Directorate-General Budget — Publication of a vacancy for the function of Deputy Director-General (grade AD 15) (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) — COM/2020/10397
Date: 2020-11-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: administrator, competition (EU), job vacancy, managing director








CA2020377EN.01000101.xml










9.11.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 377/1






Directorate-General Budget
Publication of a vacancy for the function of Deputy Director-General (grade AD 15)
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2020/10397
(2020/C 377 A/01)
 

We are

The Directorate-General for Budget consists of around 530 staff and is made up of six directorates, five of which are based in Brussels and one of which has staff based both in Brussels and Luxembourg.
DG Budget is the central service of the Commission responsible for the preparation and implementation of the EU budget throughout the annual and multiannual cycles, ensuring that the budget is executed effectively in full compliance with the Financial Regulation. DG Budget is also responsible for the legal framework applicable to the implementation of the EU budget by the different Institutions, agencies and Member States, and plays a key role in promoting sound financial management and a strong performance culture. In this context, DG BUDG aims at ensuring that the EU budget delivers concrete results and added-value across the EU policies. More generally, DG Budget’s responsibilities and political priorities are guided by the Treaty and further defined on the basis of President von der Leyen’s political guidelines set for the Commission 2019-2024.
In relation to the vacancy to be filled, DG Budget will play a key role in financing the Union’s budgetary support for the Union recovery plan in the context of COVID-19 crisis through a scaling-up of current borrowing and lending operations for the SURE instrument and also to finance different EU policies in the repair and recovery phase. The increase in the scale, complexity and policy importance of DG Budget’s borrowing and lending activities (financial operations are broader and include asset management activities) call for a commensurate enhancement of the governance and oversight of these activities.

We propose

The post of Deputy Director-General (DDG2) to serve as the focal point for ensuring the sound governance and effective risk management of the (borrowing and lending/financial operations) activities undertaken by Directorate BUDG E.
These activities must be undertaken on the basis of transparent and well documented processes to ensure that transactions are executed in ways that are most advantageous for the Union budget and in full respect of regulatory and ethical requirements. Behavioural and financial risks that pose a material risk to the Union budget or the Commission’s reputation must be identified and effectively mitigated if not eliminated. The Commission and its staff must at all times act in ways consistent with market integrity and the preservations of the Commission’s reputation for fair and ethical conduct.
These objectives call for the creation of a strong capacity to ensure independent control and oversight of the borrowing and lending activities/financial operations. These responsibilities should be centred on a senior management figure with a clear mandate and authority to intervene to ensure appropriate governance and risk management processes, uphold strong standards, and intervene to correct identified process or transactional problems. This senior management figure should be independent from the executive management of the Directorate and be able to hold the latter to account. In respect of the risk framework, the Deputy Director-General will have a reporting line to the Commissioner responsible for Budget.
The DDG2 shall in particular have responsibility for:






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Steering the implementation of robust governance processes for borrowing and lending/financial operations;










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Overseeing the design of strong risk management/control processes in respect of all key issues (adoption and review of manuals, process enhancements);










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Monitoring the compliance of the contingent liabilities arising from financial operations (including budgetary guarantees) with the capacity of the Union budget to bear these risks (compatibility with budgetary headroom);










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Serving as Chief Compliance Officer for overseeing the rigorous and effective implementation of controls and investigating concerns relating to non-compliance with the latter;










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Audit and review of individual transactions or types of transaction, comprising both ex ante checks or follow-up on complaints and/or allegations);




In the furtherance of these tasks, the DDG2 shall be supported by the following functions:






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Risk management sector for asset management in BUDG.E1;










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Risk management sector for borrowing and lending in BUDG.E3;










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Legal sector in BUDG.E4 who shall support the DDG2 with all the assessment of all compliance questions and legal advice;










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The accounting unit BUDG.E2 shall support the DDG2 with any accounting information and support in respect of internal or external audits;










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BUDG B2 shall assist the DDG2 in assessing the compliance of contingent liabilities with the capacity of the budget to bear the related financial risks, and provide all information upon request.




These functions will be under obligation to bring concerns regarding deficiencies in reporting and risk management or in respect of individual transactions to the attention of the DDG2. These functions shall be at the full disposal of the DDG2 to assist with requests and shall act on instruction of the DDG2 on all matters relating to the latter’s mandate.
The DDG2 shall also chair a Risk Oversight Committee (for borrowing and lending/financial operations) which shall meet regularly to review the functioning of the system of governance and risk management processes. This Committee shall advise the DDG2 on potential enhancements to the structures and processes and the identification of new or emerging risks.
The DDG2 shall also co-Chair the Asset Management Board (AMB) and bring an independent and risk-management perspective to the deliberations of the AMB.
In addition to these tasks related to borrowing and lending, the DDG2 can be entrusted with other responsibilities related to the management of the Budget by the Director-General.

We look for (selection criteria)

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






a)



Management experience, and in particular:






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Ability to identify key issues, take initiative and think strategically in view of new financial and political developments including new Commission policy priorities;










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Forward-looking and dynamic approach to new challenges, coupled with high motivation and resilience to work on different issues simultaneously;










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Ability to steer and motivate highly qualified teams to delivery high quality output.














b)



Technical knowledge and experience, and in particular:






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A solid background in public banking, preferably within international organisations;










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Concrete experience in identifying and promoting improvements in the functioning of public administrations or other organisations;










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Sound understanding of internal control requirements in such an environment.














c)



Communication / negotiations skills, and in particular:






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Excellent networking skills in encouraging colleagues to work in teams on shared goals;










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Excellent communication and negotiation skills and ability to act as a mediator in difficult situations;










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Proven ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with all stakeholders inside or outside the Commission and to build trusted relationships with them.








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:






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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 (1) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission.










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Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high–level management function (2) in a field relevant for this position.










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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (3) 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 not have reached regular retirement age, which for 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(a) of the Staff Regulations (4)).




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 Deputy Director-General according to its selection and recruitment procedures (see: Document on Senior Officials Policy (5)).
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 Deputy Director-General.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for DG Budget (6) and by the Member of the Commission responsible for human resources and security.
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 EU classified information (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 only (7).

Equal opportunities

The Commission pursues a strategic objective of achieving gender equality at all management levels by the end of its current mandate and applies an equal opportunities policy encouraging applications that could contribute towards more diversity, gender equality and overall geographical balance.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Staff Regulations (8).
The successful candidate will be recruited as an official at grade AD 15. He / she will be classified depending on the length of his / her 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 9-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Brussels, where DG Budget is based.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up his/her duties, the Deputy 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 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). 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 7 December 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 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 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)  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 3 years maximum, provided that the PhD has been successfully completed. A given period may be counted only once.

(2)  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.

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

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

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

(6)  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.

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

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

(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).