Notice of open competitions — EPSO/AD/284/14 — German-language (DE) translators — EPSO/AD/285/14 — Greek-language (EL) translators — EPSO/AD/286/14 — Spanish-language (ES) translators — EPSO/AD/287/14 — Swedish-language (SV) translators
Date: 2014-07-03
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, administrator, competition (EU), translation








CA2014207EN.01000101.xml










3.7.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 207/1





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITIONS
EPSO/AD/284/14 — GERMAN-LANGUAGE (DE) TRANSLATORS
EPSO/AD/285/14 — GREEK-LANGUAGE (EL) TRANSLATORS
EPSO/AD/286/14 — SPANISH-LANGUAGE (ES) TRANSLATORS
EPSO/AD/287/14 — SWEDISH-LANGUAGE (SV) TRANSLATORS
2014/C 207 A/01
 
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit translators (1) (AD 5).
The purpose of these competitions is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts for officials in the institutions of the European Union.


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.




This 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.


TRANSLATION TESTS










VI.


ASSESSMENT CENTRE










VII.


RESERVE LISTS










VIII.


HOW TO APPLY




I.   GENERAL BACKGROUND















1.


Number of successful candidates sought






 



Option 1




Option 2






EPSO/AD/284/14 — DE




41




16






EPSO/AD/285/14 — EL




46




9






EPSO/AD/286/14 — ES




44




4






EPSO/AD/287/14 — SV




21




13











2.


Remarks






Each competition includes two options. You are not allowed to apply for more than one competition or more than one option.
You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have confirmed and validated your online application form.

These competitions are intended for candidates with a perfect command, both written and spoken, of the competition language (mother tongue or equivalent) and a thorough knowledge of their first and second source languages
 (2)
. If you are not up to this standard, we would strongly advise you not to apply.





II.   DUTIES

AD 5 is the starting grade for a career as an administrator — linguistic or other — in the European institutions.
The principal role of linguistic administrators (translators) is to deliver high-quality translations by the deadlines set and to provide linguistic advice so as to enable the institution or body for which they work to fulfil its mission.
Their duties include translation from at least two source languages into their main language, revision of translations from those languages, and terminology research. The texts involved, which are often complex, generally deal with political, legal, economic/financial, scientific or technical subjects encompassing all the European Union’s areas of activity. Performing these tasks requires the intensive use of specific IT and related tools.
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 education corresponding to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma.




2.2.



Professional experience

No professional experience is required.




2.3.



Knowledge of languages







OPTION 1:




 





Language 1




Main language

A perfect command of the language of the competition.





Language 2




First source language (must be different from language 1)

A thorough knowledge of English, French or German.





Language 3




Second source language (must be different from languages 1 and 2)

A thorough knowledge of English, French or German.






OPTION 2:




 





Language 1




Main language

A perfect command of the language of the competition.





Language 2




First source language (must be different from language 1)

A thorough knowledge of English, French or German.





Language 3




Second source language (must be different from language 1 and not English, French or German)

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




 


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 set out below the reasons for limiting the choice of the second language in this competition to a small number of official EU languages.




 


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

Admission tests are organised by EPSO and are taken 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 VIII).

NB.:







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 abilities:




Test (a)


Verbal reasoning


Marking: out of 20




Test (b)


Numerical reasoning


Marking: out of 10
Pass mark: 4




Test (c)


Abstract reasoning


Marking: out of 10




 


Aggregate pass mark for tests (a) and (c): 15




Test (d)


Language comprehension


Marking: out of 12
Pass mark: 6




Test (e)


Language comprehension


Marking: out of 12
Pass mark: 6










3.


Language of the tests






Language 1 for tests (a), (b) and (c)
Language 2 for test (d)
Language 3 for test (e)




V.   TRANSLATION TESTS













1.


Invitation to the tests






You will be invited to sit the translation tests (the content of which is approved by the selection board) to assess your specific competencies:






—


if you pass all the admission tests, and










—


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










—


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




Admission test (b) is eliminatory, but the mark obtained does not count towards the overall mark that determines which candidates are invited to the translation tests.
For each competition and option, the number of candidates invited to the translation tests will be approximately 3 times, and no more than 4 times, the number of successful candidates sought that is indicated in this competition notice (5). This number will be published on EPSO's website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).
The translation tests will be held in test centres in the Member States.










2.


Nature and marking of tests












(f)


A translation from language 2 to language 1 (with dictionary) .
Duration: 60 minutes










(g)


A translation from language 3 to language 1 (with dictionary).
Duration: 60 minutes




Each translation test will be marked out of 80.
Pass mark for each test: 40.

If you fail test (f), test (g) will not be marked.





VI.   ASSESSMENT CENTRE













1.


Invitation






You will be invited to the assessment centre, normally for a one-day session in Brussels, if you pass the translation tests with one of the highest aggregate marks.
For each competition and option, the number of candidates invited to the assessment centre will be approximately 2 times the number of successful candidates sought that is indicated in the competition notice; it will be published on EPSO’s website (http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/eu-careers.info/).










2.


Assessment centre






The purpose of the assessment centre is to assess your general competencies (6) in your first source language by means of the following exercises, the content of which is approved by the selection board:






(h)


a structured interview;










(i)


a group exercise;










(j)


an oral presentation.









Each general competency will be tested as follows:









 



Structured interview




Group exercise




Oral presentation





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.


Marking






The tests are marked out of 80 in total for all 8 general competencies (10 per competency)
Pass mark: an aggregate of 40 for the 8 general competencies.










4.


Weighting






Your overall mark is based on your marks for the translation tests (specific competencies) and the assessment centre tests (general competencies) and will be calculated as follows:

Specific competencies: tests (f) and (g): 65 % of the overall mark

General competencies: tests (h), (i) and (j): 35 % of the overall mark




VII.   RESERVE LISTS













1.


Candidates placed on the reserve list






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






—


if you pass the translation tests and the assessment centre tests with one of the highest aggregate marks (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 actually fulfil all the conditions for admission reaches the number that can be placed on the reserve list.
The files of candidates below this threshold will not be examined. If verification shows that the information given in your online application is not borne out by appropriate supporting documents, you will be disqualified from the competition (8).










2.


Classification






For each competition a list will be drawn up for each option, with names 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): 5 August 2014 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.










2.


Submission of application files







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

Details: 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)  Please consult the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) — (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/hornav/Downloads/CEF/LanguageSelfAssessmentGrid.csp) — minimum level required for the translator profile: Language 1 = C2, Languages 2 and 3 = C1.

(3)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be invited to sit the translation tests.

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

(5)  Exceptionally, these limits may be exceeded if this is unavoidable because of a tie between candidates or so as to ensure fairness if a question is neutralised.

(6)  More information on these competencies can be found in point 1.2 of the general rules governing open competitions.

(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.