competition (EU), nuclear safety








CA2014098EN.01000101.xml










3.4.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 98/1






NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION


EPSO/AST/131/14 — ASSISTANTS (AST 3)


NUCLEAR INSPECTION

2014/C 098 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).
The purpose of the competition is to draw up a reserve list to fill vacant posts for officials at the European Commission, particularly in the Directorate-General for Energy (DG Energy) in Luxembourg and in the services of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) that work in the area of nuclear safeguards, and more specifically, in the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) in Karlsruhe (Germany), the Institute for Energy (IE) in Petten (the Netherlands), and the Ispra Site Management (ISM) in Ispra (Italy).


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.


ADMISSION TO THE COMPETITION AND SELECTION BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS










VI.


OPEN COMPETITION










VII.


RESERVE LIST










VIII.


HOW TO APPLY




I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND


Number of successful candidates sought: 32

II.   DUTIES

The mission of DG Energy with regard to nuclear safeguards is to ensure compliance with the obligations and rights concerning non-diversion of nuclear material, as described in Chapter 7 of the Euratom Treaty establishing the Euratom safeguards system.
The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as the Union’s reference centre for science and technology.
The role of nuclear inspectors is to check the accuracy of the declarations and reports made by operators of nuclear installations, to perform physical checks on nuclear materials, and to draw up reports on their findings. They are also responsible for communicating with operators, national partners and international organisations, under the supervision of their hierarchical superiors. They may also be called on to contribute to the development, installation and maintenance of safeguards equipment.
The main duties of a nuclear inspector are:






—



Carrying out inspections of all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle at nuclear facilities (extraction of fissile material, conversion, enrichment, manufacture of nuclear fuel, nuclear reactor operation, reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel, waste processing and final storage of waste). The goal of inspections is to check the technical features of installations and to examine the supporting evidence for accounting statements submitted by the operator to verify their accuracy. The checks include carrying out quantitative and qualitative measurements, taking samples, and analysing data from measurements and video surveillance and data relating to seals.










—



Checking the accuracy and consistency of the accounting statements for nuclear materials submitted by nuclear operators. This includes entering data in a computerised accounting system, analysing anomalies detected by the system, and following up these anomalies with the nuclear operators concerned.










—



Taking part in the development of specific safeguards mechanisms for each nuclear installation; representing the Commission at meetings with operators, national authorities and international organisations (such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)); and drawing up detailed reports.











—



Analysing samples of nuclear materials and swabs, either in on-site laboratories or in the European Commission’s laboratories. This includes calibrating and validating the analysis equipment, and handling radioactive samples in a controlled environment.










—



Developing, preparing and calibrating the equipment and instruments to be used during on-the-spot inspections, and installing and maintaining measuring and monitoring equipment, including video surveillance systems and electronic leak-proofing systems in nuclear installations.




The tasks listed above may be shared between different teams. Although a candidate may be a specialist in one or other of the task groups, it can be an asset to have multidisciplinary skills across the areas mentioned above. Nuclear inspectors are encouraged to change teams over the years.


These activities are governed by the provisions of the Euratom Treaty and secondary legislation adopted under it, and by the international agreements to which the European Atomic Energy Community is a party. They involve frequent missions and require access to controlled areas of nuclear installations. Given the often isolated location of nuclear installations, inspectors are required to have a driving licence.




Nuclear inspectors are subject to security vetting.


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

A level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma either in a technical field, or in the field of natural or applied sciences, such as nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry or engineering.

OR

A level of secondary, general or technical education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, followed by at least 3 years’ professional experience in a relevant field.

N.B.: These 3 years of professional experience do not count towards the length of experience required below.




2.2



Professional experience

At least 3 years’ professional experience, of which 2 years must be related to nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering, or any other relevant discipline in a technical field or the applied sciences, acquired in the nuclear industry, a nuclear research centre, a national or international public body, or in another appropriate area.
Account can be taken of up to 1 year of further training related to the required specialisation and undertaken since obtaining the required educational qualification.
This professional experience must have been gained after obtaining the educational qualification giving access to the competition.




2.3.



Knowledge of languages
 (2)






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 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 widely 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 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.
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; you will be informed of the threshold via your EPSO account.
Otherwise, aptitude tests 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 skills:





Test (a)



Verbal reasoning


Marking: out of 20
Pass mark: 10





Test (b)



Numerical reasoning


Marking: out of 10





Test (c)



Abstract reasoning


Marking: 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, the information given in your online application will be checked for compliance with the general and specific conditions and will be used for the selection based on qualifications.






(a)


Your answers to the questions concerning 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 in descending order of the marks obtained, until the number of candidates who:







—




have passed the admission tests with the highest marks, and












—




satisfy the eligibility conditions,








reaches the threshold defined by the appointing authority

 (3).

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. Selection is carried out solely on the basis of the information given in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab, using the following marking scheme:






—


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, according to the candidate’s qualifications. 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. The number of candidates invited to the assessment centre will not exceed three times the number of successful candidates sought (4). This number will be published on EPSO’s website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).
2.   Verification of information given by candidates

Following the assessment centre tests, 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; this will be done by EPSO for the general conditions, and by the selection board for the specific conditions. In assessing qualifications, supporting documents will be taken into account only to confirm the information already given in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab. If verification shows that the information given is not borne out by the appropriate supporting documents (5), candidates will be disqualified.
The applications of candidates who have passed 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), where applicable. Verification will continue until the number of candidates who can be placed on the reserve list 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:







1.


Professional experience in the development of experimental techniques in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering or any other relevant discipline in the technical field or the applied sciences, including performance, analysis and evaluation of experiments.










2.


Professional experience in the application of experimental techniques in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering or any other relevant discipline in the technical field or the applied sciences, including performance, analysis and evaluation of experiments.










3.


Professional experience in the development of measurement techniques in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering or any other relevant discipline in the technical field or the applied sciences.










4.


Professional experience in the application of measurement techniques in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering or any other relevant discipline in the technical field or the applied sciences.










5.


Professional experience in computing related to the development or application of experimental or measurement techniques in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, radiation protection, radiobiology, physics, chemistry, engineering or any other relevant discipline in the technical field or the applied sciences.










6.


Professional experience in computing related to database management and accounting applications.










7.


Professional experience related to regulatory aspects in the nuclear field.










8.


Professional experience in nuclear material accounting.










9.


International experience in at least one of the areas mentioned above (1 to 8), including experience acquired through cooperation with relevant international organisations.










10.


Experience in negotiations with third parties, such as Member States’ authorities and representatives of facility operators or companies.




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 (6),
you will be invited to the assessment centre, which will normally be held in Brussels over the course of 1 or 2 days
 (7).














2.


Assessment centre






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






—




Your reasoning ability
 (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 given in the ‘Talent Screener’ tab of your application.















—




Your general competencies

 (8) will be assessed by means of:






(e)


a case study










(f)


a group exercise










(g)


a structured interview on your general competencies.













Each general competency will be tested as follows:









 


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 for the assessment centre






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










4.


Marking and weighting







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 are not added to the marks for the other assessment centre tests.

Specific competencies (test (d))

Marked out of 100
Pass mark: 50

Weighting: 55 % of the overall mark


General competencies (tests (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 seven general competencies

Weighting: 45 % of the overall mark





VII.   RESERVE LIST













1.


Candidates placed on the reserve list






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






—


if you have passed tests (a) to (g) with one of the highest aggregate marks in tests (d), (e), (f) and (g) (see number of successful candidates sought, Section I.1) (9),










—



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














2.


Classification






The 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 May 2014 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files







If you are invited to the assessment centre, you must bring your full application file (signed online application form and supporting documents) with you when you attend (10).

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)  This is the threshold referred to in the second paragraph of Section IV.

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

(5)  The information given will be verified against the supporting documents before the reserve list is drawn up (see Sections VII.1 and VIII.2).

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

(7)  For organisational reasons, the aptitude tests may be held in test centres in the Member States, separately from the other assessment centre tests.

(8)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the General Rules governing open competitions.

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

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