Call for expressions of interest for scientific experts for membership of the Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy)
Date: 2014-04-09
Institutions: European Food Safety Authority
Subjects: European Food Safety Authority, job vacancy, scientific profession








C_2014106EN.01002101.xml










9.4.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 106/21





Call for expressions of interest for scientific experts for membership of the Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy)
2014/C 106/06

Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW)


Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ)


Panel on Contaminants in the food chain (CONTAM)


Panel on Additives and products or substances used in animal feed (FEEDAP)


Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)


Panel on Dietetic products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)


Panel on Plant Health (PLH)


Panel on Plant Protection Products and their residues (PPR)


Scientific Committee (SC)


Ref.: EFSA/E/2014/001

1.   Subject of the call

This call is addressed to scientists who wish to be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee (SC) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or one of EFSA’s Scientific Panels, namely: Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW), Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ), Contaminants in the food chain (CONTAM), Additives and products or substances used in animal feed (FEEDAP), Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Dietetic products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), Plant Health (PLH) and Plant Protection Products and their residues (PPR).
The current members of the Scientific Committee and the abovementioned Scientific Panels are serving a three-year term of office which is due to expire in mid-2015. The new members will be appointed for the following three-year term starting in July 2015.
2.   The European Food Safety Authority

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the keystone of European Union (EU) risk assessment regarding food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health and environment. In close collaboration with national authorities and in open consultation with its stakeholders, EFSA provides independent scientific advice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks grounded in the most up-to-date scientific methodologies and data available. Its scientific advice underpins the policies and decisions of risk managers in the European Institutions and EU Member States.
EFSA brings together Europe’s best available experts in risk assessment in the field of food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health and environment, who act in an independent capacity for an autonomous, self-governed organisation to provide the European Institutions and the Member States with scientific advice of the highest standard.
The Authority is committed to the core standards of scientific excellence, openness, transparency, independence and responsiveness. By working independently, openly and transparently EFSA delivers the best possible scientific advice and therefore contributes to strengthening the European food and feed safety system.
For more information regarding EFSA, please refer to its Founding Regulation: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2002R0178:20090807:EN:PDF
3.   The role of EFSA’s Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels

The Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels are responsible for providing the scientific opinions of the Authority and other advice as appropriate, each within their own spheres of competence. They produce scientific opinions and advice for risk managers. This helps to provide a sound foundation for the formulation of European policies and legislation and this supports risk managers in taking decisions.
The Scientific Panels are normally composed of twenty-one (21) independent scientific experts. The Scientific Committee is composed of the Chairs of each Scientific Panel and six scientific experts.
Members of the Scientific Committee and of the Scientific Panels are appointed for a three-year term of office that may be renewed twice. Members are expected to attend and contribute actively to the meetings of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels or its working groups, where opinions, statements or guidance documents are adopted.
These scientific opinions, statements and guidance documents are published in the EFSA Journal, a monthly publication which is indexed in bibliographic databases (e.g. CAB Abstracts, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, ISI Web of Knowledge) relevant to EFSA’s work.
Applicants are referred to Annex I published on EFSA’s website to consult the detailed description of the remit of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels.

Applicants are advised to give careful consideration to ANNEX I when preparing their applications. In the context of the evaluation on whether they meet the selection requirements (see section 5 below), due consideration will be given to the suitability of the applicants’ profiles in relation to the remit of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels.

For more information regarding the selection of Members of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panels please refer to the ‘Decision of the Executive Director concerning the selection of members of the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee and the selection of External Experts to assist EFSA with its scientific work’.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/expertselection.pdf
For more information on the establishment and operations of Scientific Panels and their Working Groups, please refer to the ‘Decision of the Management Board concerning the establishment and operations of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels and of their Working Groups’.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/paneloperation.pdf
4.   The role of the members of EFSA’s Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels

Members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels are experienced, independent scientists selected and appointed in accordance with EFSA’s Founding Regulation and EFSA’s rules.
Members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels will be asked to perform the following tasks:






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Contributing to the preparation, the discussion and the adoption of scientific opinions, guidance documents and statements of the Scientific Panel and/or the Scientific Committee and the activities of their working groups;










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Contributing to scientific advice on matters falling within the remit of the Scientific Panel and/or of the Scientific Committee;










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Provision of advice on conducting and organising the scientific activities of the Scientific Panel and/or of the Scientific Committee.




Members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels may be chosen as Chair or vice-chairs of the Scientific Panels/Committee and of their working groups in line with the EFSA Management Board Decision (1) concerning the establishment and operations of the Scientific Committee and Panels.
General conditions:
Members of a Scientific Panel and of the Scientific Committee will be requested to attend two-day meetings usually held in Parma, Italy. These meetings will take place between six and eight times per year.
In addition, members of Scientific Panels and of the Scientific Committee are expected to participate, as appropriate, in some meetings of the working groups that are established by the Scientific Panels. These meetings usually take place six to eight times a year.
Attendance at the meetings of the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee or of the working groups requires some degree of preparatory work, including prior reading and drafting of documents. Meetings and most documents are in English.
In order to complement their experience, members will be offered different training modules as well as follow-up information tutorials, on EFSA risk assessment methodologies and guidance documents. Members are strongly recommended to attend these sessions.
As part of EFSA’s commitment to openness and transparency, plenary meetings of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels may be open to observers and might be recorded or streamed over the internet.
Applicants are required to express their commitment that, if appointed, they will actively participate in the activities of the Scientific Committee or of the Scientific Panels.
EFSA will, in accordance with its financial rules, bear the travel costs, daily and accommodation allowance of the members. A special indemnity will be paid for each full day of meeting attendance (2).
5.   Selection Procedure

Applicants are required to indicate in the application form, the Scientific Panel(s) and/or the Scientific Committee they wish to apply for, which best matches their areas of expertise (please refer to Annex I).
An applicant may indicate more than one Panel (in order of preference and up to a maximum of 3 choices), in the case where their areas of expertise cover the remit of more than one Scientific Panel and/or the Scientific Committee.
Members who have just completed three consecutive terms of office in the Scientific Committee may apply for membership of a Scientific Panel. Likewise, Members who have just completed three consecutive terms of office in a Scientific Panel may apply for membership of the Scientific Committee or of a different Scientific Panel.


The requirements


A.   Eligibility criteria

Each application will be screened against the following eligibility requirements:






i.


A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least four (4) years attested by a diploma in one of the following fields: Agronomy/Agricultural Science, Animal Nutrition, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Crop/plant protection, Ecotoxicology, Environmental Science, Epidemiology, Microbiology, Food Technology, Genetics, Human Medicine, Human Nutrition, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Occupational Medicine, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Public Health, Statistics, Toxicology, Veterinary Medicine and related areas within the remit of EFSA.










ii.


In addition to the above, at least ten (10) years of professional experience relevant to the remit of the Panel(s) gained after obtaining the requested diploma;










iii.


Thorough knowledge of the English language (3);










iv.


Citizenship of a Member State of the European Union (EU), or of a country of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or of EU Candidate countries. Experts from third countries may also apply but will only be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee or of the Scientific Panels, if the required level of expertise cannot be found among nationals of EU, EFTA or EU Candidate countries.










v.


Commitment to attend meetings and to actively contribute to the work of the Scientific Panels/Scientific Committee.




B.   Selection criteria — Evaluation

Applications meeting the eligibility requirements (see section 5. A) will be admitted to a comparative evaluation carried out by EFSA on the basis of the selection criteria indicated below. Applicants are strongly encouraged to fill in the application form in all sections with the necessary information and evidence, as this will form the basis for their evaluation.
The evaluation of all applications considered eligible will be carried out by means of a scoring range from zero (0) through to five (5) for each of the selection criteria indicated below. In order to reflect the relative importance of the different selection criteria, a weighting coefficient will be attributed. Each application will obtain a score ranging between zero (0) and one hundred (100).
The following selection criteria will be examined:






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Experience in carrying out scientific risk assessment and/or providing scientific advice in fields related to food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health and environment, as appropriate, in the areas of competence and expertise of the Scientific Panel(s)/Committee preferred (Maximum 25 points out of 100).










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Proven scientific excellence in one, or preferably several fields linked to the area covered by the Scientific Panel(s)/Committee preferred (Maximum 20 points out of 100).










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Experience in peer reviewing scientific work and publications, in fields related to the area covered by the Scientific Panel(s)/Committee preferred (Maximum 15 points out of 100).










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Experience in analysing complex information and dossiers, often from a wide range of scientific disciplines and sources and to prepare draft scientific opinions and reports (Maximum 10 points out of 100).










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Professional experience in a multidisciplinary environment, preferably in an international context (Maximum 10 points out of 100).










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Experience in project management related to scientific matters (Maximum 10 points out of 100).










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Experience in communication, based on teaching experience, public presentations, active participation in meetings, publications (Maximum 10 points out of 100).




Applications will be further processed, if the applicant obtains a score above the threshold of 66 points (out of 100) for at least one of their chosen Scientific Panel(s)/Scientific Committee. EFSA reserves the right to consult third parties on the professional experience of applicants in the context of their application.
C.   Declaration of interests

In addition to the abovementioned criteria, all applicants scored above the threshold will be required to submit the completed Annual Declaration of Interests which will be reviewed in accordance with the EFSA Policy on independence and scientific decision making processes and with its rules on Declarations of Interest (4), in force at the time when the screening takes place. The extent of any potential conflict of interest will be taken into account in deciding whether an applicant will be further considered for membership.
For more information regarding the selection of Members of the Scientific Panels and Scientific Committee please refer to the ‘Decision of the Executive Director concerning the selection of members of the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee and the selection of External Experts to assist EFSA with its scientific work’.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/expertselection.pdf
6.   Reserve list and Appointment

Applicants who are found to meet the requirements for membership may be appointed as members for a three-year mandate, on the basis of a decision by EFSA Management Board on a proposal by EFSA Executive Director.
Before appointment, EFSA reserves the right to check the application of applicants considered for membership against documents and certificates in order to confirm the accuracy and eligibility of the application.
Applicants who are found to meet the requirements for membership but are not selected for a specific Scientific Panel or the Scientific Committee will be included in the reserve list. Applicants should note that inclusion on a reserve list does not guarantee appointment as a member.
Applicants placed on the reserve list resulting from this call, may with their prior consent, be appointed as members of a Scientific Panel and/or the Scientific Committee even if they did not specifically apply for membership of that Panel and/or the Scientific Committee.
7.   Expert database

All reserve list candidates will be invited to be part of the EFSA expert database.
For more information regarding EFSA’s expert database: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/AboutEfsa/WhoWeAre/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1178712806106.htm
8.   Independence and declarations of commitment and interest

The members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels are appointed in a personal capacity.
Applicants who obtain a score above the threshold are responsible for the content of the declaration submitted, which will be assessed in accordance with EFSA’s Policy on Independence and Scientific Decision-Making Processes and with its rules on Declarations of Interest (5), in force at the time when the screening takes place. Applicants may be contacted for further clarification on the Declaration of Interests they submitted with their application.
See below some examples of what is considered a Conflict of Interest:






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The Membership of the Scientific Committee/Panels is not allowed for candidates who, at the moment of submitting their application, are employed by any legal or natural person carrying out any of the activities on which EFSA’s scientific outputs impact directly or indirectly, such as food production, processing and distribution, agriculture or animal husbandry. This includes any form of regular occupation or business, part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, including self-employment (e.g. consultancy) to the benefit of the persons above.










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The Membership of the Scientific Committee/Panels is not allowed for candidates who, at the moment of submitting their application, are involved in ad hoc or occasional consultancy to bodies such as a European Association of producers of products that the relevant Panel assesses, regarding a range of topics so broad that this activity would regularly be in conflict with items on the agenda of the relevant Scientific Committee/Panel.




For more information regarding Declarations of Interests: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/values/independence.htm
9.   Equal opportunities

EFSA takes great care to apply the principles of equal treatment in its procedures.
10.   Submission of applications

Applications will be deemed admissible only if a duly completed online application form is submitted within the deadline.
Applications delivered via electronic/post mail will not be accepted.
Applicants are kindly invited to fill in their application form in English in order to facilitate the selection procedure.
All applicants will be informed by mail about the outcome of the selection process.
The personal information EFSA requests from applicants will be processed in line with 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 (6).
The purpose of the data processing is to manage applications for membership of the EFSA Scientific Committee or Panels.
11.   Closing date for sending applications

Applications must be submitted no later than 18 June 2014 at midnight (Local time, GMT +1).

Applicants are strongly advised not to wait until the last few days before the deadline since heavy internet traffic or a problem with internet connections could lead to not being able to submit the application on time.


Note:

In the event of inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any of the other linguistic versions of this publication, the English language version shall prevail.


(1)  For more information refer to: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/paneloperation.pdf

(2)  For more information refer to: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/efsa_rep/repository/documents/Experts_compensation_guide.pdf

(3)  ‘Thorough knowledge’ shall be intended as corresponding to level B2 or higher (i.e. levels C1 and C2) as specified in the Council of Europe reference document for the European Language Portfolio (‘Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching, and Assessment’). For more information please refer to http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_en.pdf

(4)  Documents are available on the EFSA website at: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/values/independence.htm and The Decision of the Executive Director implementing EFSA’s Policy on Independence and Scientific Decision-Making Processes regarding Declarations of Interests is currently under review.

(5)  Documents are available on the EFSA website at: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/values/independence.htm and The Decision of the Executive Director implementing EFSA’s Policy on Independence and Scientific Decision-Making Processes regarding Declarations of Interests is currently under review.

(6)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.