6.10.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 334/1

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Publication of a vacancy notice for a Director function (AD 14) — Brussels

(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)

COM/2017/10376

(2017/C 334 A/01)

 

We are

Within the European Commission, the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) is responsible for formulating the European Union’s development policy and implementing the EU’s external assistance instruments. DG DEVCO promotes coherence between the EU’s development policy and other internal and external policies. It conducts dialogues on cooperation and development with non-EU bilateral donors, emerging economies and with international organisations.

DG DEVCO is responsible for defining policies in the field of external action, in conformity with the European Consensus on Development. Furthermore, DG DEVCO fosters coordination between the European Union and its Member States on development cooperation and ensures the external representation of the European Union in this field.

DG DEVCO 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, in its area of competence, which are financed by the general budget of the Union and the European Development Fund (EDF).

DG DEVCO implements cooperation policy in a devolved way through European Union Delegations in third 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 International Cooperation and Development Policy (DEVCO.A) is responsible for providing analysis and policy formulation within DG DEVCO on global development issues. This covers in particular (i) Sustainable Development Goals, policy and coherence (ii) development financing and effectiveness and relations with EU Member States, (iii) budget support, public finance management, domestic revenue mobilisation and (iv) relations with international organisations and development dialogue with other donors as well as (v) Civil Society Organisations and foundations. It ensures the representation in international fora on development issues.

Directorate A also follows up the budgetary and legal framework developments related to the Multiannual Financial Framework, in particular matters related to external action and to the External Financing Instruments (EFIs), including the EDF, for the implementation of external aid and it coordinates the multiannual programming of EFIs under DG DEVCO responsibility.

We propose

The role of the Director is to ensure overall strategic orientation and management of the Directorate, under the guidance of the Director-General; he/she will be responsible for ensuring that the Directorate gains the confidence of its partners and that it fulfils its intended role in contributing to transforming the Directorate-General into a centre of excellence for development policy and the management of external assistance within the role and mission of the European Commission and, whenever relevant, in cooperation with the European External Action Service.

The Directorate provides guidance and support for the management of DEVCO’s budget support operations and other programmes, for example to support civil society organisations.

The total staff number in the Directorate is approximately 85 people.

We look for

The ideal candidate should have:

—	Strong leadership qualities, sound judgement and strong analytical skills, demonstrating a well-developed capacity for strategic thinking and the ability to generate innovative and creative ideas;

—	Proven management skills, being able to lead and inspire large multidisciplinary teams of highly-qualified staff, set priorities and take decisions;

—	Good knowledge of the European Union’s foreign and development policy, the financial instruments used by the European Commission, including the European Development Fund, the Development Cooperation Instrument as well as thematic and regional programmes;

—	Extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of foreign policy, international cooperation, development and external assistance; field experience would be an advantage;

—	Good general knowledge of the European Union’s policies and the European Union institutions, policy-making and decision-making processes;

—	Knowledge of and experience in budgetary, financial and human resources management issues;

—	Proven experience in formulating and implementing efficient and effective policies or legislation;

—	Proven negotiating, communication and coordination skills, being able to discuss effectively with internal and external stakeholders at high level, including solid experience in coordinating and/or negotiating at interinstitutional or international level.

Candidates must (eligibility criteria)

Candidates must fulfil the following formal criteria by the deadline for applications:

—	Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the EU Member States of the European Union.

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University degree or diploma: candidates must have: — 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; — 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).

—	Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years’ postgraduate professional experience at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission (1).

—	Management experience: at least 5 years of that professional experience must have been gained in a management function at high level (2) and should be in direct relation to a field relevant for this position.

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Languages: 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.

—	Age limit: not yet 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).

Independence and declaration of interests

Applicants are required to declare their commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests which might be considered prejudicial to their independence.

Appointment and conditions of employment

The European Commission will select and appoint the Director according to its selection and recruitment procedures (see also the Compilation Document on Senior Officials Policy (5)). As part of this selection procedure, candidates who are invited for an interview with the Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments have to participate, before this interview, in an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants.

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 (6).

Salaries and conditions of employment are those laid down in the Staff Regulations for AD 14 grade officials of the European Union. Candidates should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a 9-month probationary period.

The Director is based in Brussels.

Equal opportunities

The European Commission applies an active policy of equal opportunities aimed of further increasing the share of women in management functions and it particularly encourages applications from women.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the required types of diploma; professional and management experience as well as your linguistic capacity. Failure to possess any of these eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

If you want to apply, you must register via the internet by going to the website:

https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/

and follow the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.

You must have a valid email address. This will be used to identify your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the selection process. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your email address.

To complete your application, you will need to upload a CV in PDF format and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters).

Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an electronic mail confirming that your application has been registered. The mail also contains registration number which will be your reference number in all matters concerning your application. 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 have a disability that prevents you from registering online, you may submit your application (CV and motivation letter) on paper by registered mail to the following address: European Commission, Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, Unit for Senior Management and CCA, SC11 8/59, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË, indicating clearly as a reference: Vacancy for a Director in DG DEVCO (COM/2017/10376), and postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between the Commission and you will be by post. In this case, you must enclose with your application a certificate attesting your disability, issued by a recognised body. You should also set out on a separate sheet of paper any special arrangements you think are needed to make it easier for you to take part in the selection.

If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: HR-SM-Vacancies@ec.europa.eu

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 6 November 2017, 12.00 noon Brussels time, after which applications are no longer accepted.

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 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 selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for applicants to make direct or indirect contact with members of these committees, or for anybody to do so, on their behalf.

Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (7).

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(1)  Professional experience will be counted from the date on which the applicant acquired the minimum qualification for access to the profile in question. Only duly documented professional activities (i.e. remunerated employment or self-employment) are taken into account. Part-time work will be taken into account in proportion to the percentage of full-time hours worked. Periods of education or training and unremunerated traineeships are not taken into account. Fellowships, grant-funded activity and PhDs can be counted as professional experience up to a maximum of three years.

(2)  In their CVs applicants should indicate at least for these 5 years during which high-level 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; and (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below and number of peers.

(3)  http://ec.europa.eu/education/official-languages-eu-0_en

(4)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

(5)  http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/official_policy_en.pdf

(6)  The selection panel will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of these languages.

(7)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

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