Call for expression of interest in the appointment as alternate of the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office

(part-time tasks)

The purpose of this call for expression of interest is to allow the Commission to select the persons it will propose to the Council of the European Union as the new alternate of the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office.

Description of the Office and its Board of Appeal

The Community Plant Variety Office (the Office or CPVO) was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 (1) (the Regulation). It is a body with legal personality and has administrative and financial autonomy.

The Office administers the system of Community plant variety rights, a specific type of industrial property rights in respect of new plant varieties. The Office has in particular to take decisions on applications for the grant of such rights, which afford uniform protection throughout the Union. The Office is located in Angers, France; its website is at http://cpvo.europa.eu

The Regulation provides for the establishment of Boards of Appeal within the Office. The Commission established (2) a Board of Appeal in 2009 which is responsible for deciding on appeals against decisions of the Office concerning, inter alia, the grant or refusal of Community plant variety rights, on objections to the grant of a right, on the nullity or the cancellation of Community plant variety rights or the grant or refusal of compulsory licences.

The Board of Appeal consists of a Chairperson, his or her alternates and two other members, but may call up for two further members.

Description of the duties

In the absence of the Chairperson, his or her alternate shall perform the tasks of the Chairperson.

He or she shall:

—	select for each case the other members of the Board of Appeal and their respective alternates from a list of qualified members established by the Administrative Council of the Office,

—	head the Board of Appeal of the Office and exercise the powers vested in the chairperson by the Regulation.

The Chairperson and the other members of the Board of Appeal shall be independent. In making their decisions, they shall not be bound by any instructions.

Appointment

The current alternate of the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal has resigned for professional reasons. Under the terms of the Regulation, the Council of the European Union will decide on the appointment or reappointment of the alternate of the Chairperson on the basis of a list of candidates, which shall be proposed by the European Commission after obtaining the opinion of the Administrative Council of the Office.

Requirements

The candidate must:

—	be a national of one of the EU Member States,

—	have a thorough knowledge of one Union language and a satisfactory knowledge of at least another Union language,

—	have a university degree in law, or a recognised qualification in law, obtained as recognition for proven experience in the field of intellectual property or plant variety registration,

—	have substantial graduate level work experience of which a significant part relates to intellectual property, in particular plant variety rights; 10 years or more experience would be an advantage.

Judicial or related experience in the field of intellectual property would be an advantage, as also administrative and management experience, preferably acquired in the public service of a Member State or of an intergovernmental organisation.

Conditions of employment

The alternate of the Chairperson will be expected to be available on a part-time basis, to deal with cases as they arise upon convocation by the Office. He/she should be available for these duties at least 10 days/calendar year.

The alternate of the Chairperson is not required to suspend his/her current professional activities, but any such activities must be compatible with the requirement that members of the Boards of Appeal be independent. The alternate of the Chairperson will be required to declare any interests, which may conflict with his/her duty to the Board of Appeal.

The place of employment is Angers.

The appointment will be for a fixed term of 5 years, which is renewable in accordance with the Regulation.

When the alternate of the Chairperson acts as the Chairperson, he is paid EUR 2 000 per case and EUR 500 for time spent travelling to and from Angers. Travel expenses and daily expenses are reimbursed according to the rules applicable to the Office.

Additional information on part-time tasks and on the remuneration may be acquired on request to the secretariat of the Board of Appeal (Community Plant Variety Office, 3 boulevard Maréchal-Foch, BP 10121, 49101 Angers Cedex 02, France).

Independence and declaration of interests

The alternate of the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make a declaration in respect of any interests which might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence. Applicants must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

Selection

The European Commission will set up a pre-selection panel for the selection process. This panel will invite applicants with the best profile for the specific requirements of the post to an interview, selected on the basis of their merits and the criteria set out above.

Following these first interviews, candidates shortlisted by the pre-selection panel can be called for a further interview with the Commission's Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). In that case, they will have to pass, before this interview, a full day assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants.

On the basis of a proposal by the relevant Commissioner, the European Commission will adopt a shortlist of successful candidates, after obtaining the opinion of the Administrative Council of the CPVO, and which will be communicated to the Council. The latter will appoint the alternate of the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal from among the shortlisted candidates. Inclusion on the shortlist submitted by the European Commission to the Council of the European Union does not guarantee appointment. Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and tests in addition to those indicated above.

Equal opportunities

The Office applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (3).

Application procedure

This position can be published in parallel with other senior officials positions. Candidates who wish to apply for more than one position must submit a separate application for each one.

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria (Requirements), particularly concerning the types of diploma and professional experience required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

For applications to be valid, candidates must submit:

1.	a covering letter; and

2.	a free-format Curriculum Vitae (CV). The CV should preferably be drafted using the Europass CV format (4). Applicants are explicitly requested to highlight and give a brief account of the experience and expertise relevant to the job.

Applications that are incomplete will be rejected.

Supporting documents (e.g. certified copies of degrees/diplomas, references, proof of experience, etc.) should not be sent at this point but must be submitted at a later stage of the procedure if requested.

In order to facilitate the selection process, all communications to candidates concerning this vacancy will be in the English language. Please note that the selection procedure will be carried out in English and/or French only (5).

Applications, preferably in English, French or German, should be sent by e-mail to:

sanco-avis-de-vacance@ec.europa.eu

Applicants who are not able to send their applications by e-mail may send them by registered mail or express courier service to:

DG SANCO.A.5 (F101-5/62),

European Commission,

200 Rue de la Loi,

1049 Brussels

BELGIUM

Applicants are asked to report any change of address in writing without delay to the address above.

Closing date

Applications must be sent either by e-mail or by registered mail no later than 15 November 2010 (date of e-mail or date as postmark for registered mail).

Applications sent by express courier service must be delivered on the same date before 17.00 hrs (Brussels time) to the address above.

The Commission reserves the right to extend the closing date of this vacancy by publication in the Official Journal of the European Union only.

Contact person for additional information:

Mr Jacques GENNATAS, Adviser to the Deputy Director-General, DG Health and Consumers, tel. +32 22959713; e-mail: Jacques.Gennatas@ec.europa.eu

Mr Martin EKVAD, Head of Legal Affairs, CPVO, tel. +33 241256415; e-mail: ekvad@cpvo.europa.eu

Important information for applicants

Applicants 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 and the Office will ensure that candidates' personal data are processed as required by the Regulation 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 (6).

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(1)  OJ L 227, 1.9.1994, p. 1.

(2)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 874/2009 (OJ L 251, 24.9.2009, p. 3).

(3)  OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1; http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm

(4)  The Europass CV can be downloaded from: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/htm/index.htm

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

(6)  Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1).