Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) – Publication of a vacancy for the function of Director-General (Grade AD 15) – Brussels (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) – COM/2021/10405
Date: 2021-07-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: European neighbourhood policy, administrator, competition (EU), enlargement of the Union, job vacancy, managing director, servant (EU)








CA2021301EN.01000101.xml










28.7.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 301/1






Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)
Publication of a vacancy for the function of Director-General (Grade AD 15) – Brussels
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2021/10405
(2021/C 301 A/01)
 

We are

We are the Directorate-General in charge of taking forward the EU’s neighbourhood and enlargement policies (DG NEAR), as well as coordinating relations with EEA-EFTA countries insofar as Commission policies are concerned. DG NEAR works closely with the European External Action Service and the line DGs in charge of thematic priorities.
By implementing assistance actions in Europe’s eastern and southern neighbourhood, DG NEAR supports reform and democratic consolidation, and strengthens the prosperity, stability and security around Europe. DG NEAR helps to promote EU values, policies and interests in this region, and to contribute to developing the special relationship of the EU with its neighbouring countries.
In the enlargement area, DG NEAR assists those countries with a perspective to join the EU in meeting the criteria defined by the Treaty of European Union and the European Council. We closely monitor the progress of enlargement countries towards the EU and supports accession negotiations as required by the Council. We manage the bilateral relations of the Union with candidate and potential candidate countries on their path to the EU, frontloading reforms on rule of law, economic governance and public administration reform. Concerning the Western Balkans, DG NEAR develops and implements the stabilisation and association policy of the European Union as defined by the European Council.
DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations is based in Brussels and has approximately 1 700 staff members in Brussels and in the EU Delegations in the partner countries.

We propose

The function of Director-General of DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, who, under the political guidance of Commissioner Várhelyi, will be responsible for:






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developing and leading the overall strategic direction, management and governance of DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations;










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










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





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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proven senior management experience and strong leadership skills, having the capacity to lead, inspire and motivate an external relations DG staffed with highly competent professionals;










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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;










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proven experience in effective planning and management of human and financial resources at senior management level.














b)



Specialist skills and experience:







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










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strong negotiation skills and proven ability to understand the challenges facing the organisation in the area of Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.














c)



Personal qualities:







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accomplished interpersonal, decision-making and negotiating skills at high level (including the political sphere);










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very good capacity to communicate effectively and efficiently with all stakeholders inside or outside the Commission and to build trusted relationships with them;









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 (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-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 Director-General.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member of the Commission responsible for the Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (6) and by the Member of the Commission responsible for human resources and security as well as by the President of the Commission.
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 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 nine-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Brussels, Belgium, where the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations is based.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up his/her 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 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, preferably using the Europass CV format (8), 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 24 September 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 (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 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)  You can find information on how to create your Europass CV online at: https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv

(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).