Directorate-General for Competition (COMP) — Publication of the post of Chief Competition Economist (grade AD 14) — Engagement of a Temporary Agent under Article 2(a) of Conditions of Employment of Other Servants — COM/2015/10363
Date: 2015-12-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrator, competition, competition (EU), economy, job vacancy








CA2015407EN.01000101.xml










8.12.2015   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 407/1





Directorate-General for Competition (COMP)
Publication of the post of Chief Competition Economist (grade AD 14)
Engagement of a Temporary Agent under Article 2(a) of Conditions of Employment of Other Servants
COM/2015/10363
(2015/C 407 A/01)
The Directorate-General for Competition is seeking a replacement for its Chief Competition Economist, whose post will become vacant as of 1 September 2016.

We are

The Commission, together with the national competition authorities, directly enforces the EU competition rules to make markets work better, by ensuring that all companies compete equally and fairly on their merits. This benefits consumers, businesses and the European economy as a whole.
Within the Commission, the Directorate-General (DG) for Competition is primarily responsible for these direct enforcement powers.
The Chief Competition Economist assists DG Competition in evaluating the economic impact of its actions in the areas of EU merger control, anti-trust and State aid rules.
The post will be filled at Director level (AD 14). It is a temporary assignment for 3 years, renewable for maximum 2 years.

We propose

The Chief Competition Economist will report directly to the Director-General. He/she will have three main tasks, in particular:






—


Guidance on methodological issues of economics and econometrics in the application of EU competition rules. He or she may also be called upon to contribute to the development of general policy instruments or analysis.










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General guidance in individual competition cases from their early stages.










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Detailed guidance in the most important competition cases involving complex economic issues, in particular those requiring sophisticated quantitative analysis. This could imply that a member of staff assigned to the Chief Competition Economist’s team can be seconded to work in a specific case team.




His/her final advice concerning important individual competition cases is made available to the Commissioner for Competition and, where appropriate, to the College of Commissioners.
The Chief Competition Economist has a dedicated staff of approximately 30 specialised economists, half of whom are permanent officials and the rest temporary agents. The Chief Competition Economist and his or her staff will interact as appropriate with the other staff of the Directorate-General, in particular those with economic expertise.

We look for (selection criteria)
Preference will be given to candidates who have:






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proven knowledge and competence in the analysis of the economic aspects of competition issues, as demonstrated by a solid academic record, evidenced in particular by publications in renowned academic journals, the fulfilment of advisory functions to public bodies, studies and possibly consultancy work in the various areas of competition policy,










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proven ability to manage a team of highly skilled economists, in particular organisational and people management including aspects such as priority setting, recruitment, staff appraisal, career development, work/life balance and motivation,










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confirmed communication skills, which will allow him/her to communicate efficiently and effectively with internal and external stakeholders and to represent the Commission and to defend its position in European and international fora.




The Commission is in particular seeking an economist who, in addition to his/her basic training, has specialised in industrial organisation and has had practical experience of the analysis of individual competition cases.
During the assignment, the Chief Competition Economist may publish papers and carry out limited teaching assignments provided that these do not interfere with his or her mandate.

Candidates must (eligibility criteria)






1.



Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the EU Member States of the European Union.










2.



University degree or diploma: candidates must hold a university degree. In addition, a doctorate in a branch of economics or econometrics relevant to competition policy is a requirement.










3.



Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years of postgraduate professional experience obtained subsequent to the completion of the qualifications mentioned above. At least 10 years of this professional experience must have been gained at a senior level in fields relevant to the vacant post (1).










4.



Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and an adequate knowledge of another of these official languages (2). 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 part of the interview being conducted in this other language.










5.



Age limit: candidates must be able to complete at least the full 3-year mandate before regular retirement age, which for temporary agents of the European Union, is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants) (3).





Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up their duties, candidates are required to make a declaration of their commitment to act independently in the public interest and of any interests, which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

Appointment and conditions of employment

The selection of the Chief Competition Economist takes place as described in the Compilation Document on Senior Officials Policy
 (4). During the selection procedure, the Commission may be assisted by external advisers, including experts of international reputation in the field of economics.
As part of this selection process, candidates who have been called for an interview with the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments will have to pass, before this interview, a full day assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants.
For functional reasons and to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates as well as that of the institution, the European Commission will carry out this selection procedure in English and/or French (5) only.
The successful candidate will be engaged by the Commission as a Temporary Agent under Article 2(a) of Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. Salaries and conditions of employment are those for Temporary Agents occupying a function corresponding to the basic post of Director at grade AD 14 of the European Union. It is a temporary assignment for 3 years and can be renewed for a maximum period of 2 years.
Applicants should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants for all new staff to complete successfully a 9-month probationary period.
This place of assignment is Brussels. It is expected that the selected candidate will take up the post on 1 September 2016.

Equal opportunities

The European Union applies an equal opportunities policy. Given the low representation of women in management functions, the Commission would particularly welcome applications from women.

Application procedure


Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the required types of diploma and professional experience as well as your linguistic capacity. Failure to possess any of these 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 e-mail address. This will be used to confirm your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the selection process. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your e-mail 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). For functional reasons and to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates as well as that of the institution, the CV and motivation letter must be written in English, French or German.
Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an electronic mail confirming that your application has been registered. The mail also contains a registration number which will be your reference number in all matters concerning your application. If you do not receive a confirmation mail, 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 the function of Chief Competition Economist (COM/2015/10363), postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between the 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 29 January 2016, 12.00 noon Brussels time, after which online registrations will not be possible anymore.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you 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 the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations 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 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)  In their CVs applicants should indicate at least for these 10 years during which activities the professional experience at high level has been gained (e.g. title and detailed functions held).

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

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

(4)  http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/official_policy_en.pdf

(5)  The selection panel will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of these two languages.

(6)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.