Call for applications – A post of Director of Legal Translation (grade AD 14 or AD 15) will be vacant at the Directorate-General for Multilingualism of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 1 February 2024
Date: 2023-11-22
Institutions: Court of Justice of the European Union
Subjects: administrator, competition (EU), information profession, job vacancy, legal profession, managing director, recruitment, translation








C_202301016EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1016


22.11.2023







            CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
         
A post of Director of Legal Translation (grade AD 14 or AD 15) will be vacant at the Directorate-General for Multilingualism of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 1 February 2024
         
(C/2023/1016)

The post is to be filled in accordance with Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union.
I.   Presentation of the service

The Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the CJEU’) is one of the seven institutions of the European Union, of which it has been the judicial authority since 1952. It currently consists of two courts, the Court of Justice and the General Court, which hand down more than 1 600 decisions each year in a wide variety of legal fields. In order to carry out their task, the courts rely on all the services of the institution, which provide them with the support necessary for them to observe, inter alia, the system of full multilingualism that characterises proceedings before the Court of Justice and the General Court.
That language system, which is unique in the world, guarantees all European citizens access to justice before the EU Courts and to EU case-law in the official language of their choice, thus upholding not only respect for the equality of languages and of the Member States, but also the richness and diversity of the languages and cultures of the European Union.
In order to comply with that system, the CJEU relies on the Directorate-General for Multilingualism (‘the DGM’), which comprises an Interpretation Directorate and a translation service, itself consisting of two Directorates for Legal Translation, one of which is the subject of this call for applications. The legal translation service employs close to 850 people across 24 language units (one for each official language of the European Union).
In view of the judicial function of the CJEU and the corresponding legal challenges associated with the translation of documents of a highly technical nature, the language units employ only translators who have completed their education in law. Those 600 or so lawyer-linguists in the various language units therefore ensure that the mandatory rules on the use of languages are followed, whilst at the same time making their expertise, in particular of national and comparative law, available to the courts and the institution in the context of pre-processing work or terminological, documentary or legal research. They thus facilitate dialogue between the legal cultures of the Member States in the context of proceedings brought before the courts that make up the CJEU.
II.   Nature of the duties

Within the senior management team of the Directorate-General for Multilingualism under the authority of its Director-General, the holder of the post is involved in the management of the language service, helping define and implement measures to ensure that the rules on the use of languages of the institution and its courts are followed.
In that context, the Director directs and coordinates the activities of part of the units of the DGM, namely more than 400 officials and other staff, and ensures compliance with the very high standards of quality and speed required of the service, in particular for the handling of cases. To that end, he or she also participates, in his or her capacity as authorising officer by sub-delegation, in the management of appropriations made available to the language service, which are in the region of EUR 15 000 000.
The director also works closely with the senior management team to define and implement strategic measures and guidelines to defend and promote multilingualism within and outside the institution.
In that context, he or she contributes to all strategic considerations that will prepare the service for the specific challenges that it will face in the short, medium and long term, including the evolution of tasks and job profiles in the field of translation, technological changes and new skills resulting from the emergence of tools based, in particular, on artificial intelligence, changes in the working environments, conditions and methods of lawyer-linguists and, consequently, the increased requirements placed on the service with regard to exemplarity, transparency and efficiency in the use of the resources made available to it.
III.   Profile sought

We are looking for a person who is capable of understanding the challenges facing a modern translation service, of helping develop strategies in line with the priorities defined by the institution and by the Directorate-General and of providing the impetus necessary to initiate and implement the appropriate changes. For that reason, the future holder of the post will need to have a strong capacity for analysis and forward thinking and to be a proactive driver of change, whilst at the same time having the determination and composure necessary to support that change.
Having regard to the particular challenges stemming from the institution’s judicial function and the requirements arising from the role of translation in the cases brought before the courts, ideally the future holder of the post should have completed his or her education in law or have extensive professional experience in a legal setting, and have relevant experience in the field of translation.
Showing a strong interest in emerging technologies and, in particular, in the challenges and opportunities presented by tools based in particular on artificial intelligence in the field of linguistics, the future holder of the post will stand out by virtue of his or her intellectual curiosity, his or her focus on seeking pragmatic and effective solutions, as well as by his or her commitment to ensuring the quality, speed and appropriateness of the services provided to courts, litigants and European citizens.
In order successfully to manage a large-scale multicultural administrative entity, characterised by the high level of expertise and dual competence of its staff, the future holder of the post will also have excellent administrative management skills, a strong openness to dialogue and to interpersonal relationships and an ability to establish and maintain constructive relationships, both within and outside the institution, in particular with the equivalent services within the other institutions and bodies of the European Union and beyond.
Lastly, as a person who is passionate about the values that the institution stands for as regards equality of languages and cultures and who is able to rally others around those values, the future holder of the post will have sound communication and negotiation qualities that will enable him or her to help promote and defend multilingualism.
IV.   Eligibility requirements

To be eligible to take part in the phase of assessment of applications, candidates must satisfy the conditions for appointment as an official laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (‘the Staff Regulations’). In addition, they must satisfy the following minimum requirements:






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have attained a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma;










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have at least ten years’ relevant professional experience;










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have proven experience in team management;










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have a thorough knowledge of one official language of the European Union and a very good knowledge of at least two other official languages. In the interests of the service, good knowledge of French and English is required.




V.   Remuneration and conditions of employment

The remuneration and conditions of employment will be those laid down in the Staff Regulations for officials in grade AD 14 or AD 15 (1).
Applicants should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new officials to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.
VI.   Recruitment policy

The CJEU guarantees equal opportunities, subject to the comparative assessment of the candidates’ merits, and equal treatment of all persons who express an interest in a vacant post. It actively encourages the submission of diverse applications from candidates with varied experience, skills and knowledge, on the broadest possible geographical basis among the nationals of the Member States of the European Union.
In this context, any candidate who has a disability or a medical condition that may affect his or her ability to participate in the assessment phase of this selection procedure is invited to contact the Talent Selection Unit of the Directorate for Human Resources (DIR-DGM@curia.europa.eu) as soon as he or she submits his or her application, so that that unit can make, in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations, the necessary arrangements to enable that candidate to participate fully in the assessment phase. To this end, the candidate may be asked to send the medical service of the CJEU a medical certificate or an attestation issued by a national authority, which will be examined for the purposes of making the necessary arrangements.
For information on the processing of personal data for the purposes of this selection procedure, candidates are invited to refer to the information notice on recruitment to the administrative services of the CJEU.
VII.   Submission of applications

Candidates for this post are invited to send their application by email to the following email address only: DIR-DGM@curia.europa.eu; applications must be received no later than 21 December 2023, 17:00, Luxembourg time.
Applications must include a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae and any other relevant documents, as well as a brief statement by the candidate (no more than five pages long) outlining his or her vision for the activities and management of the Directorate that is the subject of the call for applications.
Approved on 24 October 2023.


(1)  By way of guidance, the basic monthly salary of an official in grade AD 14, step 1, is EUR 16 292 and that of an official in grade AD 15, step 1, is EUR 18 433.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1016/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)