9.5.2014

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 140/1

---

VACANCY NOTICE ECA/2014/15

Head of the Communications and institutional relations unit

(Function group AD, grade 9-14)

Directorate of the Presidency

(2014/C 140 A/01)

 

WE ARE

The European Court of Auditors is the European Union (EU) institution established by the Treaty to carry out the audit of EU finances. As the EU’s external auditor, it contributes to improving the EU’s financial management and acts as the independent guardian of the financial interests of the citizens of the Union.

The Court renders audit services through which it assesses the collection and spending of EU funds. It examines whether financial operations have been properly recorded and disclosed, legally and regularly executed and managed so as to ensure economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The Court communicates the results of its audits in clear, relevant and objective reports. It also provides its opinion on financial management issues.

The Court promotes accountability and transparency and assists the European Parliament and the Council in overseeing the implementation of the EU budget, particularly during the discharge procedure. The Court is committed to being an efficient organisation at the forefront of developments in public audit and administration.

The Court of Auditors has its headquarters in Luxembourg.

The role of the Directorate of the Presidency is to help the President execute the ECA’s mission. It is responsible for relations with other supreme audit institutions (‘Liaison Office’), programming and monitoring the ECA’s work, relations with the ECA’s institutional stakeholders, external and internal communications, as well as protocol and visits.

Within the Directorate of the Presidency, the newly created Communications and institutional relations (COS) unit is responsible for:

—

in cooperation with the Member for Institutional Relations, day-to-day management and further development of the relations with the Court’s main institutional stakeholders, in particular the European Parliament (EP) and its Committee of Budgetary Control (CONT/COCOBU); and the Council and its Budgetary Committee,

—	external communications: interesting stakeholders and media in, and alerted them to, the most recent products and activities of the institution,

—	internal communications: keeping staff informed of the latest news in and about the institution,

—	daily operation and further development of the ECA’s external and internal communications channels and tools (e.g. website, social media, press releases, press briefings, ECA Journal and intranet), and

—	providing analytical information to the ECA’s policy and risk review process in support of strategic planning.

WE PROPOSE

The Court of Auditors has decided to open a selection procedure in order to fill the post of head of the Communications and Institutional Relations unit (grade AD 9-AD 14) in the Directorate of the Presidency under Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (‘the Staff Regulations’). This selection procedure, the purpose of which is to expand the choices available to the appointing authority, will be run concurrently with the internal and interinstitutional appointment procedure.

The appointment will be made at grade AD 9 to AD 14, depending on the length of professional experience. The basic monthly salary ranges from EUR 7 427,52 (AD 9) to EUR 13 771,87 (AD 14). In addition to the basic salary, which is subject to Union tax and exempt from national taxes, certain allowances may be payable as laid down in the Staff Regulations.

Under the authority of the Director of the Presidency, the Head of the Communications and Institutional Relations Unit, will be required to:

—	programme, manage and supervise the unit’s work,

—	lead, manage and motivate the unit’s staff and assist them in their career development,

—	represent the Director at inter-institutional level and with the media and the public as necessary,

—	autonomously manage the day-to-day activities of communications and institutional relations,

—	plan the human, financial and material resources needed, and ensure they are used efficiently and effectively, and

—	act as authorising officer by delegation for the budget lines managed by the unit.

WE LOOK FOR

This selection procedure is open to all candidates who, on the final date for the submission of applications, can satisfy the following conditions:

(i)

in accordance with Article 5 of the Staff Regulations: — university-level education attested by a recognised diploma where the normal length of study is four years or longer, or — university-level education attested by a recognised diploma and relevant professional experience of at least one year where the normal length of study is at least three years, or — where justified in the interests of the service, professional training of an equivalent level;

(ii)	at least 12 years’ professional experience;

(iii)

professional experience in communications (i.e. developing strategies and directives, implementing and monitoring internal and external communication, mastering communication tools and ability to innovate) and institutional relations, with high level stakeholders, particularly at EU level;

(iv)	capacity to plan and organise the unit’s activities and the work of staff in accordance with the objectives of the work programme;

(v)	ability to manage staff, delegate work, assess staff performance, ensure their professional development and motivate them, and apply the corresponding administrative procedures;

(vi)	aptitude for coordinating and leading a number of teams dealing with different tasks at the same time;

(vii)

ability to communicate clearly and with the necessary diplomacy, both within and outside the ECA, taking account of the sensitive nature of many of the unit’s tasks;

(viii)

in the interest of the service a sound knowledge of both English and French is required. A good knowledge of at least one other EU language would be an advantage.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

RECRUITMENT CONDITIONS

In accordance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations, candidates must:

—	be nationals of an EU Member State,

—	enjoy their full rights as citizens,

—	have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them by the recruitment laws concerning military service,

—	produce the appropriate character references for the performance of their duties.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

(a)

To help the Court reach a decision, a preselection board (‘the board’) will assess the applications on the basis of the following criteria: (i) the candidates’ qualifications, professional experience, motivation, versatility and analytical ability; (ii) their capacity to manage and direct a team; (iii) their specific skills, as required for the post in question.

(b)

The board will make its assessment in two stages: (i) all candidates will be assessed on the basis of: — their Europass-format CV, their letter of motivation and their formal declaration, — a case study which he/she will be invited to prepare; (ii) the successful candidates will be: — invited for interview, — asked to present their case studies.

If the board deems it necessary, it may also call on the services of an ‘assessment centre’ to evaluate the candidates’ capacity to perform management tasks.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The applications, written in English or French, should be sent to the following e-mail address: vacancies@eca.europa.eu

The subject line of the application should contain the reference number of this vacancy notice. Applications must comprise the following documents:

—	an accompanying letter of motivation,

—	a current curriculum vitae using the Europass template, (please consult the website http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu). Only CVs in this format will be processed,

—	the completed, signed and dated formal declaration (attached).

The deadline for applications is 26 May 2014 at 5 p.m.

Candidates invited to attend an interview should note that they will only need to bring copies or photocopies of the supporting documents relating to their studies, professional experience and current duties to the interview. These documents will not be returned.

DATA PROTECTION

Pursuant to Article 7(3) of 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 Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (1), ‘the recipient shall process the personal data only for the purposes for which they were transmitted.’

---

(1)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.

---