Call for expressions of interest — Contract staff members in the area of surveillance and prevention — function group I (FG I)
Date: 2015-07-15
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Parliament, competition (EU), contract staff, database, fire protection, recruitment, security services, servant (EU)








CA2015231EN.01000101.xml










15.7.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 231/1





CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Contract staff members in the area of surveillance and prevention — function group I (FG I)
(2015/C 231 A/01)
 
I.   INTRODUCTION

The European Parliament is launching this call for expressions of interest with a view to establishing a database of candidates who may be recruited as contract staff members (function group I) in the area of surveillance and prevention.
The selection procedure will be organised with technical support from the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO).
The database will be used by the European Parliament. The posts will be based mainly in Luxembourg, but also in Brussels and Strasbourg, in accordance with the requirements of the European Parliament’s departments.
Selection procedures for contract staff usually attract a large number of highly qualified candidates who are successful in the procedure for which they apply. Candidates should therefore be aware that the number of names in the database may be greater than the number of staff actually required by the European Parliament.
The number of posts available is roughly 300. Contract staff members who are offered a post will be recruited in accordance with the arrangements set out in Title VIII of this call for expressions of interest.
The working conditions of these members of staff are governed by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS) (1).
The basic monthly salary (grade I, step 1) is EUR 1  862,54. Allowances provided for by the CEOS may be added to the basic salary.
The salary is subject to Community tax and to other deductions laid down by the CEOS. It is exempt from any national tax.
Contract staff are recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among nationals of Member States, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, political, philosophical or religious beliefs, age or disability, gender or sexual orientation and without reference to their marital status or family situation.
II.   JOB DESCRIPTION

Contract staff members recruited will have the task of assisting an administrator within a team of surveillance and prevention officers whose responsibility is to implement the European Parliament’s security measures and welcome and inform MEPs, permanent staff members and their guests in compliance with the rules governing passes and authorisations granting access to the European Parliament’s premises.
Under the authority of the official responsible and on the basis of the general guidelines and decisions issued by the Bureau of the European Parliament, contract staff members recruited will perform duties relating to surveillance, prevention and the protection of persons and property on the European Parliament’s premises.
In particular, they will have the following duties:






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filtering and controlling access to the European Parliament’s buildings for persons and goods, through the use of scanners and detection portals,










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dealing quickly and effectively with specific situations, where necessary by means of the visual recognition of MEPs, permanent staff members, service providers and visitors,










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carrying out security patrols inside the European Parliament’s buildings,










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carrying out security checks on mail, parcels and deliveries,










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taking all necessary steps to provide a continuous and professional service on the European Parliament’s premises,










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intervening in response to fire emergencies and alarms, in accordance with the procedures established by the departments responsible, and implementing basic fire prevention and firefighting instructions,










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providing first aid to anyone who requires it,










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performing various administrative tasks (writing reports, filing, word processing, compiling statistics, encoding, archiving and updating files).




Some staff members recruited in the area of surveillance and protection may be offered training in the area of fire prevention, following which they would be eligible for posts as firemen.
The European Parliament attaches great importance to candidates’ ability to deal with a wide range of situations, to respond rapidly and calmly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. They must be capable of working intensively on a regular basis, both independently and as part of a team, in a multicultural environment.
The European Parliament will provide surveillance and prevention staff with service uniforms bearing its insignia.
Contract staff members recruited may be required to work in two or three shifts and, if necessary, to work at night and/or at weekends.
III.   INDICATIVE TIMETABLE FOR THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

The procedure will be administered by the European Parliament in cooperation with EPSO, with the assistance of a selection panel consisting of representatives of the European Parliament.
The indicative timetable is as follows:






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selection on the basis of qualifications: September 2015,










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announcement of results: October 2015.




IV.   ELIGIBILITY

On the closing date for online applications you must meet the following conditions:
A.   General conditions







(a)


be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union,










(b)


enjoy full rights as a citizen,










(c)


have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service,










(d)


meet the character requirements for the duties involved.




B.   Specific conditions

I.   Qualifications
Successful completion of compulsory education, as attested by a diploma or certificate.
II.   Professional experience/knowledge required
After completion of compulsory education you must have acquired at least two years’ professional experience in a field relevant to the job description, i.e. in prevention, public and/or private security, surveillance, work as a security guard, work as a receptionist or VIP protection.
III.   Knowledge of languages
You must have a thorough knowledge (level C1
 (2)) of one of the European Union’s official languages (language 1 — main language) (3) and a satisfactory knowledge (level B2) of English, French or German (language 2). Language 2 must be different from language 1.
You may choose only one of the 24 official languages as your main language (language 1). You will not be able to alter your choice of languages once you have validated your online application form.






In accordance with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand Chamber) in Case C-566/10 P, Italian Republic v Commission, the European Parliament must state the reasons for limiting the choice of second and third languages in this selection procedure to a small number of official EU languages.


Candidates are therefore informed that the second and third languages for this call for expressions of interest have been laid down in the interests of the service, which require new recruits to be immediately operational and capable of communicating effectively in their daily work. Otherwise, the effective functioning of the institution might 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 in performing day-to-day work. Moreover, where candidates for competitions are free to choose their second language, these three are by far the most common choices. This confirms what can currently be expected of candidates for posts in the EU institutions in terms of their level of education and professional skills, namely that they should be proficient in at least one of these languages. Therefore, in balancing the interests of the service and the needs and abilities of candidates, given the specific field of this call for expressions of interest, the European Parliament is entitled to require knowledge of one of these three languages to ensure that, whatever their first official language, all candidates are proficient in at least one of these three official languages as a working language.


In addition, in the interests of equality of treatment, all candidates, even if they have one of these three languages as their first official language, are required to have a satisfactory knowledge of a second language, which must be one of these three languages. The assessment of specific skills enables the European Parliament to judge whether the candidates can be immediately operational in an environment similar to that in which they will be required to work.





IV.   Skills
You must:






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be conscientious and creative, and enjoy working in a multicultural team,










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show commitment and adaptability,










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have good interpersonal skills and be diplomatic, courteous, self-possessed and discreet,










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give evidence of initiative, versatility and organisational ability.




V.   HOW TO APPLY AND DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

You must apply online by following the instructions on the EPSO website, http://europa.eu/epso/apply/jobs/index_en.htm, and particularly in the online application manual. You must fill in the application form in English, French or German.
The responsibility for completing your online application before the deadline is entirely yours. We advise you not to wait until the last minute before applying, since, if the lines are exceptionally busy or the internet connection goes down, you may have to repeat the whole online application process; once the deadline has passed, you will no longer be able to do so.
Once you have validated your application, you will no longer be able to make any changes; the data entered are immediately processed by the European Parliament, in cooperation with EPSO, with a view to organising the selection procedure.

DEADLINE (including validation):


3 September 2015 at 12.00 (midday) Brussels time.

VI.   STAGES IN THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

The selection procedure will be organised solely on the basis of qualifications, involving an assessment of the detailed answers to the questions put in the ‘Skills evaluator’ which is part of the application form.
The following will be employed as selection criteria:






1.


training course(s) in the areas of security and surveillance taken after completing compulsory education;










2.


certificate/diploma in the area of first aid and/or firefighting (e.g. certificate as a member of an emergency response team, first aid certificate, etc.) issued by an approved competent authority;










3.


experience/training in the use of security equipment (baggage scanner, detection portals, CCTV, dealing with suspect packages, etc.);










4.


training in/experience of the use of office automation tools (word processing, e-mail, intranet, spreadsheets, electronic diaries);










5.


possession of a national or European security clearance;










6.


over and above the minimum two-year period of experience required in the area, additional professional experience in the areas of prevention, public and/or private security, surveillance, work as a security guard, work as a receptionist or work as a bodyguard;










7.


over and above the minimum two-year period of experience required in the area, additional professional experience in the areas of firefighting or first aid;










8.


experience of working in European or international organisations or in a multicultural or multinational environment;










9.


knowledge (at least intermediate level — A2) of one or more EU languages (other than languages 1 and 2 which you have stated that you know in accordance with point IV.B.III of the ‘Call for expressions of interest’).




The selection panel will apply a weighting of between 1 and 3 to each question included in the ‘Skills evaluator’. It will then award between 0 and 4 points for each of the detailed answers given to those questions. The final mark will be obtained by multiplying the points awarded for each answer by the weighting for the corresponding question.
If, at any stage in the procedure, it emerges that the information given in the application form is incorrect, candidates will be excluded from the procedure.
VII.   RESULTS OF THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

The results of selection procedure will be published on the candidates’ EPSO accounts.
The names of the 600 candidates who have obtained the highest number of points (4) by the end of the selection procedure and who meet the general and specific conditions laid down in section IV A. and B. of this notice will be entered in the database and will not be made public in any other form. The database will be used by the European Parliament. The database will remain valid until 31 December 2018.
VIII.   RECRUITMENT


Inclusion in the database is not a guarantee that you will be offered a job.

As vacancies arise, recruiting departments will consult the database and invite to interview those candidates whose profiles best match the requirements of the post in question.
These candidates will be interviewed to assess their suitability for the post. During this interview the candidates’ knowledge of languages (main language and second language) will also be assessed.
Candidates invited to interview will be required to provide, for the interview, documents proving that they meet all the conditions laid down in this call for expressions of interest; if they fail to do so they will not be offered a post.
Depending on the outcome of the interview, candidates may be offered a post.
The contract will be drawn up in accordance with Articles 3a, 84 and 85 of the CEOS. It will have an initial duration of one (1) year and may be renewed for a period of one (1) year.
A second renewal for an indefinite period may be granted only after a security clearance issued by the relevant departments of the European Parliament has been obtained.
IX.   COMMUNICATION

The European Parliament will contact you via your EPSO account or by e-mail. It is up to you to check your EPSO account and your e-mail at regular intervals — at least twice a week — to keep track of the progress of the procedure and to verify the information relevant to your application. If, as a result of a technical problem, you are unable to check this information, you must inform the European Parliament immediately by sending an e-mail to the mailbox for the procedure:
ACprevention2015@ep.europa.eu
For all correspondence relating to the procedure, please send an e-mail to that mailbox.
To ensure that all general texts and all communication sent to candidates are clearly understood, only English, French or German will be used for correspondence between candidates and the European Parliament.
X.   GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION LINKED TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS

The European Parliament takes great care to ensure that the principle of equal treatment is observed. Consequently, if at any stage in the procedure the European Parliament finds that you have created more than one EPSO account, made more than one application to this selection procedure or that you have made any false declarations, you will be disqualified from the selection procedure.
Fraud or attempted fraud may render you liable to penalty. We would point out that anyone recruited by the institutions must show themselves to be of the highest possible integrity.
XI.   SPECIAL PROVISIONS

Candidates who have a disability or whose personal circumstances might give rise to problems during the interview should tick the relevant box on the application form and provide all the information required to enable the European Parliament’s Administration to make appropriate arrangements, if possible.
XII.   REVIEW/APPEAL PROCEDURES

Candidates who consider that a decision has adversely affected them may request a review of the decision, launch one of the appeals procedures or lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman (5).






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Requests for review

Duly substantiated requests for a review should be submitted:






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either by e-mail to the mailbox for the procedure:
ACprevention2015@ep.europa.eu










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or by fax to the following number: + 32 22831717




within 10 calendar days from the date of publication of the qualification assessment result in your EPSO account. A reply will be sent as soon as possible.










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Appeals (this option is available at any stage of the selection procedure).






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You can make a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, addressed to:





The Secretary-General




European Parliament




Bât. Konrad Adenauer




2929 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG








Please note that selection panels enjoy wide discretionary power; their decisions are reached independently and cannot be changed by the Appointing Authority. This wide discretion is not amenable to review unless the rules governing the work of selection panels have clearly been broken. In that event, a decision by a selection panel may be challenged directly before the European Union Civil Service Tribunal even if no complaint has first been lodged under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations.






—


You can submit an appeal to the:





European Union Civil Service Tribunal




2925 Luxembourg




LUXEMBOURG,




under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations.




This option is available only in relation to decisions taken by the selection panel.
In the case of administrative decisions denying admission to the selection procedure on the grounds that the application does not comply with the conditions for such admission set out in section IV.B of the call for expressions of interest, you may appeal to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal only after having first lodged a complaint as described above.
Appeals to the European Union Civil Service Tribunal may be made only through a lawyer authorised to practise before a court of a Member State of the European Union or of the European Economic Area.
The time limits laid down in Articles 90 and 91 of the Staff Regulations (6) which apply to these two types of appeal start to run either from the date of notification of the original decision adversely affecting you or, only in the case of a request for a review, from the date you are notified of the selection panel’s original reply to the request.










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Complaints to the European Ombudsman

Like any citizen of the European Union, you are entitled to make a complaint to the European Ombudsman:





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 Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (OJ L 113, 4.5.1994).
Please note that complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the time limit laid down in Article 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging appeals with the European Union Civil Service Tribunal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.






(1)  See Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1), amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 723/2004 (OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1) and most recently by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of those Communities (OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 15).

(2)  Please consult the reference framework on the Europass site, which is accessible via the following link: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-ceen

(3)  The official languages of the European Union are: Bulgarian (BG), Croatian (HR), Czech (CS), Danish (DA), Dutch (NL), English (EN), Estonian (ET), Finnish (FI), French (FR), German (DE), Greek (EL), Hungarian (HU), Irish (GA), Italian (IT), Latvian (LV), Lithuanian (LT), Maltese (MT), Polish (PL), Portuguese (PT), Romanian (RO), Slovak (SK), Slovenian (SL), Spanish (ES) and Swedish (SV).

(4)  If several candidates have obtained the same number of points which would entitle them to the last place on the list, the panel will place them all on the list ex aequo.

(5)  Requests for review, appeals or complaints to the European Ombudsman will not interrupt the work of the selection panel.

(6)  See footnote 1.