Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs — Publication of a vacancy for the function of Principal Adviser (Grade AD 14) (Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations) COM/2021/10407
Date: 2021-10-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, European official, area of freedom, security and justice, competition (EU), consultancy, job vacancy








CA2021411EN.01000101.xml










11.10.2021   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CA 411/1






Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs
Publication of a vacancy for the function of Principal Adviser (Grade AD 14)
(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)
COM/2021/10407
(2021/C 411 A/01)
 

We are

DG Migration and Home Affairs (HOME) is responsible for Schengen, migration and internal security, three of the most challenging policies that Europe is facing, and on which citizens are expecting Europe to deliver.
DG HOME’S portfolio comprises policies related to legal and irregular migration, asylum, integration, re-admission and return, the management of the EU’s external border, the fight against organised crime and terrorism, police cooperation. The EU also actively cooperates with non-EU countries to work together on migration and internal security-related challenges.
All activities of the DG involve substantial interactions with Member States authorities, relationships with the other Institutions and relevant stakeholders, international negotiations, as well as intensive inter-service contacts.
The DG is supported by seven agencies: European Border Coast Guard Agency (EBCGA), European Police Office (Europol), European Asylum Office (EASO), European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA), European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (Cepol), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Research Executive Agency (REA).
To put EU policy into effect, DG HOME manages the Asylum, Migration and integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) that amount to EUR 10,9 billion for the period 2014-20. In addition, DG HOME manages EUR 1,2 billion in security-related research under Horizon 2020 programme.

We propose

Under the political guidance of Commissioner for Home Affairs Johansson and under the supervision of the Director-General of DG HOME, the Return Coordinator will support the Deputy Director-General responsible for Horizontal Affairs & Migration and coordinate closely with the Director in charge of Migration, Asylum and Visa.
The Return Coordinator will contribute to establishing an effective and common European return system, based on stronger legal, operational and governance pillars, through the fostering of operational cooperation with and between Member States in the management of return, readmission and reintegration processes.
He/she will be required to:






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support the development a common and coherent approach on return;










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contribute to the design of an operational strategy guiding the implementation of the Return Coordinators mandate as well as the work of the High Level Network;










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support and promote the cooperation of Member States in the implementation of this operational strategy and supervise its implementation;










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support the implementation of return operations promoting cooperation among the Member States, the Commission and Union Agencies, as well as the exchange of good practices;










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facilitate the practical development of return solidarity between Member States as part of the common European return system;










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contribute to the design and implementation of the European Asylum and Migration management Strategy based on the experience gained in the discharge of the operational mandate;










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ensure close cooperation with the future Frontex Deputy Executive Director for return;










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chair and steer the work of a High Level Network;










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represent the Directorate-General in external and internal events concerning the mandate of the Return Coordinator;










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maintain regular contacts with relevant internal services, Member States, stakeholders and external bodies;










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supervise a small team directly assigned to the Return Coordinator;










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communicate on the activities of the Return Coordinator to external and internal stakeholders.





We look for (selection criteria)

Candidates should have:

Advisory skills







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Proven advisory skills, including a solid experience in coordinating teams in sensitive policy areas.










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Capacity to steer and inspire policy coordination and implementation, and ability to negotiate in a politically complex environment.










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Strong resilience and adequate skills to manage human related crisis.










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Solid political judgement.





Specialist skills and experience







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Excellent analytical and coordination skills, strong capacity to develop a political vision, set priorities and objectives.










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Strong ability to think freshly and strategically so as to generate a clear vision for objectives to be achieved in these areas, and ability to develop and implement the resulting policies.










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Good understanding of the policy area related to the Return Coordinator’s remit.










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Sound knowledge of budgetary and financial management, knowledge of EU financial programmes would be an asset.





Personal qualities







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Excellent interpersonal, decision-making and negotiating skills.










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Strong ability to build trusted working relationships with stakeholders and to represent the Commission in contacts with Member States, as well as internal and external stakeholders, and with the public.










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Proven ability to negotiate with Member States representatives, the other European institutions and a variety of stakeholders including third countries.





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. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in a field relevant for this position.










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Advisory experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high–level advisory 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 Principal Adviser 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 Principal Advisor.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for DG Migration and Home Affairs (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.

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 9-month probationary period.
The place of employment is Brussels, where DG Migration and Home Affairs is based.
The post is available from 1 September 2021.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up his/her duties, the selected candidate 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 (7), 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 9 November 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 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 advisory experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of positions held; (2) the exact subject area as well as at which level in the organisation the position was based (numbers of hierarchical layers above and below); (3) the reporting lines for each position held.

(3)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01958R0001-20130701

(4)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031-20140701

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

(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)  You can find information on how to create your Europass CV online at: https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv

(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).