Publication of a vacancy for the function of Chair of Anti Money Laundering Authority (COM/2024/20106)
Date: 2024-06-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: EU office or agency, competition (EU), fight against crime, job vacancy, money laundering, president of an institution, recruitment, terrorism financing








C_202403545EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/3545


7.6.2024






Publication of a vacancy for the function of Chair of Anti Money Laundering Authority
(COM/2024/20106)
(C/2024/3545)


We are

Money laundering and the financing of terrorism are major concerns for the EU. They pose major risks to the EU’s economy and financial system and to the security of its citizens.
To protect EU citizens and the EU’s financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing, the Council and Parliament, on the Commission’s proposal, decided to establish an EU anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) Authority (AMLA).
AMLA will be the central authority supporting and coordinating national supervisory authorities to ensure the correct and consistent application of EU AML/CFT rules. In the financial sector, the Authority will directly supervise those financial sector entities exposed to the highest risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. AMLA will also coordinate and support financial intelligence units (FIUs) including by supporting the joint analysis of cross-border cases and by providing analytical and information exchange solutions, for example by hosting, managing and developing the FIU.net system. Finally, AMLA will be responsible for complementing EU AML/CFT rules through the development of regulatory and implementing technical standards and the issuance of guidelines.
AMLA will have a General Board (GB) composed of representatives of AML supervisors and Financial Intelligence Units from all Member States, and an Executive Board composed of five independent full-time members, not including the Chair. Both boards will be chaired by the Chair of the Authority.

We propose

The European Commission, is organising a selection procedure for the position of Chair. The place of employment will be Frankfurt (Germany) where the Authority’s seat will be located. It will have over 400 staff members by 2027.
This selection procedure is subject to the publication and entry into force of the EU’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation. The AML/CFT regulation is expected to enter into force in the 3rd quarter of 2024.
The Chair will be the legal representative and public face of the Authority. By chairing the meetings of the General Board and Executive Board, he/she will lead the strategic planning and direction of the Authority.
He/she will be responsible for:






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Acting as the head and legal representative of the Authority;










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Preparing the Authority’s work, convening and chairing all the meetings of the Authority’s General Board both in supervisory and Financial Intelligence Unit composition as well as of the Authority’s Executive Board;










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Managing the Authority and supervising its operations, including on staff and budgetary matters, adopting the annual work programme and controlling its implementation;










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Assigning to the five members of the Executive Board specific areas of responsibility within the scope of tasks of the Authority for the duration of their mandate;










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Being accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council for the implementation of the AMLA Regulation;










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Submitting, on an annual basis, to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission a report on the execution of the tasks conferred on it by the AMLA Regulation;










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Participating, at the request of the European Parliament, in hearings on the execution of its tasks by the competent committees of the European Parliament and replying orally or in writing to questions put to him/her by the European Parliament.




A more detailed description of the tasks and responsibilities of the Chair can be found in Articles 64 and 69 of AMLA Regulation which can be found on: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/PE-35-2024-INIT/en/pdf.
The Chair will be assisted by a Vice-Chair.

We look for (selection criteria)

The candidates should have:






 



Management skills







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Excellent coordination and analytical skills, including the ability to set the strategic direction, establish clear policy priorities and guide discussions with the Authority’s Board Members;










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Successful experience in an executive role, managing a large team, with complex tasks and steering it to achieve its objectives;










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Solid and proven management skills, in particular experience of budgetary, financial and human resources at senior level in a national, European and/or international context;










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Solid experience in cooperating with EU and/or international stakeholders and partners.














 



Specialist skills and experience







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Ability to implement a vision reflecting the AMLA mandate;










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Thorough experience in one or more of the following domains: anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism;










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Sound understanding of the legal framework applicable to financial and non-financial entities subject to EU AML rules as well as of the legal provisions governing the activities of AML supervisors and/or financial intelligence units.














 



Personal qualities







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Excellent negotiating skills and ability to build trusting working relationships with high level representatives of relevant stakeholders;










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Proven ability to communicate fluently, clearly and effectively to the internal and external stakeholders and to represent AMLA in international fora;










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Outstanding sense of responsibility and initiative as well as the ability to develop actions and implement them in crisis situation.









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 at senior level in the area of the activities of the Authority.










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Management experience: candidates must have at least 10 years of the post-graduate professional experience in management function (2), including at least 5 years gained in a comparable high-level management function.










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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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There is no age limit.





Selection and appointment

The Commission shall draw up a shortlist of at least two qualified candidates for the position of the Chair of the Authority.
To establish this shortlist, the European Commission organises a selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see the Document on Senior Officials Policy (4)).
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 for the function.
Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for the Directorate-General in charge of the relations with the Authority (5).
Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of at least 2 suitable candidates.
This shortlist is transmitted to the European Parliament; at the same time, the Council of the European Union is informed. The European Commission shall then submit a proposal for the appointment of the Chair of the Authority to the European Parliament for approval. Following approval of that proposal, the Council, acting by qualified majority, adopts an implementing decision to appoint the Chair of the Authority. Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above.
This call for applications is the basis on which the Commission’s proposal for the appointment of the AMLA Chair by the Council will be established. Inclusion on the shortlist to be transmitted to the European Parliament or in the proposal for appointment is no guarantee of appointment. Candidates should note that the shortlist could become public once it has been adopted by the Commission.
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

The Commission and the AMLA are committed to pursue the objectives of achieving gender equality and preventing discrimination on any grounds. It actively welcomes applications from all qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds, across all abilities and from the broadest possible geographical basis amongst the EU Member States. To promote gender equality, the Commission encourages applications in particular from women.

Conditions of employment

The Chair will be considered on par with a Member of the General Court as regards emoluments and pensionable age, as laid down in Council Regulation (EU) 2016/300 (6). His/her salary will be based on grade AD 16, step 3, subject to a multiplication factor equal to 104 % of the salary for that grade and step. For all other employment conditions, the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (7) apply by analogy.
He/she will be appointed for an initial mandate of four years, renewable once, according to the Regulation establishing the Authority as applicable at the time of appointment.
The place of employment is Frankfurt, Germany.

Important information for candidates

Candidates are reminded that the work of the 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. Any query has to be addressed to the secretariat of the respective panel.

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.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up his/her duties, the Chair 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 her/his independence.
During a period of 18 months after ceasing to hold office, the former Chair shall be prohibited from engaging in a gainful occupational activity with:






(a)


a selected obliged entity;










(b)


any other entity, where doing so would or could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the Authority.




The Executive Board shall specify the circumstances under which such a conflict of interest exists or could be perceived to exist.

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 (9), 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.
It is in your interest to ensure that your application is accurate, thorough and truthful.
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.

Applications sent by email will not be accepted. If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to:

HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu

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 will not be accepted.

Closing date

The closing date for registrations is 
               8 July 2024, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.


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

(4)  
            https://commission.europa.eu/jobs-european-commission/job-opportunities/managers-european-commission_en#vacancies


(5)  Unless the Member of the Commission concerned, in line with the Commission Decision of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007) 1811) and 30 September 2020 (PV(2020) 2351), has delegated this task.

(6)  
            Council Regulation (EU) 2016/300 of 29 February 2016 determining the emoluments of EU high-level public office holders (
OJ L 58, 04/03/2016, p. 1


(7)  
            OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385/62, consolidated text: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031- 20240101.

(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


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



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3545/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)