Vacancy notice for the position of Director of the Energy Community Secretariat – COM/2021/20055
Date: 2021-02-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: Energy Community, competition (EU), job vacancy, managing director, recruitment, secretariat of an Institution




CA2021063EN.01000101.xml










23.2.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 63/1






Vacancy notice for the position of Director of the Energy Community Secretariat
COM/2021/20055
(2021/C 63 A/01)
 

About the Energy Community Secretariat

The Energy Community is based on the Energy Community Treaty which entered into force in 2006 and is binding on the European Union and nine non-EU Energy Community Contracting Parties: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (*1), Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine. To date, Armenia, Norway and Turkey have the status of observers.
The Energy Community Secretariat is one of the institutions set up under the Energy Community Treaty. Being the only institution with permanent staff (37 staff members in 2020), it provides administrative support to the other institutions of the Energy Community (Ministerial Council, Permanent High Level Group, Regulatory Board and Fora) and reviews the proper implementation by the Parties of their obligations under the Energy Community Treaty, among other tasks.
The Secretariat manages the Energy Community budget, which amounts to around EUR 4,8 million in 2020. The EU is the main contributor to that budget with a share of around 95 %.
The working language of the Energy Community is English.
Website for further information: https://www.energy-community.org/aboutus/whoweare.html

The position of Director of the Secretariat

Under the Energy Community rules for recruitment, working conditions and geographical equilibrium of the Secretariat’s staff (1), the Director of the Secretariat is appointed by Procedural Act of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community, on a proposal of the European Commission, for a fixed renewable term of three years.
The Director heads and manages the Secretariat and is the legal representative and public face of the Energy Community Secretariat. The Director is accountable to the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community.
The successful candidate will provide vision and guidance to the activities of the Secretariat and is expected to assume a leading and inspiring role in the effective planning and implementation of the work programme of the Energy Community.
He/she will be responsible to ensure a smooth coordination between the Energy Community institutions, bodies and stakeholders, for the benefit of the achievement of the Energy Community goals.
The Director’s responsibilities will include:






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Policy definition: developing and ensuring effective implementation of the Secretariat’s short- and long-term activities in accordance with its mandate, as set out in Article 67 of the Energy Community Treaty;










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Human Resources: ensuring effective planning and management of the human resources, including an efficient allocation and use of resources, motivating staff, fostering a good team spirit as well as creating and maintaining a balanced and productive working environment;










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Budget: ensuring the effective planning, management and effective implementation of the budget in accordance with the principles of sound financial management;










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Representation: ensuring the representation of the Energy Community Secretariat within the institutions and bodies of the Energy Community, as well as to the outside.





Applicants should

Applicants will be assessed on the basis of the following selection criteria:






1)


Leadership and management skills and experience, and in particular:






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Proven capacity to manage a public body, both at strategic and at operational level, and to meet the challenges faced by a body interacting with multiple stakeholders;










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Sound experience in leading and managing staff, in particular the ability to lead, motivate and develop a team to the best of its potential; experience in a multicultural and multilingual context would be an asset;










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Sound experience in managing effectively significant financial resources including budgetary planning and internal control.














2)


Technical knowledge:






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Extensive knowledge of the European Union political priorities, in particular the European Green Deal;










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Extensive knowledge of European regulatory policies and practice relevant to the EU internal energy market and market design at EU and/or national level;










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Extensive knowledge of the challenges and instruments at global and regional levels to fight against climate change;










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Knowledge and/or experience in the energy sector of a Contracting Party would be an asset;










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Good understanding of the EU institutions and how they operate and interact.














3)


Communication and negotiations skills, and in particular:






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Excellent communications skills and ability to communicate and engage efficiently and effectively with the public and a wide range of stakeholders, (European, international, national and local authorities, international organisations, etc.);










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Excellent negotiation skills;










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Knowledge of an official language of the Contracting Parties or a Member State of the European Union other than English.














4)


International experience and knowledge of the EU:






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Thorough understanding of the EU Institutions and how they operate and interact, and of EU policies and international activities of relevance to the activities of the Energy Community;










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Professional experience acquired in European and/or international organisations is an asset.









Applicants must

To be considered for the selection phase, applicants must meet the following criteria by the closing date for applications:






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Nationality: be a citizen of a Contracting Party of the Energy Community or of a Member State of the European Union.










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University degree or diploma: 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). Only diplomas recognised by a Contracting Party or a Member State of the European Union will be considered.














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Professional experience: have at least 10 years postgraduate experience (2) acquired at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission.










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Relevant professional experience: proven professional experience in the energy sector, gained after obtaining the diploma required for admission.










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Management experience: proven professional experience in senior management functions (3). Management experience in the energy sector would be an asset.










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Languages: have a thorough knowledge of English. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the language requirements. This may include part of the interview being conducted in other languages.










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Age limit: at the deadline for applications, be able to complete the full 3-year-mandate before the end of the month in which she or he reaches the age of 66. Candidates must be able to complete, at the deadline for applications, the full 3-year mandate before reaching retirement age.





Additional requirements:







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fulfilment of any obligations imposed on her/him by the laws concerning military service;










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the appropriate character references as to her/his suitability for the performance of her/his duties;










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certification by a qualified medical practitioner that the appointee possesses the degree of physical fitness needed for the post.




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).

Independence and declaration of interests

The Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently and impartially in the interest of the Energy Community, in accordance with Article 70 of the Energy Community Treaty and to make a declaration in respect of any interests which might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence. Applicants must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

Selection and appointment

The European Commission will organise the selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see the Document on Senior Officials Policy (4)). To this end, it will set 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.
Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel will draw up its conclusions and propose 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.
Candidates who are shortlisted by the CCA will afterwards be interviewed by the Commissioner for Energy.
Following these interviews, the European Commission will propose one candidate to the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community. The Ministerial Council may ask for a hearing of the nominee before the decision for appointment is taken. The Ministerial Council will decide on the appointment of the Director on a simple majority.
For functional reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates, the selection procedure will be carried out in English only.

Equal opportunities

The Energy Community applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with points 26 and 27 of the Rules for Recruitment, working conditions and geographical equilibrium of the Secretariat’s Staff (5).

Conditions of employment (6)

The Director will be appointed by a Procedural Act of the Ministerial Council as staff of the Energy Community Secretariat for a fixed 3-year period, which may be renewed.
The place of employment is Vienna, where the Energy Community Secretariat is based.
Annual gross salary will range from EUR 96 000 to EUR 120 000 depending on the level of experience (7).
The Appointment will be subject to a probation period of six months and to conditions to be specified in the Employment Agreement.
The Ministerial Council may ask for a hearing of the nominee during its meeting before the decision for appointment is taken.

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 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 should be submitted in English.
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 on-line. 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 23 March 2021, 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 process candidates’ personal data as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.


(*1)  This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 (1999) and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

(1)  https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:40827ebc-b6d5-45e2-a695-258a09d99b9d/Rules_recruitment_2016.pdf

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

(5)  https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:40827ebc-b6d5-45e2-a695-258a09d99b9d/Rules_recruitment_2016.pdf

(6)  More details can be found in the Staff Regulations of the Energy Community on https://www.energy-community.org/dam/jcr:cc5c53fa-2e7e-4e01-a562-db5eb812c07c/Staff_regulations.pdf

(7)  Subject to approval by the Ministerial Council.

(8)  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).