Vacancy for the Executive Director (Grade AD 14) of the European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) — COM/2014/10355
Date: 2014-06-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Frontex, administrator, job vacancy, managing director








CA2014180EN.01000101.xml










13.6.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 180/1





Vacancy for the Executive Director (Grade AD 14) of the European Agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex)
COM/2014/10355
2014/C 180 A/01
 

We are

The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) is an EU Agency located in Warsaw, Poland. It has been founded by Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 establishing a European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (1), as last amended by Regulation (EU) No 1168/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).
The Agency employs currently about 310 members of staff and has a budget of approximately 89 million EUR for the year 2014.
Its mission is to facilitate and render more effective the application of existing and future Union measures relating to the management of external borders by ensuring the coordination of Member States’ actions in the implementation of those measures, thereby contributing to an efficient, high and uniform level of control on persons and surveillance of the external borders of the Member States.
Equally the Agency shall also provide the Commission and the Member States with the necessary technical support and expertise in the management of the external borders and it shall promote solidarity between Member States.
To fulfil its mission the Agency performs essentially the following tasks:






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coordinate operational cooperation between Member States in the field of management of external borders;










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assist Member States on training of national border guards, including the establishment of common training standards;










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carry out risk analyses;










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follow up on the development of research relevant for the control of persons and surveillance of external borders;










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assist Member States in circumstances requiring increased technical and operational assistance at external borders;










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cooperate with competent authorities of third countries regarding border management;










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provide Member States with the necessary support in organising joint return operations.





We propose

The Executive Director will manage and represent the Agency. She/he shall be the legal representative and public face of the Agency. She/he shall be independent in the performance of her/his duties and shall be accountable for her/his activities to the Management Board. The Management Board is composed of one representative of each Member State and two representatives of the Commission.
The Executive Director will have a central role in running the Agency. She/he will be responsible for establishing and managing the administrative, operational and financial measures necessary for the proper operation of the Agency.
Without prejudice to the powers of the Management Board, the Executive Director shall assume full responsibility for the tasks entrusted to the Agency and shall be subject to the procedure for annual discharge by the European Parliament for the implementation of the budget. The European Parliament or the Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his/her tasks.
The specific responsibilities of the Executive Director include:






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Ensuring the Agency’s operation in accordance with its founding Regulation;










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Developing and achieving the Agency’s strategic objectives in accordance with its mission whilst paying particular attention to the full respect of fundamental rights during all the Agency’s activities;










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Communicating with a broad range of stakeholders, including explaining to the general public the Agency’s activities and the EU’s policies on Schengen and border management;










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Day-to-day management of the Agency’s staff, including recruitment;










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Preparing and implementing the strategies, procedures, decisions, programmes and activities adopted by the Management Board, within the limits specified by the founding Regulation, its implementing rules and any applicable law;










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Preparation and efficient execution of the budget of the Agency in accordance with the principles of sound financial management;










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Preparation and implementation of the annual work programme and activity report;










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Facilitating cooperation between the Agency, the European Commission, the Council and other relevant bodies, as well as reporting to and communicating with the European Parliament and/or the Council in accordance with the founding Regulation










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Establishing effective cooperation between the Agency and competent authorities of the Member States in the field of its activities;










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Facilitating cooperation between the Agency and relevant third-countries and international organisations;




For further information, please refer to the legal provisions of the Regulation.

We look for

Applicants should have:






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The ability to develop an overall forward-looking vision in view of implementing the Agency’s strategic objectives;










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Capacity to manage an Agency of around 310 staff both at strategic and internal management level and the ability to lead and motivate a large team in a European, multicultural and multilingual environment;










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A solid professional experience preferably in the field of border management, or in migration or law enforcement, ideally acquired in a national, as well as a European or international context; this experience should be at strategic or operational levels but candidates with administrative or legal experience in these fields will also be considered.










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Solid and proven administrative and management skills, in particular experience of budgetary, financial and human resources management at senior level in a national, European and/or international context;










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A thorough and sound understanding of the EU context and of the interaction between national administrations and EU institutions, including an excellent knowledge of the EU legislation regarding border management at the external borders of the Union;










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A clear understanding of technology related to the management of external borders, including modern information technology, including knowledge in the field of data protection;










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Excellent understanding of international cooperation outside the EU in the Agency’s field of activities;










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Proven ability to communicate efficiently and fluently at all levels, in a transparent and open manner, with the general public and with a wide range of stakeholders (European, international, national and local authorities, international organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations). The working language of the Agency is English;










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Excellent decision-making, organisational and negotiation skills.





Applicants must

Applicants will be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal criteria to be fulfilled by the closing date for applications:






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Nationality: Be a national of a Member State of the European Union;










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University Degree or Diploma:


Have:







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either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more,










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or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years (this one year’s professional experience cannot be included in the post-graduate professional experience required below).














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Professional Experience: Have at least 15 years’ post-graduate professional experience acquired after the required qualification referred to above was obtained.










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Relevant Professional Experience: Of the 15 years professional experience, at least 5 years must have been acquired in a domain of relevance to the Agency’s activities, preferably in the field of border management, or in the fields of migration or law enforcement.










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Management Experience: at least five years of professional experience gained in a high-level management function (3);










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Languages: Have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of a second;










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Age limit: Be able to complete the full five-year-mandate before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union entering the service as from 1 January 2014, retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66.





Independence and declaration of interests

The Executive Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make a declaration in respect of any interests which might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence. Applicants must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.
The successful applicant will be required to undergo a security vetting and clearance procedure.

Selection and appointment

The selection is carried out subject to the availability of appropriations in the Agency’s budget and of the relevant posts in its establishment plan.
A pre-selection panel will be set up for the selection process. This panel will invite applicants with the best profile for the specific requirements of the post to an interview. These applicants will be selected on the basis of their merits within the criteria set out above.
Candidates proposed by the pre-selection panel for further interview by the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA) will also be required to attend an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Candidates who are shortlisted by the CCA will then be interviewed by the relevant Commissioners.
Following these interviews, the Commission will adopt a list of eligible candidates, which will be communicated to the Management Board of the Agency. The latter will select a candidate from among them on the grounds of merit and documented administrative and management skills. Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above.
The Management Board could require a repeated selection procedure if it is not satisfied with the suitability of any of the candidates retained in the initial list.
Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Management Board may be invited to make a statement before the competent committee or committees of the European Parliament and answer questions asked by its or their members. After this statement, the European Parliament may adopt an opinion setting out its views of the selected candidate.
The Management Board shall inform the European Parliament of the manner in which this opinion has been taken into account. The opinion shall be treated as personal and confidential until the appointment of the candidate.
The Management Board shall take the final decision on the appointment of the Executive Director.

Conditions of employment

The Executive Director will be appointed by the Management Board as a member of the staff of the Agency, as a temporary agent at grade AD 14 pursuant to Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (4) for a five-year period, which may be renewed once, as stated in the legal basis.
The place of employment is Warsaw (Poland), where the seat of the Agency is located.
The Executive Director is expected to take office as soon as possible.

Equal opportunities

The Agency applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (4).

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma and professional experience required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.
If you want to apply, you must register via the internet by going to the website:

https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/CV_Encadext

and follow the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time (5). We strongly advise not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for registration has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. As a general rule, late registrations via normal e-mail are not accepted.
You must have a valid e-mail address. This will be used to identify your registration and to keep you informed of the progress of the selection procedure. Therefore, please, inform the European Commission of any change in your e-mail address.
To complete your application, you will need to upload a CV in WORD or PDF format and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Both the CV and letter must be written in English, French or German.
Once you have finished your online registration, you will see on-screen a registration number that you must write down and remember — this will be your reference number in all matters concerning your application. When you receive this number, the registration process is finished — it is a confirmation that we have registered the data you entered.

If you do not receive a number, your application has not been registered!

The selection process, including correspondence with selection panels during this selection procedure will be carried out in English (6).
Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application on-line. You will be contacted directly by the European Commission regarding the status of your application.
If you have a disability that prevents you from registering online, you may submit your application (CV and letter of motivation) on paper by registered mail (7), postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between the European Commission and you will be by post. In this case, you must enclose with your application a certificate attesting your disability, issued by a recognised body. You should also set out on a separate sheet of paper any special arrangements you think are needed to make it easier for you to take part in the selection.
If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an e-mail to HR-A2-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu.

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 14 July 2014. Online registration will not be possible after 12.00 noon Brussels time.

Important information for applicants

Applicants are reminded that the work of the selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for applicants to make direct or indirect contact with members of these committees, or for anybody to do so on their behalf.

Protection of personal data

The Commission and the Agency and its Management Board will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation 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 (8).


(1)  OJ L 349, 25.11.2004, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 1.

(3)  In their CV applicants should indicate at least for these five years during which high-level management experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of management positions held, (2) number of staff overseen in these positions, (3) the size of budgets managed, and (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below and number of peers.

(4)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140101&rid=1

(5)  No later than 12.00 noon, Brussels time, on 14 July 2014.

(6)  The selection panels will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers.

(7)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, Unit for Executive Staff and CCA Secretariat, COM/2014/10355, SC11 8/30, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË.

(8)  Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 — (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1).