Notice of vacancy CONS/AD/113
Date: 2015-04-14
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: job vacancy, legal profession, manager








CA2015119EN.01001801.xml










14.4.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 119/18





Notice of vacancy CONS/AD/113
(2015/C 119 A/02)

GENERAL INFORMATION







Department


Legal Service, Directorate 3 (External Relations)




Place of work


Brussels




Title of post



Director





Function group and grade


AD 14




Security clearance required


EU SECRET





DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS




13 May 2015






WHO WE ARE

The Legal Service is the legal adviser to the European Council and the Council, assisting the European Council, the Council and its preparatory bodies, the Presidency and the General Secretariat in ensuring the legality and the drafting quality of acts. In cooperation with other Council departments, it contributes to identifying legally correct and politically acceptable solutions, taking a creative approach where appropriate. To that end, it gives opinions in complete impartiality — orally or in writing, at the request of the Council or on its own initiative — on any question of a legal nature. The Legal Service also represents the European Council and the Council in proceedings before the courts of the Union. The constant objective of the Legal Service is to provide timely contributions which are distinguished by their full respect for the law, their impartiality and their clarity.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The Council’s Legal Service is recruiting a director. We are seeking a lawyer with a good knowledge of, and practical experience in, the areas covered by the Directorate, which include EU external relations law including common foreign and security policy, development cooperation, common commercial policy and enlargement. The successful candidate will be required to assist the Council and its preparatory bodies in those areas and to defend the Council before the Union courts.

OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE JOB

Under the authority of the Director-General, manage the Directorate and advise in the areas within its remit. Provide legal advice at high level, in writing or orally, in the areas within the Directorate’s remit.

TASKS







—


Under the authority of the Director-General, manage his/her Directorate and organise its activities, and support and motivate staff in their work










—


Provide, on its own initiative or upon request, advice and written or oral opinions at high level on legal and institutional questions to the Council, Coreper or other preparatory instances, as well as to the SG of the Council










—


Advise the Presidency and/or the GSC on legal aspects of dossiers in order to contribute to finding solutions which are legally correct and acceptable by the concerned instance and conduct high-level studies in the areas within the Directorate’s remit










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Represent his/her service at Director level both within the GSC and externally, in particular in its relations with the Presidency, and in its relations with the other institutions










—


Ensure the quality of the services and products delivered by the Directorate










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Ensure professional management of the Directorate’s resources










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Ensure effective communication and cooperation both within the Directorate and with the other Directorates, as well as with other GSC services










—


Follow the proceedings of the Council, Coreper and, if necessary, other preparatory bodies, take part in meetings and, where appropriate, in briefings and/or negotiations with a view to reaching compromises and finding solutions










—


Assist and represent the European Council or the Council in legal disputes and, where appropriate, represent them in cases before the EU’s courts





JOB ENVIRONMENT







—


Atypical working hours depending on the need by the instances of the Council prompted by international events










—


Missions within and outside Europe, depending on the organisation of international events (for example WTO meetings)





SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES

Professional competencies






—


English and French being the working languages of the GSC, a good knowledge of French and English enabling to communicate and write in both languages is required for the purposes of a good functioning of the service; knowledge of other official languages of the EU would be an asset (1).










—


Extensive knowledge of EU law










—


Extensive knowledge of the functioning and procedures of the EU










—


In-depth knowledge in field of work (key competency)




Personal qualities






—


Take appropriate action on one’s own initiative










—


Ability to show creativity










—


Capacity to work in an international and multicultural environment




Interpersonal skills






—


Strong communication skills (key competency)










—


Ability to demonstrate diplomacy










—


Ability to maintain good working relationships with a range of interlocutors




Management Competencies






—


Management of work and resources, organisational awareness, decision-making, leadership & staff development





WHO CAN APPLY

Applicants must fulfil the following conditions for admission at the time of applying:






(a)


General conditions






—


be nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union,










—


enjoy their full rights as citizens,










—


have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service.














(b)


Specific conditions






—


have at least 15 years’ professional experience out of which at least 5 years providing legal advice and at least 3 years spent in a management position in charge of an administrative entity with management and organisational responsibilities. 5 years spent in a post with significant responsibilities in terms of legal coordination would be equivalent to the required management experience,










—


hold a university degree in law (2) giving access to doctoral studies in law or have an equivalent professional qualification.








Applicants must fulfil all the conditions for admission at the time of applying.

REMARKS

The selection procedure is conducted in accordance with Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (3). In order to assist the Appointing Authority in its choice, an advisory selection board will be set up with instructions to draw up a list of the best candidates.
The advisory selection board will initially examine the qualifications, experience and motivation of the applicants and draw up a first list of candidates who will be invited to attend an interview. Following that interview, the advisory selection board will pre-select candidates who will go through an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants and a second interview with the advisory selection board. The interview and the assessment centre will take place in Brussels.
The provisional planning of the selection is as follows:






—


It is expected that candidates selected for the interviews will be informed by the beginning of June 2015.










—


The first interviews are foreseen for the second week of June 2015.










—


The assessment centre is foreseen for the second half of June 2015.










—


The second round of interviews are foreseen for the first week of July 2015.




This post requires security clearance allowing access to classified documents (SECRET EU level). Already having such clearance would be an advantage. Otherwise, those applying for the post will be understood to be prepared to undergo security screening under Council Decision 2013/488/EU (4).
The General Secretariat of the Council is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from male and female candidates from broadest possible geographical basis amongst the EU Member States. The GSC offers measures to reconcile professional and private life and can provide adjustments at the workplace for persons with disabilities (for more details see Annex I).
Given the low representation of women at the higher management levels, it would particularly welcome applications from female candidates for this position.

HOW TO APPLY

The closing date for applications is 13 May 2015.
Applications should be sent by e-mail to Selection.of.Officials-Applications.Management.Posts@consilium.europa.eu no later than the closing date.
In order to be valid, applications must include:






(a)


the application form (Annex IV) duly completed and dated; the electronic application form can be found on the Council’s website under the following link http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/general-secretariat/jobs/job-opportunities/










(b)


a letter of motivation accompanied by a detailed curriculum vitae, in English or French, preferably in the Europass format (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu), covering the applicant’s entire career, listing, inter alia, the applicant’s qualifications, language knowledge, experience, and current duties; and










(c)


photocopies of diplomas certifying education and photocopies of documents and certificates relating to professional experience. Supporting documents must come from a third party and it is not sufficient simply to send the CV mentioned in (b).




All supporting documents attached to the application must be in word text, pdf or jpg format, named (in EN or FR) and numbered in sequence (Annex 1, 2, etc.). A list of all annexes must also be attached. Applications that arrive via cloud-based data storage solution or file-share platforms will not be considered.
Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide the originals of the aforementioned documents.

REEXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS

The procedures relating to requests for review, appeals and referral to the European Ombudsman are set out in Annex II to this vacancy notice.

DATA PROTECTION

The rules governing the processing of personal data in connection with this selection procedure are set out in Annex III to this notice.


(1)  The languages of the EU are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Irish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish.

(2)  Article 5(3) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (the Staff Regulations) require applicants to have at least:






(i)


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; or










(ii)


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.





(3)  Staff Regulations of Officials and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, laid down by Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 and last amended by Regulation (EU) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 — http://eur-lex.europa.eu

(4)  OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1.


ANNEX I

Equal Opportunities in the General Secretariat of the Council

As an employer, the GSC is responsible for ensuring equality of opportunity between men and women and for prohibiting discrimination on any grounds.
The main aims of its Equal Opportunities policy are to:






—


ensure that its human resources and personnel management policies respect the principles of equality and non-discrimination,










—


achieve a balanced representation of men and women, especially in management posts,










—


improve the situation of persons with disabilities, in terms of accessibility of its buildings and a work environment that is inclusive and adapted to their needs:

Adjustments for people with disabilities (‘reasonable accommodation’) may involve the rearrangement of duties or responsibilities, provision of technical aids and other adjustments to the working environment. Such measures will be taken unless they would impose an undue burden on the resources of the institution.











—


protect its staff from harassment at work,










—


take into account the needs of staff to strike a balance between their work and family commitments by offering a good package of family-friendly measures, including flexitime, telework and job-sharing.





Work-life balance measures

A flexitime system operates throughout the GSC in accordance with a 40-hour working week, flexileave being possible for non-managerial staff. In many job environments, an individual timetable, falling within the framework hours of 7.00 to 20.00, can be agreed.

Part-time work can be granted, for example to care for a dependent child up to the age of 12, or 14 when the official is a single parent.

Statutory maternity leave is 20 weeks and on return to work up to two hours per day can be granted for breastfeeding. Fathers have the right to paid paternity leave of 10 days. Parental leave of up to six months per child can be granted with a flat-rate allowance. In the case of serious illness or disability of a child, maternity, paternity and parental leaves are longer. Family leave with a flat-rate allowance is also possible in the case of family members with a serious illness or disability. Special leave is granted in such cases as marriage, birth or adoption of a child, and death or serious illness of a family member. In exceptional circumstances, unpaid leave on personal grounds (CCP) can be accorded.
Depending on tasks and job environment, teleworking may be possible under the standard teleworking scheme (60 % at home and 40 % at the office) or under the occasional teleworking scheme (up to 20 days per year).
The following childcare facilities are available for staff with children, according to priority criteria: GSC crèche for children from 0-4 years, after-school care and holiday-time facilities organised by the European Commission and after-school activities at the European schools.

For further information, send an e-mail to egalite-des-chances@consilium.europa.eu




ANNEX II
REQUEST FOR REVIEW — APPEALS PROCEDURES COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN
If, at any stage of the selection procedure, you consider that a decision adversely affects you, you may use the following means:






—



Request for review of the decisions taken by the advisory selection board

Within 10 days of the date of the letter notifying you of a decision taken by the advisory selection board, you may submit a written request for a review of such a decision, setting out the reasons for your request, to:





Council of the European Union




Office for Selection of Officials




Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175




1048 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIUM




E-mail: selection.of.officials@consilium.europa.eu














—



Appeal procedure







—


You may lodge a complaint against a decision of the Appointing Authority, under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, within 3 months of the notification of the decision, to:





Council of the European Union




Advisers Unit, DGA 1




Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175




1048 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIUM




Please note that the Appointing Authority does not have the power to modify the decisions of the advisory selection board. According to settled case-law the wide discretion enjoyed by selection boards is not subject to review by the Court unless the rules which govern their proceedings have clearly been infringed.










—


You may submit a judicial appeal under Article 91 of the Staff Regulations or Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to:





European Union Civil Service Tribunal




Rue du Fort Niedergrünewald




2925 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG


















—



Complaints to the European Ombudsman

Like any other citizen of the Union, you may lodge a complaint with:





The European Ombudsman




1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman — BP 403




67001 Strasbourg Cedex




FRANCE




under Article 228(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Decision of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom) (1).
You should note that complaints lodged with the European Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the period of time laid down in Article 90(2) and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations for the lodging of complaints or appeals with the European Union Civil Service Tribunal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.






(1)  OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15.



ANNEX III
DATA PROTECTION
As the institution responsible for organising the selection procedure, the General Secretariat of the Council ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed in accordance 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 (1).
The legal basis for the selection procedure is the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Council Decision of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (2013/488/EU). The selection procedure is conducted under the responsibility of the Human Resources Directorate (DG A 1 A), Staffing and Mobility Unit, and the controller is the head of that unit. The information provided by the applicants will be accessible to members of the office for the selection of officials and their superiors, to members of the Advisory Selection Committee, and, if necessary, to the legal advisers’ unit. Administrative information identifying the candidate and/or the practical organisation of the procedure may be forwarded to an assessment centre.
The purpose of the processing operation is to collect data identifying all the applicants for a post with the Secretariat-General of the Council and to select one of those applicants.
The data in question are:






—


personal data which make it possible to identify the applicants (surname, first name, date of birth, sex, nationality),










—


information supplied by the applicants to facilitate the practical organisation of the procedure (postal address, e-mail address, telephone number),










—


information supplied by the applicants to make it possible to assess whether they meet the admission conditions laid down in the notice of vacancy (nationality; languages; applicants’ qualifications and the year they were awarded, type of diploma/degree, name of awarding institution, professional experience),










—


where applicable, information on the type and duration of applicants’ security clearance,










—


the results of the selection tests taken by the applicants, including the evaluations drawn up by the assessment centre’s advisers on behalf of the selection board.




The processing begins on the date of receipt of the application. Applications are filed and stored in archives for two years.
All applicants may exercise their right of access to and right to rectify personal data. Substantiated requests should be e-mailed to the office for selection of officials at selection.of.officials@consilium.europa.eu
Applicants may have recourse at any time to the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu).


(1)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.



ANNEX IV