Publication of a vacancy for the Executive Director of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), Ljubljana (Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14) — COM/2017/20022
Date: 2017-08-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, managing director, servant (EU)








CA2017286EN.01000101.xml










30.8.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 286/1





Publication of a vacancy for the Executive Director of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), Ljubljana
(Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14)
COM/2017/20022
(2017/C 286 A/01)
 

We are

The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (hereinafter ‘the Agency’ or ‘ACER’) was created by Regulation (EC) No 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The Agency plays a key role in ensuring the liberalisation of European Union markets in electricity and natural gas, and is a player of fundamental importance in completing the Energy Union, a European Commission flagship project.
In addition to initial competences set out in its founding Regulation (EC) No 713/2009, the Agency has over the years been assigned further tasks by way of two additional Regulations:






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Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (hereinafter ‘REMIT’) conferred specific role to the Agency in that domain,










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Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (hereinafter ‘TEN-E’), created additional competences for ACER in the stated domains.




As a result, ACER’s competences encompass today the following broad categories:






1.


Advancing the internal energy market in electricity and gas, notably by the development and implementation of Network Codes and Guidelines; and by providing opinions and guidance to relevant players as required.










2.


Assisting in meeting the infrastructure challenge by, inter alia, assisting National Regulatory Authorities (hereinafter ‘NRAs’) in assessing the consistent application of Projects of Common Interest identification criteria, and evaluating their cross-border relevance.










3.


Monitoring the internal markets in electricity and natural gas and reporting regularly on findings.










4.


Implementing the REMIT framework dedicated to preventing market abuses and ensuring the transparency of energy market transactions.




It should also be noted that, following the European Commission’s adoption of the Clean Energy for All Europeans legislative package on 30 November 2016, some of the above tasks may be either extended or be subject to changes, pending the final outcome of the interinstitutional adoption process.

We propose

The Director heads and manages the Agency, being its legal representative and public face. She or he will be accountable to the Administrative Board. The European Parliament and the Council may also request the Director to submit a report on the performance of her/his duties. In the course of her/his mandate, the Director may also be invited to make a statement before the competent committee of the European Parliament and answer questions put by members of that committee.
The Director will have a central role in monitoring the Agency’s progress under its statutory tasks, and will play a fundamental role in ensuring the Agency is fit to meet challenges arising from any changes in legislation or in market realities.
She or he will be responsible for ensuring the business continuity of the Agency and improving administrative, operational and financial structures necessary for the proper operation of the Agency, including the recruitment of staff.
A non-exhaustive list of the Director’s tasks includes the following:






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recruit and supervise Agency staff and foster a good team spirit and working environment,










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prepare and participate in the work of the Administrative Board, without the right to vote,










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adopt and publish opinions, recommendations and decisions of the Agency after having received a favourable opinion of the Board of Regulators, which consists of senior representatives of the NRAs,










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prepare the annual draft work programme of the Agency as well as the Agency’s annual reporting,










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implement the annual work programme of the Agency, under the guidance of the Board of Regulators of the Agency, and under the control of the Administrative Board,










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draw up a preliminary draft budget of the Agency and implement said budget,










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take the necessary measures to ensure the functioning of the Agency, notably the adoption of internal administrative instructions and the publication of notices,










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exercise the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and on the authority entitled to conclude contracts by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities,










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communicate with the public on all matters within the Agency’s remit.




It is worth noting that the post of Director of the Agency is a demanding, full time job requiring a degree of professional investment that will most likely not allow the Director to carry out other professional activities of a nature not directly related to the job specifications. This is without prejudice to any exceptions to this consideration that may be exceptionally granted by the Administrative Board, in line with Article 12b of the Staff Regulations (1).

Selection criteria

Preference will be given to candidate who have:






(a)


Management experience, and in particular:






—


excellent capacity for managing a decentralised agency, both at strategic and at internal management level, and to meet the challenges faced by a body interacting with multiple actors; relevant experience at national and/or European level would be a strong asset,










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experience in the management of significant financial resources in a national and/or European environment, including budgetary planning and internal control; experience in the implementation and management of quality assurance and risk management systems would be an asset,










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sound judgement and proven success in a staff management position, in particular the ability to lead, motivate and develop to the best of their potential a team including both administrative and technical personnel; experience in a multicultural and multilingual context would be an advantage;














(b)


Technical knowledge, and in particular:






—


very good knowledge of and experience with the energy regulatory policy, supervision of the energy market, market design at EU and/or national level with a track record of leadership in this area,










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good understanding of the EU institutions and how they operate and interact,










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capacity to develop a strategic vision for the energy sector;














(c)


Communication and negotiations skills, and in particular:






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excellent communication skills; proven ability to communicate efficiently and effectively to the public and in engaging with stakeholders (European, national and local authorities, international organisations, businesses, NGOs, etc.),










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strong innovation capabilities, being able to generate ideas in promoting, programming and exploiting the work of the Agency,










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excellent interpersonal, decision-making, organisational and negotiating skills and the ability to build trusted working relationships with the European Union’s institutions and with stakeholders.









Candidates must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal requirements to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:






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










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University degree or diploma: candidates must 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 4 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 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years (this 1 year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).














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Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years’ postgraduate professional experience at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience should be in the energy sector, in energy policy and/or energy regulation.










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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 (1). Management experience in the energy sector would be an asset.










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Languages: thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (2) and adequate knowledge of another of these official languages. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language.
At any rate, the Director is expected to have an excellent command of English, being the Agency’s working language. Any knowledge of further European Union languages beyond the minimum requirement would be a strong asset.










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Age limit: candidates must be able to complete the full 5-year mandate before reaching retirement age. For temporary staff of the EU entering the service as from 1 January 2014, retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66.





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 make a declaration in relation to any interests which might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence.

Selection and appointment

The European Commission organises the selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see also the Document on Senior Officials Policy (3)). To this end, it sets up a preselection panel which will invite for an interview the candidates fulfilling the eligibility requirements listed above and having the best profile with regards to the selection criteria listed above.
The preselection panel will propose the candidates best matching the above listed criteria for further interviews with the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). They will have to undergo testing by an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Candidates, who are shortlisted by the CCA, will afterwards be interviewed by the Commissioner for Energy and Climate Policy.
Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a short list of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the Administrative Board of ACER. The latter will interview the candidates before appointing the Director from among the candidates shortlisted by the Commission. 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. There will be a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament.
For practical reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible, the selection procedure will be carried out in English and/or French only.
Salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants for temporary agents occupying a function corresponding to the basic post of Director at grade AD 14 of the European Union (4). The selected candidate will be classified depending on the length of his/her experience in step 1 or step 2 within the grade. He/she will be appointed for an initial mandate of 5 years, with a possible prolongation for a maximum 3 years according to rules applying at the time of this publication.
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.
The place of employment is Ljubljana (Slovenia), where ACER is based.
The post is available from 16 September 2018.

Equal opportunities

The European Commission and ACER apply a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all eligibility requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, high-level professional experience as well as linguistic capacity required. 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 on the following website and follow the instructions concerning the various stages of the procedure:
https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/
You must have a valid email address. This will be used to confirm your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the procedure. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your email address.
To complete your application, you need to upload a CV in PDF format and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters).
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 Senior Management & CCA, SC11 8/30, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË, indicating clearly as a reference: Vacancy for Executive Director of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) (COM/2017/20022), and 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 procedure.
If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 27 September 2017, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.
It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations will not be accepted, whatever the reason.

Important information for candidates

Candidates are reminded that the work of the different selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their members 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 EU institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data (5).


(1)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140701&from=EN

(1)  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.

(2)  https://ec.europa.eu/info/official-eu-languages_en

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

(4)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140701&from=EN

(5)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.