Publication of a vacancy for the Executive Director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Malta (Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14) — COM/2015/20010
Date: 2015-09-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union Agency for Asylum, administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, temporary employment








CA2015299EN.01000101.xml










11.9.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 299/1





Publication of a vacancy for the Executive Director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Malta
(Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14)
COM/2015/20010
(2015/C 299 A/01)
 

We are

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) is an EU Agency located in Valletta Harbour, Malta. It was founded by the Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing an European Asylum Support Office (1) (called ‘Regulation’).
EASO currently employs around 100 members of staff and has a budget of approximately EUR 15 million for the year 2015.
According to the Regulation, EASO’s mission is to help to improve the implementation of the Common European Asylum System (the CEAS), to strengthen practical cooperation among Member States on asylum and to provide and/or coordinate the provision of operational support to Member States subject to particular pressure on their asylum and reception systems.
To fulfil its mission EASO performs the following tasks:






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facilitates, coordinates and strengthens practical cooperation among Member States by helping them to properly implement the CEAS, including its external dimension. To this end, the Office focuses in particular on improving the quality of decision making, by developing best practices and training programs, as well as a common approach to country-of-origin information,










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provides effective operational support to Member States with specific needs and to Member States subject to particular pressure on their asylum and reception systems,










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provides scientific and technical assistance with regard to the policy and legislation of the Union in all areas having a direct or indirect impact on asylum, the Office being an independent source of information.




EASO cooperates closely with the Member States asylum authorities and other national services, the European Commission and EU Agencies (notably Frontex) as well as UNHCR. EASO does not have any powers in relation to the taking of decisions by Member State authorities on individual applications for international protection.

We propose

The Executive Director manages and represents EASO. He/she is the legal representative and public face of EASO. She/he is independent in the performance of her/his duties and is accountable for her/his activities to the Management Board. The Management Board is composed of one representative of each Member State bound by the Regulation (Denmark has observer status), two representatives of the Commission, one representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) without voting rights as well as representatives of the Associate Countries as observers.
The Executive Director plays a central role in running EASO. He/she is responsible for establishing and managing the administrative, operational and financial structures necessary for the proper operation of EASO.
Without prejudice to the powers of the Management Board, the Executive Director assumes full responsibility for the tasks entrusted to EASO and is subject to the procedure for annual discharge by the European Parliament for the implementation of the budget. The Executive Director must report to the European Parliament on the performance of her/his tasks when invited. The Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his/her tasks.
The specific responsibilities of the Executive Director include, in particular:






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ensuring EASO’s operation in accordance with its mission as set out in the founding Regulation, and reporting at regular intervals to the Management Board,










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developing and achieving EASO’s strategic objectives in accordance with its mission,










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the day-to-day administration of EASO, including recruitment,










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drawing up EASO’s work programmes and other key planning documents, taking into account the opinion of the Commission,










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implementing EASO’s work programmes and decisions adopted by the Management Board,










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preparing EASO’s draft statement of estimates of revenue and expenditure and executing its budget,










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drawing up EASO’s final accounts under his/her own responsibility and submit them to the Management Board for an opinion,










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exercising the powers laid down in Article 38 of the EASO Regulation in respect of EASO staff,










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taking all decisions on the management of the information systems of EASO,










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taking all decisions on the management of the internal structures of EASO,










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establishing and facilitating co-operation between EASO, relevant third-country authorities, international organisations and EU Agencies (notably Frontex) and other EU bodies,










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initiating, managing and coordinating the organisation and deployment of the asylum support teams,










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coordinating and operating of the EASO Consultative Forum,










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interacting with the European Parliament, with a view to informing it regularly about the EASO’s work.




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

We look for (selection criteria)

Candidates should have:






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proven capacity to effectively manage an EU agency of around 100 staff, both at strategic and at internal management level, being able to lead and motivate a large team in an European, multicultural and multilingual environment,










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solid and proven experience of budgetary, financial and human resources management in a national, European and/or international context,










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proven ability to develop a vision within the remit of the Agency, very good conceptual and analytical skills, strong capacity to think creatively,










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good knowledge of EU legislation on asylum and solid experience with regard to its practical implementation,










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solid professional experience in an asylum authority in an EU Member State, in a governmental department managing asylum issues, or in an international organisation dealing with asylum issues










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ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with the public and cooperate with stakeholders (European, international, national and local authorities, international organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations.),










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thorough understanding of the EU institutions and how they operate and interact with national administrations in the field of asylum,










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a clear understanding of EU policies and international activities of relevance to the activities of EASO,










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excellent written and oral communication skills; sound judgement and experience of working with politically sensitive issues; proven experience in negotiations and appropriate diplomatic skills.





Candidates must (eligibility criteria)

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:






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Nationality: be a national of a Member State of the European Union participating in EASO.










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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’ postgraduate experience acquired after the required qualifications referred to above were obtained.










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Relevant professional experience: of the 15 years of professional experience mentioned above, have acquired at least 5 years of professional experience in a domain of direct relevance to the EASO’s activities.










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Management experience: at least 5 years of the postgraduate professional experience must have been gained in a high-level management function (2). Experience in direct relation to a field relevant for this position would be an asset.










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Languages: have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (3) and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these official languages.










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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 (4).




The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid security clearance certificate from his/her national security authority.
A personal security clearance is an administrative decision following completion of a security screening conducted by the individual’s competent national security authority in accordance with applicable national security laws and regulations, and certifying that an individual may be allowed to access classified information up to a specified level. Please note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a security clearance can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.
Appointment to the post shall only take effect on condition that the selected candidate has obtained a valid security clearance certificate.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up his/her duties, the Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests which might be considered prejudicial to her/his independence.

Selection and appointment

The European Commission will set up a preselection panel 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 and the criteria set out above. Candidates proposed for further interviews with the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA) will have to undergo testing by an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Candidates who are shortlisted by the CCA will be interviewed by the relevant Commissioner(s).
Following these interviews, the Commission will adopt a shortlist of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the EASO Management Board. The latter may interview the candidates on the Commission shortlist. 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.
For functional reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates as well as that of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in English only (5). Nevertheless, selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language. This may include requiring a candidate to answer in another language than English.
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 put by its or their members. After this statement, the European Parliament may adopt an opinion setting out its view 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.

Equal opportunities

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

Conditions of employment

The Executive Director will be appointed as a member of the staff of EASO, 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 for a 5-year period, which may be extended once for not more than 3 years, as stated in Article 30 of the Regulation. Candidates should note the requirement for all new staff to complete successfully a 9-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Valletta Harbour (Malta), where EASO’s headquarters are located.
The Executive Director is expected to take office at the latest in beginning of 2016.

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, professional and managerial experience as well as linguistic capacity required. As regards high-level management experience, please provide accurate and detailed information in your application. 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.
You must have a valid email address. This is used to identify your registration as well as to keep in contact with you all along the selection procedure. Therefore, please, keep the Commission informed about any change in your email address.
To complete your application, you will need to upload a CV in PDF format and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8  000 characters). Both the CV and motivation letter must be written in English, French or German.
Once you have finished your online registration, you receive on-screen a registration number that you must write down and remember — this is your reference number in all matters concerning your application.
When you receive this number, the registration process is finished — it is a confirmation that the data you entered is registered. If you do not receive a number, your application has not been registered!

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 to the following address: European Commission, Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, Unit for Executive Staff and CCA Secretariat, SC11 8/59, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË, indicating clearly as a reference: Vacancy for an Executive Director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) (COM/2015/20010), and 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 email to HR-A2-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 9 October 2015 at 12.00 noon Brussels time. Online registration will not be possible after 12.00 noon Brussels time.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. 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. Late registrations via normal email are not accepted.

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 (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 (6).


(1)  OJ L 132, 29.5.2010, p. 11.

(2)  In their curriculum vitae (CV) candidates should indicate at least for these 5 years during which 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; (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below; and (5) number of peers.

(3)  http://ec.europa.eu/languages/policy/language-policy/official_languages_en.htm

(4)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

(5)  The selection panel will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of this language.

(6)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.