23.5.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 162/1

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Vacancy notice Europol/2017/TA/AD 15/282 — Executive Director of Europol

(2017/C 162 A/01)

 

1.    About Europol

The European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is an Agency of the European Union (EU) located in The Hague, Netherlands. Europol was established in 1995 by a Convention under Article K of the Treaty on European Union and set up as an entity of the Union in 2009 by Council Decision 2009/371/JHA (1). Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) establishes Europol as an EU Agency.

Europol’s objective is to support and strengthen action by the competent authorities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in preventing and combating serious crime affecting two or more Member States, terrorism and other forms of crime which affect a common interest covered by a Union policy.

In order to achieve this mission, Europol currently employs 550 staff members and has a budget of EUR 117 million for the year 2017.

Europol’s main tasks are:

—	to collect, store, process, analyse and exchange information, including criminal intelligence,

—	to notify the Member States without delay of any information and connections between criminal offences concerning them,

—	to coordinate, organise and implement investigative and operational actions to support and strengthen actions by the competent authorities of the Member States,

—	to participate in joint investigation teams, as well as propose that they be set up,

—	to provide information and analytical support to Member States in connection with major international events,

—	to prepare threat assessments, strategic and operational analyses and general situation reports,

—	to develop, share and promote specialist knowledge of crime prevention methods, investigative procedures and technical and forensic methods, and provide advice to Member States,

—	to support Member States’ cross-border information exchange activities, operations and investigations, as well as joint investigation teams, including by providing operational, technical and financial support,

—	to cooperate with relevant Union bodies and with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), in particular through exchanges of information and by providing them with analytical support in the areas that fall within their competence,

—	to provide information and support to EU crisis management structures and missions established on the basis of the Treaty on European Union, within the scope of Europol’s objectives,

—	to develop Union centres of specialised expertise for combating certain types of crime falling within the scope of Europol’s objectives,

—	support Member States’ actions in preventing and combating forms of crime which are facilitated, promoted or committed using the internet, including, in cooperation with Member States, the making of referrals of internet content.

Equal opportunity

Europol is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications without distinction on the basis of gender, colour, racial, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, nationality, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

We aim to create and maintain a healthy and attractive work environment that supports women and men in their career planning and in achieving a healthy work-life balance.

2.    Background, main purpose and tasks of the post

Background

The Executive Director shall manage and ensure the efficient day-to-day functioning of Europol. He or she shall be the legal representative of the Agency.

The Executive Director shall be accountable to the Management Board (MB). Without prejudice to the powers of the Management Board, the Executive Director shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any other body.

The Executive Director shall provide leadership and direction in fulfilling Europol’s objectives and shall be responsible for the implementation of the tasks entrusted to Europol.

The specific responsibilities of the Executive Director include:

—	Ensuring the strategic development of Europol with a view to supporting cooperation among law enforcement authorities in the Union.

—	Ensuring Europol’s operation in accordance with its objectives and tasks as set out in the Europol Regulation.

—	Preparing budgetary and planning documents submitted for the decision of the Management Board and implementing the multiannual programming and annual work programmes of Europol and other planning documents.

—	Implementing decisions adopted by the Management Board, supporting the Chairperson in preparing Management Board meetings and informing the Management Board on a regular basis regarding the implementation of Union strategic and operational priorities for fighting crime.

—	Preparing the draft consolidated annual report on Europol’s activities and presenting it to the Management Board for adoption.

—	Maintaining cooperative relations with other Union bodies, authorities of third countries, international organisations and private parties, to the extent required for the accomplishment of Europol’s tasks.

—	Preparing an action plan following up conclusions of internal or external audit reports and evaluations, as well as investigation reports and recommendations from investigations by OLAF and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

—	Protecting the financial interests of the Union by applying measures to prevent fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity.

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The Executive Director may be invited by the Council to report on the performance of his or her duties and shall appear before the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) to discuss matters relating to Europol activities. He or she shall be subject to the procedure for annual discharge by the European Parliament for the implementation of the budget.

3.    Requirements — Eligibility criteria

a.	Candidates must

—	be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen,

—	have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;

—	produce appropriate character references as to his or her suitability for the performance of the duties,

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be physically fit to perform the duties pertaining to the position (prior to appointment the successful candidate will be medically examined by one of the institution’s medical officers in order that the institution may be satisfied that the candidate fulfils the requirements of Article 12(2)(d) CEOS),

—	produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.

b.	Candidates must have

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;

In addition to the above, at least 15 years of relevant professional work experience gained after the award of the diploma.

4.    Requirements — Selection criteria

a.	Professional experience:

Essential:

—	Significant professional experience in the fields of law enforcement and/or internal security at strategic and operational levels, acquired in a national and preferably in a European and/or international context. Ideally this should include direct experience of international police cooperation.

—	Proven leadership skills in running a complex organisational structure involving staff members and partner stakeholders at an executive level (minimum 10 years of senior managerial experience).

—	Proven ability to lead and motivate a large team in a multicultural and multinational environment, including by providing strategic vision and initiative.

—	Evidence of leading innovation efforts in the field of law enforcement.

—	Solid administrative and management skills, in particular experience of budgetary, financial and human resources management in a national, European and/or international context.

b.	Professional knowledge:

Essential:

—	Thorough understanding of international police cooperation at a senior management level.

—	Strategic understanding of internal security threats in Europe and the institutional and operational framework available in the EU to mitigate them.

—	Excellent understanding of the interaction between national administrations and EU institutions, including an excellent knowledge of the EU legislation regarding internal security matters.

—	Clear understanding of technology issues related to internal security and law enforcement cooperation, including knowledge in the field of information exchange and data protection.

c.	Leadership skills and competencies:

—	Develop vision and strategy — developing a compelling mission, vision and strategy that have mid and long-term impact and can be understood and accepted by staff as meaningful for their daily work.

—	Drive performance — proactively and energetically implementing Europol’s mission, vision and strategy in such a way that Europol meets its organisational objectives.

—	Enterprising — identifying and realising opportunities for innovation that strengthen Europol’s relevance as a key actor in its field.

—	Networking — establishing effective relationships within Europol and building strategic alliances with the external environment.

—	Managing the business — demonstrating a deep understanding of the business and taking commitment to act upon these insights to secure operational excellence.

—	Inspiring people — inspiring long-term motivation and organisational loyalty by acting as a role model and by complying with the organisation’s mission and values.

d.	General competencies:

Communicating:

—	Excellent communication skills in English, both orally and in writing.

—	Excellent presentation skills, adept at influencing stakeholders in law enforcement, government, political and media environments.

Analysing & problem solving:

—	Excellent analytical, organisational and decision-making skills including the ability to establish clear priorities.

—	Excellent ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and to understand organisational dynamics.

Delivering quality and results:

—	Have a high degree of integrity and professional credibility.

—	Possess the ability to translate strategy into practice.

—	Be practical and results oriented with excellent decision-making skills.

Prioritising and organising:

—	Exhibit strategic understanding, display breadth of vision, the ability to grasp critical issues quickly and be able to apply strategic vision.

Resilience:

—	Excellent ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and to understand organisational dynamics.

—	Ability to operate in a stress-resistant, focused and balanced way.

Living diversity:

—	Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with co-workers in an international and multi-disciplinary work environment.

5.    Selection procedure

The legal framework of this recruitment procedure is provided for by Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) (3), the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, as laid down by Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (4) and last amended by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council (5), and the Management Board Decision of 1 May 2017 adopting the Rules for the selection, extension of the term of office and removal from office of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Directors.

The Management Board shall set up a selection committee composed of a Commission representative and of six members representing the Member States, which shall be determined by drawing of lots by the Management Board.

The selection committee shall:

—	identify all candidates who, on the basis of the criteria set out in the vacancy notice, are eligible for the post,

—	make an initial assessment of the applications of eligible candidates taking into account their professional qualifications, skills, experience and character references in order to decide which ones should be further assessed by the Committee,

—	assess the specific competencies and skills of candidates; the selection committee will invite the 5 highest scoring candidates (short-listed); all candidates having a score equal to the 5th highest scoring candidate will be included in the list of invited candidates,

—	invite shortlisted applicants to participate in a post-related selection procedure, generally including a competency-based interview,

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draw up a duly reasoned report on the applications received and the procedure followed, which shall include the list of eligible candidates indicating among them those interviewed by the committee and a list of candidates, who meet all the eligibility criteria and are considered to match best the selection criteria set out in the vacancy notice.

The applicants shortlisted shall undergo an assessment by an external assessment centre that will provide objective advice to the Selection Committee. The assessment shall take into account the law enforcement characteristics of the position. The assessment centre shall work for the establishment of the assessment in close cooperation with the Selection Committee.

The Management Board may decide to interview the candidates on the list of the selection committee and any other eligible candidate interviewed by it.

On the basis of the report submitted by the selection committee, the Management Board shall adopt a reasoned opinion:

—	presenting the list of eligible candidates,

—	setting out a shortlist of suitable candidates ranked in order of merit, and

—	confirming that the applicants on the shortlist meet the relevant conditions of engagement and the eligibility criteria set out in the vacancy notice, notwithstanding the specific provisions foreseen in Article 13 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants regarding the medical examination.

The Chairperson of the Management Board shall forward the reasoned opinion, including the proposed shortlist of candidates and the full application file of each shortlisted candidate, to the Council to enable the latter to take its decision as foreseen in Article 54(2) of the Europol Regulation.

Before appointment, the candidate selected by the Council may be invited to appear before the competent committee of the European Parliament, which shall subsequently give a non-binding opinion.

All candidates who attend the selection procedure will be informed of the outcome.

Candidates who attended a selection procedure may request feedback on their performance within 3 months after the selection procedure. Europol will not be in a position to respond to feedback inquiries received outside this time frame.

The Selection Committee’s work and deliberations are confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with the members of the Selection Committee or for anyone to do so on their behalf. All enquiries or requests for information or documentation in relation to the competition should be addressed to the Europol Recruitment Office.

6.    Salary

Scale: AD 15

The basic monthly salary is EUR 15 435,00 (step 1) or EUR 16 083,60 (step 2).

The step in grade is determined on the basis of professional experience gained after the education required for the position and in line with applicable implementing rules.

In addition, if applicable, allowances such as expatriation allowance, household allowance, dependent child and education allowance may be granted.

Europol offers a comprehensive welfare package comprising additional benefits such as medical insurance, unemployment and invalidity allowance as well as a pension scheme.

Salaries are subject to a community tax but exempt from national taxation.

7.    Terms and conditions

Probation period

Engagement for this position is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of 9 months. Within this period the successful candidate will have to undergo a post-related security screening.

The contract of employment may be terminated during or at the end of the probation period in accordance with Article 14 of CEOS.

Security screening and certificate of good conduct

All candidates who have successfully passed a selection procedure are required to apply for a national ‘certificate of good conduct’ at the time an offer of employment is made. The ‘certificate of good conduct’ must be provided to Europol prior the signature of the employment contract. In case of unfavourable entries in the ‘Certificate of good conduct’ Europol reserves the right not to award an employment contract.

However, the national certificate of good conduct does not substitute a valid full Personal Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) that must be obtained for all Europol staff at the level indicated in the Job Description. A PSCC is a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared. It contains: the level of clearance; the date of issuance and the date of expiry. Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of employment contract.

The requested level of Security Clearance for this post is: SECRET UE/EU SECRET.

Contract of employment

The successful candidate shall be appointed by the Council and shall be engaged as a temporary agent of Europol for a 4-year period renewable once.

The current contract of Europol staff members will be taken into account if they are successful in the selection procedure.

The place of employment will be The Hague, The Netherlands.

For further information on terms and conditions please consult the EC Staff Regulations which are available on Europol’s website www.europol.europa.eu

8.    Additional information

DATA PROTECTION

The data submitted is processed in order to assess the suitability of candidates for a position at Europol. All personal data collected for the purpose of the selection procedure will only be used within this specific context and will not be disclosed to any third party.

Any data provided will be treated in strict confidence and in full compliance with all applicable data protection rules. The legal bases for the processing of personal data are the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (Title III Chapter 1) and their implementing rules.

All documents provided to Europol will be kept in Europol’s files and will not be returned to the candidate. Applications of non-recruited candidates will be kept for a maximum of 7 years. Data of non-recruited applicants on the reserve list for appointment will be kept for a maximum of 5 years after the expiry of the reserve list. Data of recruited candidates will be transferred to their personal file. The Business Manager Human Resources is responsible for the data processing operation.

Candidates have the right to access, rectify, block and erase their personal data in accordance with the applicable data protection rules. Candidates have a right of recourse to the Europol Data Protection Office (Data Protection Office — PO Box 90850, 2509 LW The Hague, The Netherlands) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (www.edps.europa.eu).

MAIN DATES

Deadline for application:	4.7.2017, 23:59 hours (CEST)
Recruitment procedure:	3rd-4th quarter 2017
Starting date of employment:	1 May 2018

APPLICATION PROCESS AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

Insofar as these are not altered by the specific provisions foreseen in the Rules for the selection, extension of the term of office and removal from office of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director, please refer to the EUROPOL RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES available on Europol’s website www.europol.europa.eu for further details on the application process and the selection procedure.

CONTACT DETAILS

For further details on the application process please contact: mbs@europol.europa.eu

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(1)  OJ L 121, 15.5.2009, p. 37.

(2)  OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53.

(3)  OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 53.

(4)  OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1.

(5)  OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 15.

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