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 function of the Executive Director of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA). The Executive Director is a full-time independent professional, member of AMLA staff, based in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), where the Authority’s seat will be located.

The Executive Director’s role is pivotal in managing and executing the Authority’s financial and operational plans. She/he will manage on a day-to-day basis the AMLA activities ensuring the achievement of the AMLA objectives. She/he will be accountable to the AMLA Executive Board and report to the Executive Board on an on-going basis on the development of the AMLA activities.

More specifically, the tasks of the Executive Director include several key responsibilities essential for the effective functioning of the Authority. These responsibilities are:

—	Day-to-Day Management: Overseeing the daily operations of the Authority, including responsibilities related to staff management;

—	Implementation of Decisions: Implementing the decisions adopted by the Executive Board;

—	Programming Document: Preparing and submitting for adoption the draft single programming document to the Executive Board after consulting the Commission. Responsible for the implementation of the single programming document and reporting to the Executive Board on its execution;

—	Annual Reporting: Preparing the draft consolidated annual report on the Authority’s activities and presenting it to the Executive Board for assessment and adoption;

—	Audit Follow-ups: Preparing an action plan following internal or external audits and reporting on progress;

—	Financial Oversight: Protecting the Union’s financial interests by implementing preventive measures against fraud and corruption;

—	Budgeting: Preparing the Authority’s draft budget and implementing its budget respecting the principles of economy, efficiency, effectiveness and sound financial management;

—	IT Security: Developing and implementing an IT security strategy to ensure appropriate risk management;

—	Work Programme Execution: Implementing the annual work programme under the control of the Executive Board.

The Executive Director shall participate in meetings of the Executive Board without the right to vote.

A more detailed description of the main tasks of the Executive Director can be found in Article 71 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), the founding regulation of AMLA.

We look for (selection criteria)

The candidates should have:

Management skills — Successful experience in an executive role, leading and motivating a large team, in a multicultural, multilingual and multidisciplinary environment; — Strong decision-making skills, including the capacity to take decisions on complex issues; — Proven capacity for leading organisational change and in particular digital transformation processes.

Specialist skills and experience — Extensive experience of budgetary, financial and human resources management in a national, European and/or international context and, preferably also, of complex IT projects; — Good understanding of the European agencies, institutions and how they operate and interact; — Sound knowledge of, and/or experience in AML and/or financial services supervision, related international activities and other policies of relevance to the activities of AMLA.

Personal qualities — Ability to behave with integrity and communicate efficiently and fluently at all levels, in a transparent and open manner, with various stakeholders and to represent the Authority in international fora; — Excellent sense of responsibility and initiative as well as the ability to develop actions and implement them in crisis situations; — Interpersonal, organisational and negotiating skills as well as the ability to build trusted working relationships with stakeholders (e.g. the European Union’s institutions, the EU agencies, the Member States).

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:

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

—	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;

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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).

—	Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years postgraduate professional experience (2) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in the area of the activities of AMLA.

—	Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high-level management function (3) in a field relevant for this position.

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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (4) 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 be able to complete, at the deadline for application, the full mandate of 5 years before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union, the retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union (5)).

Selection and appointment

The Executive Director will be appointed by the Executive Board of AMLA on the basis of a shortlist provided by the European Commission.

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 (6)).

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 Executive Director of AMLA.

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 (7).

Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of at least two qualified candidates for the position of Executive Director which will be communicated to the Executive Board of the AMLA. The latter may decide to interview the candidates before appointing the Executive Director from among the candidates on the Commission shortlist. Inclusion on this shortlist does not guarantee appointment.

Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above. They could also be required to deliver a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament.

Applicants 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 her/his 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.

Diversity and inclusion

The Authority recognises that a healthy work-life balance is an important motivational factor for many people and that flexible working is increasingly expected to be part of a modern working environment. It therefore provides benefits such as statutory flexible working arrangements, free of charge enrolment to the Frankfurt European School for staff children and installation guidance and support from AMLA and the Frankfurt local authorities. As an employer, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority is committed to ensuring gender equality and to 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 and the AMLA encourage applications in particular from women. Assistance can be provided to persons with disabilities during the recruitment procedure.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union.

The successful candidate will be engaged by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority as a Temporary Agent at grade AD 14 (8). She/he will be classified depending on the length of her/his previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.

The Executive Director’s term of office shall be five years and may be extended once upon decision of the Executive Board following an assessment that takes into account an evaluation of the Executive Director’s past performance and the Authority’s future tasks and challenges.

The Executive Director may be removed from office upon decision of the Executive Board on the proposal of the Commission.

Applicants should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.

The place of employment is Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The post is available from 1 July 2025.

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 (9). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up her/his duties, the Executive Director 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.

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 (10), 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 online. 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 registration is 21 January 2025, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1620 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 establishing the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L, 2024/1620, 19.6.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1620/oj).

(2)  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.

(3)  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.

(4)  ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1958/1(1)/2013-07-01.

(5)  ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1962/31(1)/2024-01-01.

(6)   https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/d30847ac-43c6-4048-8970-f80683c3e706_en?filename=compilation-of-the-senior-official-policy-at-the-european-commission_en.pdf (only exists in English).

(7)  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.

(8)  The correction coefficient applicable to the remuneration and pensions of officials and other servants of the European Union for Frankfurt is set at 101,1 % as from 1 July 2024. This coefficient is subject to an annual revision.

(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).

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