European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Malta — Publication of a vacancy for the function of Executive Director (Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14) — COM/2018/20029
Date: 2018-07-27
Institutions: European Asylum Support Office
Subjects: Malta, administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, servant (EU), temporary employment








CA2018265EN.01000101.xml










27.7.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 265/1






European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Malta
Publication of a vacancy for the function of Executive Director
(Temporary Agent — Grade AD 14)
COM/2018/20029
(2018/C 265 A/01)
 

We are

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) is a decentralised EU Agency located in Valletta, Malta. It was founded by the Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 establishing a European Asylum Support Office (1) (called ‘Regulation’).
EASO currently employs around 220 members of staff and has a budget of approximately EUR 96 million for 2019. In a mid-term perspective, as a result of the proposal of the Commission to transform EASO into a fully-fledged EU Asylum Agency, the number of staff could reach up to 500 members and the budget increase to approximately EUR 170 million. This proposal is currently being negotiated with the Council and the European Parliament.
Besides the staff in Malta, EASO also currently has staff deployed in Greece, Italy and Cyprus to provide operational assistance to those Member States.
According to its 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.
EASO’s main tasks are to:






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Facilitate, coordinate and strengthen practical cooperation among Member States by supporting 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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Provide effective operational support to Member States with specific needs and to Member States that are subject to particular pressure on their asylum and reception systems.










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Provide 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 Member States’ asylum authorities and other national sevices, the European Commission and other EU Agencies working in the area of Justice and Home affairs, such as Frontex. It also cooperates with UNHCR and other relevant international actors, including civil society.

We propose

The Executive Director shall provide a strategic vision, manage and represent EASO. He/she is the legal representative and public face of EASO. He/she is independent in the performance of her/his duties and is accountable for her/his activities to the Management Board.
The Executive Director plays a central role in providing leadership and direction to the Agency and is responsible for the overall management of EASO and its staff. He/she is responsible for ensuring the efficient day-to-day functioning of the agency notably by establishing the adequate administrative, operational and financial structures that are necessary for the proper functioning of the various operations 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 his/her tasks when invited. The Council may invite the Executive Director to report on the performance of his/her tasks.
For an exact list of current tasks of the EASO Executive Director, please see EASO Regulation No (EU) 439/2010. Moreover, if adopted, the Executive Director would be tasked to transform EASO into a fully-fledged EU Asylum Agency as proposed by the Commission (2).

We look for (selection criteria)

The ideal candidate will be an outstanding and dynamic professional who should fulfil the following selection criteria:






(a)


Leadership and management experience and skills, and in particular:






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Proven leadership skills in running a complex, organisational structure, both at strategic and at internal management level, being able to lead and motivate a large team, in a national, European, multicultural or multilingual environment.










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Solid administrative and management skills, in particular experience of budgetary, financial, procurement and human resources management in a public national, European and/or international context.










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Excellent analytical, organisational and decision-making skills including the ability to establish clear priorities.










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Develop vision and strategy: developing a compelling mission, vision and strategy in line with the Agency’s mandate, that have mid and long-term impact and that can be understood and accepted by the staff.










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Drive performance: proactively implementing EASO’s mission, vision and strategy in such a way that EASO meets its organisational objectives.










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Inspiring people: inspiring long-term motivation and organisational loyalty by acting as a role model and by complying with the organisation’s mission and values.














(b)



Technical knowledge and experience, and in particular:






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Proven senior professional experience in the area of migration and/or asylum, at strategic and operational levels, acquired in a national and/or a European and/or international context.










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Sound knowledge of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and thorough and strategic understanding of Justice and Home Affairs policies at a senior management level, at national and/or EU level.










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Very good understanding of the EU Institutions and of the interactions between national administrations and EU institutions, including an excellent knowledge of the EU legislation.










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Good knowledge of EU applicable rules regarding administrative matters, notably on budget, finance, procurement and human resources, is an asset.














(c)



Communication/networking/other skills, and in particular:






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Excellent communication skills, both orally and in writing.










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Excellent presentation skills.










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Excellent ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of external and internal stakeholders (including staff), and to understand organisational dynamics.










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Ability to operate in a stress-resistant, in focused and balanced way.










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Have a high degree of integrity and professional credibility.








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.

Candidates must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will only 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 one 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 must be in the area relevant to the Agency’s mandate, notably in the area of migration or asylum.










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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 (3) in a field relevant for this position, ideally in the area of migration or asylum.










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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (4) and a satisfactory 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. This may include (part of) the interview being conducted in this other language.










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Age limit: candidates must be able to complete, at the deadline for application, the full mandate of five years before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union, the retirement age 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 of the European Union (5)).




In addition, candidates have to have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service; produce appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties and be physically fit to perform their duties.

Selection and appointment

The Executive Director will be appointed by the Management Board of EASO on the basis of a shortlist provided by the European Commission.
To establish this shortlist, the European Commission organises a selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see the Document on Senior Officials Policy (6)).
As part of this selection procedure, the European Commission sets up a pre-selection panel. This panel analyses all applications, proceeds with a first eligibility verification and identifies candidates having the best profile in view of the selection criteria mentioned above, and who may be invited for an interview with the pre-selection panel.
Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel draws up its conclusions and proposes a list of candidates for further interviews with the European Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). The CCA, taking into consideration the conclusions of the pre-selection panel, will decide on the candidates to be invited for an interview.
Candidates who are called for an interview with the CCA participate in a full-day management assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Taking account of the results of the interview and the report of the assessment centre, the CCA establishes a shortlist of candidates it considers suitable to exercise the function of Executive Director of EASO.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for the Directorate-General in charge of the relations with the Agency (7).
Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the Management Board of EASO. The latter may decide to interview the candidates before appointing the Director from among the candidates on the Commission shortlist. Inclusion on this shortlist does not guarantee appointment.
Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above.
Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Management Board shall be invited to make a statement before the competent committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer questions put by its or their members.
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 and/or French only (8).

Equal opportunities

The European Commission and EASO apply a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (9).

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (10).
The successful candidate will be engaged by the Management Board of EASO as a Temporary Agent at grade AD 14 (11). He/she will be classified depending on the length of his/her previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.
She/he will be appointed for an initial mandate of five years, which may be extended once for not more than three years, as stated in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 439/2010.
Applicants should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Valletta, Malta, where EASO is based.
The Executive Director is expected to take office at the latest in early 2019.

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 his/her independence.

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. If you do not receive a confirmation mail with a registration 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 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 21 September 2018, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.
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 candidates

Candidates are reminded that the work of the different selection panels is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. All queries must be addressed to the secretariat of the relevant panel.

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 (12).


(1)  OJ L 132, 29.5.2010, p. 11.

(2)  Subject to the outcomes of the negotiations with the Council and the European Parliament and final adoption:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:ce773c1e-1689-11e6-ba9a-01aa75ed71a1.0001.02/DOC_1&format=PDF

(3)  In their curriculum vitae, candidates should clearly indicate for all 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.

(4)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01958R0001-20130701&qid=1408533709461&from=EN

(5)  http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

(6)  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/compilation-of-the-senior-official-policy-at-the-european-commission_en.pdf

(7)  Unless the Member of the Commission concerned, in line with the Commission Decision of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007) 1811), has delegated this task to another Member of the Commission.

(8)  Selection panels will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of these languages.

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

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

(11)  The correction coefficient applicable to the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union for Malta is set at 86,5 % as from 1 July 2017. This coefficient is subject to an annual revision.

(12)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.