Notice of open competition — EPSO/AST-SC/05/16 — Accreditation officers/receptionists (SC 1/SC 2)
Date: 2016-07-14
Institutions: European Personnel Selection Office
Subjects: EPSO, European Parliament, assistant, competition (EU)








CA2016255EN.01000101.xml










14.7.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 255/1





NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION
EPSO/AST-SC/05/16
Accreditation officers/receptionists (SC 1/SC 2)
(2016/C 255 A/01)


Deadline for registration: 6 September 2016 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time


The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising an open competition, based on qualifications and tests, to draw up reserve lists from which the European Parliament will recruit new members of the civil service as ‘accreditation officers/receptionists’ (function group AST-SC).
This notice of competition, together with the general rules governing open competitions published in 
Official Journal of the European Union C 70 A of 27 February 2015
 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2015:070A:TOC), forms the legally binding framework for this selection procedure. However, please note that ANNEX II of these general rules does not apply to this competition. It is replaced by the provisions in ANNEX II to this notice.
Number of successful candidates sought:







Grade SC 1: 45




Grade SC 2: 10





This notice of open competition covers two grades. You may only apply to one. You must make your choice when you apply online and you will not be able to change it after you have validated your online application form. However, 
under certain conditions
 described under point 2), your application to grade SC 2 may be reassigned by the selection board into grade SC 1.

WHAT TASKS CAN I EXPECT TO PERFORM?

The European Parliament is looking for accreditation officers/receptionists to attend reception desks and process accreditation requests and issue access cards in compliance with European Parliament rules.
Recruited personnel will be required to wear a uniform supplied by the European Parliament, to travel to the three sites of the European Parliament (Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg) and to work in shifts.
Please see ANNEX I for more information about the typical duties to be performed.

AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

You must meet ALL of the following conditions when you validate your application:






General conditions








—


Enjoy full rights as a citizen of a Member State of the EU










—


Meet any obligations under national laws on military service










—


Meet the character requirements for the duties concerned








Specific conditions: languages








—


Language 1: minimum level — C1 of one of the 24 official EU languages










—


Language 2: minimum level — B2 inEnglish, French or German; must be different from language 1





For details on language levels, see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages


(https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr)

You must fill in your application form in 
English, French, or German
.
The second language chosen must be 
English, French, or German
. These are the main working languages of the EU institutions and, in the interests of the service, new recruits must be immediately able to work and communicate effectively in their daily work in at least one of them.
Please see ANNEX II for additional information on the languages required for this competition.




Specific conditions: qualifications & work experience



Grades SC 1 and SC 2







—


Post-secondary education of 
at least 1 year
 attested by a diploma directly related to the nature of the duties,

or











—


Secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education followed by 
at least 3 years’
 professional experience directly related to the nature of the duties,

or











—


Professional training (equivalent to European Qualification Framework Level 4 — http://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/search/site?f%5B0%5D=im_field_entity_type%3A97) 
of at least 1 year,
 followed by a 
minimum of 3 years’ professional experience
. Both the training and experience must be directly related to the nature of the duties.

or











—


Professional experience of 
at least 8 years
 directly related to the nature of the duties





For details on diplomas see Annex I to General Rules governing Open Competitions (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2015:070A:TOC)


NB: The years of professional experience mentioned above do not count towards the number of years of professional experience required below.



Additional professional experience:







—



Grade SC 2 only







At least 4 years’
 additional professional experience directly related to the nature of the duties.
This professional experience is relevant only where it has been gained after obtaining the qualification and/or professional experience required for access to the competition (see Grades SC 1 and SC 2 above).
The professional experience required should concern practical knowledge of the accreditation and reception fields in an international and/or multicultural environment in the private or public sector. This experience must be directly or mostly related to the nature of the duties of an accreditation officer/receptionist as described in ANNEX I.





HOW WILL I BE SELECTED?

1)   
Computer-based Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests


If the number of candidates 
exceeds a certain threshold
 for each grade, defined by EPSO acting as Appointing Authority, all candidates who validated their application form by the deadline will be invited to sit a series of computer-based MCQ tests in one of EPSO’s accredited centres.
If the number of candidates 
is below the threshold
, these tests will be held during the assessment phase (point 3)) instead.
The computer-based MCQ tests will be organised as follows:










Tests




Language




Questions




Duration




Pass mark





Verbal reasoning


Language 1


20 questions


35 min


10/20




Numerical reasoning


Language 1


10 questions


20 min


Numerical + abstract combined: 10/20




Abstract reasoning


Language 1


10 questions


10 min




These tests are eliminatory and do not count towards the other tests held during the assessment phase.
2)   
Selection based on qualifications


First, the eligibility requirements will be checked on the basis of the data provided in the candidates’ online application. There are 2 possible scenarios:






—


If the computer-based MCQ tests 
are organised upfront,
 the files of the candidates will be checked for eligibility in descending order of the marks obtained until the number of eligible candidates reaches a certain threshold defined for each grade by EPSO acting as Appointing Authority. The other files will not be checked.










—


If the computer-based MCQ tests 
are not organised upfront
, the files of all candidates will be checked for eligibility.






Grade SC 2 candidates:
 during the check for eligibility, the selection board may reassign your application to grade SC 1 if you meet the following conditions:






—


if the MCQ tests were organised upfront, you reached one of the 
highest total scores
 for grade SC 2, and










—


according to the data given in your application you 
do not meet the eligibility requirements
 for grade SC 2 but you do meet those for grade SC 1, and










—


you 
gave your consent
 for reassignment to grade SC 1 when you applied, and










—


if the MCQ tests were organised upfront, you 
also
 reached one of the 
highest total scores
 in the MCQ tests for grade SC 1.




In that case, you will be considered as candidate to grade SC 1 for the rest of the procedure.
Second, only for the eligible candidates selected as described above; the selection based on qualifications will be carried out using the information provided by the candidates in the application form’s Talent Screener tab. The selection board will assign each selection criterion a weighting that reflects its relative importance (1 to 3) and each of the candidate’s responses will be awarded between 0 and 4 points.
The selection board will then multiply the points by the weighting for each criterion and add these to identify those whose profiles best match the duties to be performed.
Please see ANNEX III for the list of criteria
3)   
Assessment Phase




A maximum of 3 times
 the number of successful candidates sought for each grade will be invited to this phase. If you scored one of the 
highest total marks
 at the selection based on qualifications, you will be invited to attend an assessment phase for 1 or 2 days, most probably in 
Brussels
, where you will take tests held in your 
language 2
.
If the computer-based MCQ tests described in point 1) were 
not organised upfront
, you will sit them during the assessment phase.
Seven general competencies, each marked out of 10, and the specific competencies required for this competition will be tested during the assessment phase through 
3 tests
 (general and specific competency-based interviews and a role-play exercise) as described in the following matrices:








Competency






Tests












1.


Analysis and problem solving






Role-play










2.


Communicating






General competency-based interview










3.


Delivering quality and results






Role-play










4.


Learning and development






General competency-based interview










5.


Prioritising and organising






General competency-based interview










6.


Resilience






Role-play










7.


Working with others






Role-play




Pass mark


35/70















Competencies






Tests






Field-specific competencies


Specific competency-based interview




Pass mark


50/100




4)   
Reserve list


After checking candidates’ supporting documents, the selection board will draw up a 
reserve list
 for each grade of the eligible candidates who have obtained the overall highest marks following the assessment phase, until the number of successful candidates sought is reached. Names will be listed alphabetically.

WHEN AND WHERE CAN I APPLY?

Apply online on the EPSO website http://jobs.eu-careers.eu by:


6 September 2016 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time.




ANNEX I
DUTIES
The European Parliament is looking for accreditation officers/receptionists to carry out the tasks set out below:






—


working at a wide variety of reception desks, according to the needs of the accreditation service;










—


processing accreditation requests, preparing and issuing access cards for Members, permanent staff and their guests, representatives of interest groups, staff from external companies and visitors, in compliance with the rules on access cards and authorisations for access to the European Parliament buildings;










—


identifying, anticipating and meeting the needs of the European Parliament, its Members and its permanent staff and guests, while taking a fair and pragmatic approach to resolving specific problems quickly and efficiently;










—


ensuring the uninterrupted, professional, courteous and efficient service expected of the institution;










—


filing, word processing, statistics, data input, archiving and updating electronic files;










—


processing personal data in accordance with the confidentiality required by data protection rules.




It will be obligatory to wear the uniform supplied by the European Parliament. Accreditation officers/receptionists must be available to travel for missions and to work in shifts.
End of ANNEX I, click here to return to main text



ANNEX II
JUSTIFICATION OF THE LANGUAGE REGIME FOR THIS SELECTION PROCEDURE
This competition is a specialist competition to recruit Accreditation officers/receptionists. The requirements set out in the ‘AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?’ section of this Notice of Competition are in line with the EU institutions’ primary requirements for specialist skills, experience and knowledge and the need for new recruits to be able to work effectively, in particular with other members of staff.
For this reason, candidates are required to select their second competition language from a limited number of EU official languages. This limitation is also due to budgetary and operational constraints and the nature of EPSO’s selection methods described in points 1, 2 and 3 below. The language requirements for this competition have been adopted by the EPSO Management Board taking into account these factors and other specific requirements relating to the nature of the duties or the particular needs of the EU institutions concerned.
The main purpose of this competition is to create a reserve of accreditation officers/receptionists for recruitment within the European Parliament. Once recruited, it is essential that the accreditation officers/receptionists are operational immediately and are able to communicate with their colleagues and managers. In the light of the criteria on the use of languages in EU selection procedures set out under point 2 below, the European Parliament considers that English, French and German are the most appropriate second language options for this competition.
Candidates are informed that the three second-language options for this selection procedure, i.e. English, French or German, have been laid down in the interests of the service, which require staff to be able to communicate effectively in their daily work. 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. Furthermore, in staff reports for 2013, 92 %, 84 % and 56 % of all staff stated that they had satisfactory knowledge of English, French and German respectively. For no other official language did that figure exceed 50 %.
Therefore, in balancing the interests and needs of the service and the abilities of candidates, the European Parliament is entitled to require knowledge of one of those three languages to ensure that, whatever their first official language, all candidates are proficient in at least one of them.
In addition, in the interests of equality of treatment, all candidates, even if they have one of those three languages as their first official language, are required to have a satisfactory knowledge of a second language, which must be one of those 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.
Candidates must use their second competition language (English, French or German) when filling in the online applications and EPSO must use these languages for mass communication to candidates who have submitted a valid application and for some tests described under point 3.
1.   Justification for selecting languages for each selection procedure

The EU institutions believe that the decision on the specific languages to be used in each individual selection procedure and, in particular, any restriction of the choice of languages, must be made on the basis of the following considerations:






(i)



Requirement that new recruits be immediately operational





New recruits need to be immediately operational and capable of performing the duties for which they were recruited. Therefore, EPSO must ensure that successful candidates possess adequate knowledge of a combination of languages that will enable them to carry out their duties in an effective manner and in particular that successful candidates are able to communicate effectively in their daily work with their colleagues and managers.
It may therefore be legitimate to organise some tests in a limited number of vehicular languages to ensure that all candidates are able to work in at least one of these, whatever their first official language. Failure to do so would create a high risk that a substantial proportion of successful candidates would be unable to undertake the tasks for which they are recruited within a reasonable timeframe. Moreover, it would neglect the evident consideration that candidates applying to work in the EU civil service are willing to join an international organisation that must make use of vehicular languages in order to work properly and carry out the tasks entrusted to it under the EU Treaties.






(ii)



The nature of the selection procedure





In some cases, limiting candidates’ choice of languages may also be justified by the nature of the selection procedure.
In line with Article 27 of the Staff Regulations, EPSO assesses candidates in open competitions which it uses to evaluate candidates’ skills and better predict whether candidates will be capable of performing their duties.
The assessment centre is a selection method that consists of evaluating candidates in a standardised manner, based on various scenarios observed by several selection board members. The assessment uses a competency framework drawn up in advance by the appointing authorities and a common scoring method and joint decision making.
Assessing specific skills in this way enables the EU institutions to evaluate candidates’ ability to be immediately operational in an environment that closely matches the reality of the job. A substantial body of scientific research has shown that assessment centres simulating real-life working situations are the best predictor of real-life performance. Assessment centres are therefore used worldwide. Given the length of careers and the degree of mobility within the EU institutions this kind of assessment is crucial, in particular when selecting permanent officials.
To ensure that candidates can be assessed on an equal footing and can communicate directly with assessors and the other candidates taking part in an exercise, candidates are assessed together in a group with a common language. Unless the assessment centre takes place in a competition with a single main language, this necessarily requires that the assessment centre be organised in a restricted number of languages.






(iii)



Budgetary and operational constraints





For several reasons, the EPSO Management Board believes it would be impractical to organise the assessment centre phase of a single competition in all EU official languages.
Firstly, such an approach would have very serious resource implications, rendering it impossible for the EU institutions to meet their recruitment needs within the current budgetary framework. It would also not be reasonable value for money for the European taxpayer.
Secondly, conducting the assessment centre in all official languages would require a substantial number of interpreters to work on EPSO competitions and the use of appropriate premises with interpreting booths.
Thirdly, a much higher number of selection board members would be needed to cover the different languages used by candidates.
2.   Criteria for selecting languages for each selection procedure

If candidates are required to choose from a limited number of official EU languages, the EPSO Management Board must determine on a case-by-case basis the languages to be used for individual open competitions, taking into account the following:






(i)


any specific internal rules on the use of languages within the institution(s) or bodies concerned;










(ii)


specific requirements related to the nature of the duties and the particular needs of the institution(s) concerned;










(iii)


the languages most frequently used within the institution(s) concerned, determined on the basis of:






—


the declared and proven language skills at level B2 or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages of permanent EU officials in active employment;










—


the most frequent target languages into which documents intended for internal use within the EU institutions are translated;










—


the most frequent source languages from which documents produced internally by the EU institutions and intended for external use are translated;














(iv)


the languages used for administrative communication within the institution(s) concerned.




3.   Languages of communication

This section describes the general rules concerning the use of languages for communication between EPSO and prospective candidates. Other, specific requirements may be set out in each notice of competition.
EPSO takes due account of candidates’ right as EU citizens to communicate in their mother tongue. It also recognises that candidates who have validated their application are prospective members of the EU civil service who benefit from the rights and obligations conferred on them by the Staff Regulations. The EU institutions therefore believe that EPSO should, wherever possible, communicate with candidates and provide candidates with information concerning their applications in all EU official languages. To achieve this, stable elements on the EPSO website, competition notices and the general rules governing open competitions will be published in all official languages.
The languages to be used when filling in the online application forms are specified in each notice of competition. Instructions on filling in the application form must be provided in all official languages. These provisions will apply during the transition period required to put in place an initial online application procedure in all official languages.
In order to communicate quickly and efficiently, once a candidate’s initial application has been validated, mass communication from EPSO to large candidate populations will be in a limited number of official EU languages. This will be either the candidate’s first or second language as set out in the relevant notice of competition.
Candidates may contact EPSO in any official EU language but, in order for EPSO to handle their query more efficiently, candidates are encouraged to choose from among a limited number of languages for which EPSO staff is able to provide immediate linguistic coverage without the need to resort to translation.
Certain tests may also be held in a limited number of official EU languages in order to ensure that candidates have the language ability needed to participate in the assessment phase of open competitions. The languages for the various tests will be specified in each notice of competition.
The EU institutions believe that these arrangements ensure a fair and appropriate balance between the interests of the service and the principle of multilingualism and non-discrimination by language. The obligation on candidates to choose a second language that is different from their first (normally mother tongue or equivalent) ensures that they can be compared on an equal footing.
End of ANNEX II, click here to return to main text



ANNEX III
SELECTION CRITERIA

The selection board considers the following criteria for the selection based on qualifications:







1.


Professional experience in dealing with the general public on a daily basis;










2.


Professional experience as a front desk receptionist responding to queries, directing clients and resolving problems;










3.


Professional experience in working on accreditation-related questions at different site locations and/or with different client groups;










4.


Professional experience as part of a multilingual/multicultural team in a European or International environment;










5.


Professional experience in resolving conflicts with visitors displaying inappropriate or unusual behaviour (aggression, confusion, incoherence, disruptiveness)










6.


Proven knowledge of EU official languages other than your language 1 and 2 (minimum level required: B2 of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr)).










7.


Professional experience in the use of OUTLOOK and EXCEL and/or in the use of databases and software for the preparation and production of access cards;










8.


Professional experience in working in shift patterns;




End of ANNEX III, click here to return to main text