Notice of vacancy CONS/AD/173/21

(2021/C 370 A/03)

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Department	Competitiveness and Trade
Place of work	Brussels, Justus Lipsius Building
Title of post	Director-General
Function group and grade	AD 15
Security clearance required	EU SECRET
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS	1 October 2021 – 12.00 noon (Brussels time)

We are

The General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) assists the European Council and the Council of the EU and their preparatory bodies in all fields of their activities. Under the authority of the Secretary-General, it provides advice and support to the European Council, the Council and their Presidencies in all areas of activity, including policy and legal advice, coordination with other institutions, elaboration of compromises, supervising as well as attending to all the practicalities that are necessary for the good preparation and running of the European Council and the Council.

Directorate-General ‘Competitiveness and Trade’ will comprise three directorates, which will cover the areas of Internal Market, Consumer Protection, Intellectual Property, Competition, Industry, Research, Space and Trade; all of them report to the Director-General.

The task of the Directorate-General is to coordinate the activities of the Competitiveness Council, which meets at least four times per year and deals with Single Market, Industry, Research and Space.

The Directorate-General is entrusted with the legislative work in the vast area of competitiveness, and is involved in the monitoring and follow-up of different policy initiatives related inter alia to the Single Market and related policies, EU Industrial Strategy or the research, innovation and space policies. The Directorate-General assists the Council in its continued efforts to develop the full potential of the internal market.

In addition, the Directorate-General supports the Council and its preparatory bodies to implement the EU’s common commercial policy. This includes trade and investment relations, intellectual property rights and foreign direct investment. The Council also plays a central role in trade agreements as it mandates the Commission to open negotiations and gives negotiating directives to the Commission. The Directorate-General is responsible for assisting and dealing with six Council committees in this field, all of them active in the area covered by the Foreign Affairs Council. It oversees the preparation and follow-up of policy and legislative activities in the Council, including in its Trade Ministers' format, which meets usually twice a year.

We propose

The post of Director-General in DG Competitiveness and Trade is a challenging position in a politically interesting environment, leading a team of around 50 highly qualified staff.

Under the authority of the Secretary-General and in cooperation with the three Directors, you will manage and coordinate your Directorate-General and its resources in a professional manner, organise its activities and support and motivate staff in their work. You will develop and implement the strategy and work programme of the Directorate-General, you will define its objectives and ensure their achievement according to required deadlines and quality standards. You will foster a culture of effective communication and cooperation both within the Directorate-General and with the other Directorates-General, as well as with other GSC services.

In cooperation with other Directorates-General, you will be responsible for horizontal policy and procedural coordination with the aim to support continuity and coherence of the work of the Council and the European Council.

You will provide high-level policy and procedural advice to the Secretary-General as well as to the presidencies of the European Council, the Council and Coreper on all aspects of dossiers falling within the Directorate-General's remit and take part in meetings and, where appropriate, in briefings and/or negotiations with a view to reaching compromises and finding solutions. In this context, you will assist the presidencies in negotiations and ensure effective communication and cooperation with EU institutions, agencies and other bodies in the areas within the remit of the Directorate-General.

You will ensure overall strategic coordination, including with other Directorates-General on policy and objectives to be met.

Regular missions abroad, usually within the EU, are required.

We look for

We are looking for a manager with substantial experience in EU policy-making and the EU legislative process and an extensive knowledge of the Council and the European Council as well as EU institutional issues. Knowledge of the areas covered by the Directorate-General is an asset.

All GSC managers are expected to advise their hierarchy and stakeholders, manage their staff and financial resources and to represent the GSC. These expectations are set out in the GSC horizontal manager's profile, in Annex I.

Furthermore, the jobholder will need to possess:

—	the ability to think and plan strategically, to anticipate and identify potential problems and propose workable solutions and compromises;

—	excellent communication skills, including interpersonal communication skills;

—	the ability to maintain good working relationships with a range of internal and external interlocutors and the ability to demonstrate diplomacy;

—	leadership skills and the ability to promote a strong team spirit and to give guidance, and the ability to motivate and empower staff in a multicultural and diverse environment, with a strong emphasis on staff development;

—	the ability to plan and organise the overall work of the Directorate-General so as to meet critical deadlines and ensure a fair distribution of workload within the team, as well as the ability to manage change and support staff through change;

—	the ability to reach common agreements or goals by providing targeted advice to stakeholders and by effectively and constructively facilitating discussions.

Given that the GSC has a policy of mobility for its managers, who are expected to have broad experience, candidates should be willing and able to work in different areas of activity during their career at the GSC.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

Applicants must meet the following requirements at the time of applying:

(a)	General conditions — be nationals of one of the Member States of the European Union; — enjoy their full rights as citizens; — have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the laws concerning military service.

(b)

Specific conditions — hold a university degree; — have at least fifteen years of relevant professional experience; — have at least three years' experience in a senior management role in the domain of EU policies; — given that English and French are used extensively for communication within the GSC and with other institutions, an excellent knowledge of one of the two languages and a good knowledge of the other is required. Knowledge of other official languages of the EU would be an asset.

NB:

(1)

This post requires security clearance allowing access to classified documents (EU SECRET level). Candidates applying for the post must be prepared to undergo security screening under Council Decision 2013/488/EU (1). Appointment to the post will only take effect on condition that the selected candidate has obtained a valid security clearance certificate. A candidate without security clearance will be offered a temporary contract until the result of the security clearance procedure is obtained.

(2)	The successful candidate must be prepared to follow the GSC management training.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

In choosing the successful candidate the Appointing Authority shall be assisted by an advisory selection board. The advisory selection board will be supported by an assessment centre, run by external recruitment consultants. The reports established by the assessment centre for the same type of post will cease to be valid two years after the date on which the relevant exercises took place or upon termination of the framework contract between the GSC and the assessment centre in question — whichever date is the earliest.

The advisory selection board will initially evaluate and compare the qualifications, experience and motivation of all the applicants, on the basis of their applications. Based on that comparative assessment, the advisory selection board will shortlist those candidates who, in its opinion, are most suitable to be invited to the first interview. As this first selection is based on a comparative assessment of the applications, the fulfilment of the requirements of this vacancy does not guarantee invitation to the first interview. From among the interviewed candidates, the advisory selection board will pre-select candidates to attend the assessment centre as well as a second interview with the advisory selection board.

The provisional planning of the selection is as follows:

—	it is expected that candidates selected for the interviews will be informed in the first half of October;

—	the first interviews are foreseen to take place in the second half of October;

—	the assessment centre is expected to take place by the end of October;

—	the second round of interviews is foreseen for the first half of November.

NB: The above schedule is purely indicative and in particular subject to the implications of the restrictive measures put in place to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

LEGAL BASIS

This post is published in all institutions of the European Union and outside the institutions, in conformity with Article 29(1) and (2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union.

HOW TO APPLY

The closing date for applications is 1 October 2021 at 12.00 noon (Brussels time).

Applications will be accepted by email only and must be sent to: applications.management@consilium.europa.eu (2) no later than the closing date and time. Late applications will not be considered.

The email address indicated above must be used for any correspondence concerning the selection procedure (the email must have in the subject the following title: CONS/AD/173/21 COMPET).

Before submitting their application, candidates should carefully check whether they meet the requirements listed above under ‘Recruitment policy’, in order to avoid automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

In order to be valid, the application file must include the following documents in pdf (NB: locked, password protected or electronically signed documents are not accepted):

(a)	the application form (Annex V) duly completed and dated; the electronic application form can be found on the Council’s website under the following link: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/general-secretariat/jobs/job-opportunities/ (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) — Application form.pdf’);

(b)

a detailed curriculum vitae (3), in English or French, preferably in the Europass format (http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu), covering the applicant’s entire career, listing, inter alia, the applicant’s qualifications, language knowledge, experience and current duties (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) — CV.pdf’);

(c)	a motivation letter, in English or French (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) — Motivation letter.pdf’);

(d)

grouped in one pdf document, copies of diplomas certifying education and copies of documents and certificates relating to professional experience. It is not sufficient to simply send the curriculum vitae mentioned under (b). Supporting documents must have been issued by a third party (file to be named ‘XXX (YOUR FAMILY NAME) — Supporting documents.pdf’).

Failure to include these documents will make the application invalid.

All supporting documents referred to under (d), must be numbered in sequence (Annex 1, 2, etc.) and grouped as mentioned above.

Applications that arrive by post, or via cloud-based data storage solutions or file-share platforms will not be considered.

The successful candidate will be asked to provide the originals of the aforementioned documents.

Candidates will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their application. However, technical difficulties related to the transmission of emails can never be completely eliminated. Therefore, if no email that acknowledges receipt of the application has been received, candidates are encouraged to contact applications.management@consilium.europa.eu Since the advisory selection board will begin its work shortly after the closing date for applications, any necessary verifications as to the receipt of the application should be made in the week following that date.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The GSC is committed to diversity and inclusion (see Annex II).

The GSC 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 offers a very good package of statutory flexible working arrangements and facilities such as after-school care and crèche.

As an employer, the GSC 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 GSC encourages applications in particular from women.

Assistance can be provided to persons with disabilities during the recruitment procedure. For further information, please send an email to diversity.inclusion@consilium.europa.eu

REEXAMINATION OF APPLICATIONS

The procedures relating to requests for complaints, appeals and referrals to the European Ombudsman are set out in Annex III to this vacancy notice.

DATA PROTECTION

The rules governing the processing of personal data in connection with this selection procedure are set out in Annex IV to this vacancy notice.

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(1)  Council Decision 2013/488/EU of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1).

(2)  This email address is linked to a functional mailbox and can only process messages with the ‘Normal’ sensitivity option; emails sent with other Sensitivity Options (e.g. ‘Personal’, ‘Private’, ‘Confidential’) cannot be processed. Please therefore select the ‘Normal’ sensitivity option. Maximum size of your email must be 25 MB. If your email, together with its attachments, exceeds this maximum size, please split your attachments over a number of emails.

(3)  Candidates are requested not to put photos on their CV.