Publication of a vacancy for a Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), in Lisbon (Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14) — COM/2015/20002
Date: 2015-01-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, servant (EU)








CA2015022EN.01000101.xml










23.1.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 22/1





Publication of a vacancy for a Director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), in Lisbon
(Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14)
COM/2015/20002
(2015/C 022 A/01)
 

We are

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (hereafter ‘the Centre’) is an European Union body with legal personality established by Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 (1), recast as Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) (hereafter ‘the Regulation’).
According to Article 1(2) of the Regulation, the Centre’s objective is ‘to provide […] the Community and its Member States with factual, objective, reliable and comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug addiction and their consequences’. The information provided by the Centre should help policymakers make informed decisions on drugs policy in the EU.
The Centre’s tasks include the collection and analysis of existing data, improvement of data-comparison methods, dissemination of data, and cooperation with European and international bodies and organisations, and with third countries.
The Centre provides data enabling policy makers to develop and implement evidence-based drugs policies in line with the balanced approach of the EU Drugs Strategy (2013-2020) (3), which focuses on both drug demand and drug supply reduction. It focuses on the following priority areas:






—


monitoring the state of the drugs problem, in particular using epidemiological or other indicators, and monitoring emerging trends, in particular those involving poly-drug use;










—


monitoring the solutions applied to drug-related problems; providing information on best practices in the Member States and facilitating the exchange of such practices among them;










—


assessing the risks of new psychoactive substances and maintaining a rapid information system with regards to their use and also regarding new methods of using existing psychoactive substances;










—


developing tools and instruments to help Member States monitor and evaluate their national policies and the Commission to monitor and evaluate the drug-related situation across the EU.




The Centre is open to non-EU countries which have concluded an agreement for their participation in its work (currently Norway and Turkey). The Centre cooperates with relevant international organisations and other — particularly European, governmental and non-governmental — bodies competent in the field of drugs.
The Centre is based in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2014 it receives a Union subsidy of EUR 1 4 7 93  959 (the total budget of the Centre is EUR 1 5 1 86  136, which includes the contribution of Norway) and employs approximately 100 persons.
Additional information on the Centre is available on the website: www.emcdda.europa.eu

We propose

The Director will manage the Centre and shall be its legal representative and public face. S/he shall be independent in the performance of her/his duties and be accountable for her/his activities to the Management Board, which consists of one voting member appointed by each Member State, two voting members appointed by the European Commission, and two voting members (independent experts) appointed by the European Parliament, as well as one representative without right of vote per each third-country that concluded an agreement for the participation in the work of the Centre.
Without prejudice to the powers of the Management Board, the Director shall assume full responsibility for the tasks entrusted to the Centre and shall be subject to the procedure for annual discharge and closure of accounts by the European Parliament for the implementation of the budget.
The Director will be responsible for establishing and managing the administrative, operational and financial measures necessary for the proper functioning of the Centre, including the recruitment of staff.
The Director’s responsibilities include, in particular:






—


Developing and achieving the Centre’s objectives in accordance with its mission;










—


Ensuring the Centre’s operation and tasks in accordance with its founding Regulation;










—


Ensuring the Centre’s day-to-day administration and management;










—


Preparing the Centre’s (annual and triennial) work programmes;










—


Preparing and implementing the decisions and programmes adopted by the Management Board;










—


Preparing the draft estimate of the Centre’s revenue and expenditure, and executing the Centre’s budget in accordance with the principles of sound financial management;










—


Preparing and publishing the reports provided for in the Regulation;










—


Managing all staff-related matters, and in particular exercising the powers which are devolved on the appointing authority;










—


Defining the Centre’s organisational structure and submitting it to the Management Board for approval;










—


Carrying out a regular assessment of the Centre’s work;










—


Developing and maintaining good relations with the authorities of the host country, Portugal.




For further information, please refer to the text of the Regulation.

We look for

Candidates should have the following qualifications:






—


Solid professional experience in the field of drug policy and in other fields relevant to the Centre’s mandate and activities, ideally acquired in a national, European or international context;










—


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










—


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










—


Excellent decision-making, organisational and negotiation skills;










—


Sound judgment and proven capacity to manage large numbers of staff both at strategic and internal management level;










—


Ability to lead, motivate and develop a multidisciplinary team in an European, multicultural and multilingual environment;










—


Thorough understanding and proven knowledge of the EU context, of the EU institutions and decision-making procedures, and of the interaction between national administrations and EU institutions;










—


Proven ability to communicate efficiently and fluently at all levels, in a transparent and open manner, with the public and with stakeholders (European, international, national and local authorities, international organisations, etc.).





Candidates must

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

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

University degree or diploma: have






—


either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 4 years or more; or










—


a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years (this 1 year’s professional experience cannot be included in the post-graduate professional experience required below).





Professional experience: have at least 15 years’ postgraduate experience acquired after the required qualifications referred to above was obtained.

Relevant professional experience: of the 15 years’ professional experience, at least 5 years must have been acquired in a domain of direct relevance to the Centre’s activities;

Management experience: of the 15 years’ professional experience, have at least 5 years of professional experience gained in a high-level management function (4);

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

Age limit: be able to complete the full 5-year mandate before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union, 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 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 her/his independence. Candidates must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

Selection and appointment

The selection is launched subject to the availability of appropriations in the Centre’s budget and of the relevant posts in the 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, who have been selected on the basis of their merits within the criteria set out above. Candidates shortlisted by the pre-selection panel will then be called for an interview with the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA) and will have to undergo testing by 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 Centre. The latter will interview the shortlisted candidates and select a candidate from among them. Inclusion on the shortlist does not guarantee appointment. Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above.
Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Management Board shall 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 Director.

Equal opportunities

The Centre applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulation (5).

Conditions of employment

The Director will be appointed as a member of the staff of the Centre, as temporary agent at grade AD 14 pursuant to Article 2(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (6) for a 5-year period, which may be renewed once, as stated in the Regulation.
The place of employment is Lisbon (Portugal), where the Centre is based.
The Director is expected to take office at the beginning of September 2015 at the earliest.

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/
and follow the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time (7). 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 (8).
Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application online. 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
 (9)
, 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 20 February 2015. 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 the members of these committees or for anybody to do so on their behalf.

Protection of personal data

The European Commission (during the preparatory phase) and later the Centre will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by 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 Union institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (10).


(1)  OJ L 36, 12.2.1993, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p. 1.

(3)  OJ C 402, 29.12.2012, p. 1.

(4)  In their CVs applicants should indicate at least for these 5 years during which high-level management experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of management positions held; (2) numbers 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.

(5)  OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1.

(6)  See footnote 5.

(7)  No later than 12.00 noon, Brussels time, on 20 February 2015.

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

(9)  European Commission, Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, Unit for Executive Staff and CCA Secretariat, COM/2015/20002, SC11 8/30, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË.

(10)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.