Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers — Publication of the post of Director-General (grade AD 15) (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) — COM/2020/10395
Date: 2020-09-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, managing director








CA2020292EN.01000101.xml










3.9.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 292/1






Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers
Publication of the post of Director-General (grade AD 15)
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2020/10395
(2020/C 292 A/01)
 

We are

The European Union is a community of law, based on the protection of individual rights and freedoms, ensuring that the Union is a place of equality, fairness and social justice. The policies of DG Justice and Consumers are based on these core values and principles. They focus on the pursuit of social justice in its broadest sense, from the rule of law to crime prevention, judicial cooperation and consumer protection, vindicating and strengthening the rights of people living in the European Union, whether they are acting as citizens, as entrepreneurs, as consumers or as workers, wherever they are in the European Union.
More in particular, DG Justice and Consumers:






—


coordinates the work to ensure that the rule of law is upheld across the European Union, leading the Commission’s contribution to the European Rule of Law Mechanism, working closely with Member States and the European Parliament,










—


strengthens cooperation on rule-of-law issues with the Council of Europe and other international organisations, in particular the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development,










—


leads the work on consumer protection, notably for cross-border and online transactions, empowering consumers to make informed choices and play an active role in the green and digital transitions,










—


facilitates and improves judicial cooperation between Member States, improving information exchange and developing the justice area, making the most of new digital technologies to improve the efficiency and functioning of the EU justice systems,










—


supports the setting-up of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, while working on extending its powers to investigate and prosecute cross-border terrorism; ensures the full implementation and enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (1),










—


promotes the European approach as a global model and contributes to the legislation on a coordinated approach on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence, ensuring that fundamental rights are fully protected in the digital age,










—


monitors the protection of the rights conferred by European citizenship, taking action when necessary.




DG Justice and Consumers also upholds Europe’s commitment to inclusion and equality in all of its senses, raising awareness and promoting equality across the Union. It participates in the fight against discrimination wherever it exists, proposes new anti-discrimination legislation, strengthening support, protection and rights of victims and cracks down on gender-based violence.
DG Justice and Consumers consists of five Directorates and 21 Units. The total number of staff is around 500 persons. The Offices of DG Justice and Consumers are located in Brussels.

We propose

The function of Director-General of DG Justice and Consumers, who, under the political guidance of Commissioner REYNDERS (in charge of Justice and Consumers) and Commissioner DALLI (in charge of Equality), will be responsible for:






—


providing the overall strategic direction, management and governance of DG Justice and Consumers and leading policy development in the area of justice and consumers,










—


ensuring effective planning and management of the activities of the Directorate-General, providing guidance, supervising and controlling its performance,










—


ensuring coherence and consistency of the policies of the Directorate-General with the overall objectives and priorities of the Commission.





We look for (selection criteria)

The successful candidate must be an outstanding and dynamic professional demonstrating the following characteristics:

Personal qualities







—


accomplished interpersonal, decision-making and negotiating skills at high level (including the political sphere) and a very good capacity to communicate effectively and efficiently with all stakeholders inside or outside the Commission and to build trusted relationships with them,





Specialist skills and experience







—


excellent ability to define and focus on strategic priorities, evaluate progress and oversee implementation,










—


very good understanding of the policies falling within the remit of DG Justice and Consumers,





Management experience







—


proven capacity to think creatively and strategically so as to generate a clear vision and policy for the Directorate-General while ensuring consistency with the overall objectives of the Commission,










—


strong achievements as a leader, manager and communicator, involving management of large teams and financial resources at high level, being able to direct and motivate highly qualified professionals.




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. (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).

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:







—



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










—



University degree or diploma: Candidates must have:






—


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,










—


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 experience required below).














—



Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years’ postgraduate professional experience (2) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission.










—



Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high-level management function (3) in a field relevant for this position.










—



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.










—



Age limit: Candidates must not have reached regular retirement age, which of officials 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 52 lit (a) of the Staff Regulations (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 European Commission will select and appoint the Director-General according to its selection and recruitment procedures (see: 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 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, unless they have already been evaluated through an assessment centre organised at the request of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security for a type of post at the same level as the one they are currently applying for during the two years preceding the date of the interview with the CCA. 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 Director-General.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the President, by the Member of the Commission responsible for Human Resources and by the Members of the Commission responsible for DG Justice and Consumers (7).
Following these interviews, the European Commission takes the appointment decision.
Until the personal security clearance has been granted by the Member State concerned and the clearance procedure completed with the legally required briefing from the European Commission’s Security Directorate, the candidate will not be able to access EUCI at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, nor attend any meetings at which such EUCI is discussed.
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 (8) only.

Equal opportunities

The European Union applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations. Given the low representation of women in management functions, the Commission would particularly welcome applications from women.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Staff Regulations.
The successful candidate will be recruited as an official at grade AD 15. S/he will be classified depending on the length of her/his previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.
Applicants should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Brussels, where DG Justice and Consumers is based.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up her/his duties, the Director-General 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.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all eligibility requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, 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 identify 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). Your CV and your letter of motivation may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union.
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, 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 1 October 2020, 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 applicants

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 individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. Any query has to be addressed to the secretariat of the respective panels.

Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.


(1)  OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1.

(2)  Professional experience is only taken into consideration if it represents an actual work relationship defined as real, genuine work, on a paid basis and as employee (any type of contract) or provider of a service. Professional activities pursued part-time shall be calculated pro rata, on the basis of the certified percentage of full-time hours worked. Maternity leave/parental leave/leave for adoption is taken into consideration if it is in the framework of a work contract. PhDs are assimilated to professional experience, even when unpaid, but for a duration of three years maximum, provided that the PhD has been successfully completed. A given period may be counted only once.

(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://eur-lex.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)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).