Directorate-General INTPA – Publication of a vacancy for the function of Director (Grade AD 14) (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) – COM/2021/10402
Date: 2021-03-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: EU relations, administrator, competition (EU), foreign policy, job vacancy, managing director








CA2021093EN.01000101.xml










19.3.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 93/1






Directorate-General INTPA
Publication of a vacancy for the function of Director (Grade AD 14)
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2021/10402
(2021/C 93 A/01)
 

We are

The mission of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) is to contribute to sustainable development, the eradication of poverty, to peace and to the protection of human rights, through international partnerships that uphold and promote European values and interests.
DG INTPA has a leading role in formulating EU policies in the area of international cooperation and building partnerships with countries and international organisation across the globe. DG INTPA works hand in hand with the Commission services to ensure that the external dimension of EU policies strengthens its action in the world. DG INTPA closely coordinates with Member States under a strong Team Europe approach to support the EU’s global agenda. DG INTPA bases its actions on international law and multilateralism and is at the forefront of the European Union’s efforts to implement global commitments, notably the United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
DG INTPA is responsible, either on its own or together with the European External Action Service, for the multiannual programming and implementation of the EU’s external instruments. DG INTPA implements its policies and programmes through European Union Delegations in partner countries and international organisations. For this purpose, it defines, establishes and runs the management, supervision, support and control systems required to ensure the highest levels of regularity, quality, impact and visibility for the programmes implemented.
The Directorate for the Middle East, Asia and Pacific is responsible for developing and implementing the International Partnerships agenda in the countries and regions of this geographic area. It also provides steer to the cooperation sections in the respective Delegations. The Directorate is divided in 4 units — 3 with geographical responsibilities and a finance and contract unit.

We propose

DG INTPA proposes a position of Director who will provide vision and guidance in the management of the activities of Directorate C ‘Middle East, Asia and Pacific’, including leading its staff and overseeing resources.
Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Director-General in charge of the coordination of this Directorate and the Directorates ‘Africa’ and ‘Latin America and The Caribbean’, the successful candidate will:






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Provide overall guidance and steering for the effective planning, coordination and implementation of DG INTPA’s programmes in the Middle East, Asia and Pacific,










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Participate in the definition and implementation of the overall strategic vision of the Directorate-General and provide sound contributions to achieving the Commission’s priorities,










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Ensure and supervise effective planning and management of the activities of the Directorate including participation in the relevant governance instances, risk management processes, reporting and communication and analysis/evaluation of outcomes,










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Represent the Deputy Director-General and the Director-General in external and internal events,










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Ensure the coordination with the other Directorates of the DG and other Commission services, as well as representation and negotiation with external and international stakeholders,










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Lead the Directorate in a participatory way, enabling colleagues to make full use of their skills and potential,










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Manage and coordinate the activities of more than 110 staff working in 4 units in Brussels.





We look for (selection criteria)

The ideal candidate will be an outstanding and dynamic professional who should fulfil the following selection criteria:
(a)   Management skills







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Strong ability to manage and direct an administrative body from the strategic, organisational and internal management perspective.










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Ability to set priorities and objectives efficiently.










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Proven success in a management position, which demonstrates the ability to lead, motivate and develop teams of highly qualified staff to the best of their potential and to act as a team player within the management team.










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Solid understanding of the procedures for the planning, execution and monitoring of work in the public service context.




(b)   Specialist skills and experience







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Sound political judgement and understanding of the complex geopolitical context and in particular the sensitivities of the geographical region of the Directorate,










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Extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of external relations, including experience in a high-level position in an EU Delegation or Embassy of a Member State,










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Sound understanding of the legal and regulatory basis as well as the implementation of the EU external financing instruments,










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Forward-looking, with high conceptual ability and sound capacity to develop a clear strategic vision for the activities of the Directorate,










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Very good knowledge of the structure and organisation of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships, including the role and specificities of the network of EU Delegations.




(c)   Personal qualities







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A strategic mind-set and a demonstrable drive to generate and implement new ideas.










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Excellent analytical skills and the ability to solve organisational and operational problems via a results-oriented approach.










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Ability to share information and cooperate with peers and colleagues.










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Ability to represent the Commission and/or the Director-General, to build excellent working relationships, to communicate and negotiate, both at inter-institutional and international levels, as well as to engage with citizens, internal and external stakeholders.





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 citizens 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 (1) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in a field relevant for this position.










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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).










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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 lit (a) of the Staff Regulations (4)).





Selection and appointment

The European Commission will select and appoint the Director 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 Director.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for International Partnerships (6).
Following these interviews, the European Commission takes the appointment decision.
The selected candidate must 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.
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).
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

In accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations, the European 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.
The successful candidate will be recruited as an official at grade AD 14. 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 nine-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Brussels, Belgium, where The Directorate-General for International Partnerships is based.
The post is available from 16 February 2021.

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). 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 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 April 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 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 (8). 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 three 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)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20210101

(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 Decisions of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007) 1811) and 30 September 2020 (PV(2020) 2351), has delegated this task.

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

(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).