9.11.2010

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 302/1

VACANCY NOTICE

Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

Bilbao (Spain)

(COM/2010/10285)

(2010/C 302 A/01)

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, located in Bilbao (Spain), is an autonomous body established by Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94, as amended by Regulations (EC) No 1643/95, (EC) No 1654/2003 and (EC) No 1112/2005.

The main tasks of the Agency are to collect, analyse and disseminate technical, scientific and economic information on occupational safety and health in the Member States for the benefit of European Union bodies, Member States and interested parties, to promote and support cooperation and exchange of information and experience amongst the Member States, third countries and international organisations, and in particular to provide the Commission with the necessary information it requires to fulfil its task of identifying, preparing and evaluating legislation and measures in this area, notably as regards the impact of legislation on enterprises with particular reference to SMEs.

The work of the Agency includes the coordination of a network comprising the main component elements of the national information networks, the national focal points and topic centres, to provide and disseminate the relevant information on occupational health and safety within the European Union and the establishment of a ‘risk observatory’ based on examples of good practices collected from firms or specific branches of activity.

The Agency shall work as closely as possible with the existing institutions, foundations, specialist bodies and programmes at European Union level in order to avoid any duplication. In particular, the Agency shall ensure appropriate cooperation with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.

In accordance with the existing Regulation, the Agency has a tripartite Governing Board composed of national representatives of governments, employers' and employees' organisations and the European Commission. It has its seat in Bilbao (Spain) and has currently an annual budget of EUR 14,1 million and an authorised staff level of 64 people.

Job description

The Director is the legal representative of the Agency and is accountable to the Governing Board. He or she is, in particular, responsible for:

—	the proper preparation and implementation of the decisions and programmes adopted by the Governing Board and the Bureau,

—	the management and the day-to-day administration of the Agency,

—	overall responsibility for managing the staff of the Agency,

—	the preparation of the Governing Board meetings and the Bureau meetings,

—	drawing up a draft annual work programme for the approval of the Governing Board,

—	the preparation of a draft annual report on the Agency's activities for adoption by the Governing Board,

—	exercising overall responsibility for the budget implementation and all financial management of the Agency in accordance with Article 185 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities.

These duties are more fully described in the establishing Council Regulation (EC) No 2062/94, Article 11.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for the selection phase, an applicant must meet the following criteria by the deadline for applications:

—	be a national of a Member State of the European Union,

—

have:

(i)	either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more;

(ii)	or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years,

preferably in a field relevant to the mission of the Agency,

—	have at least 15 years' post-graduate professional experience at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission,

—	at least five years of that professional experience must have been gained in a senior management function (1) entailing responsibility for personnel and financial management,

—	have a thorough knowledge of at least one of the official languages of the European Union and an adequate knowledge of another of these official languages,

—	have documented relevant knowledge and experience with regard to occupational health and safety issues,

—	be able to complete the full five-year mandate before reaching retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Communities, retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 65.

Selection criteria

Applicants will be assessed on the basis of the following selection criteria:

Vision and Leadership

—	a very good understanding, and a clear vision, of European policies in occupational safety and health and the Agency's role in that respect,

—	proven ability to lead and motivate a large team of experts in a European, multicultural and multilingual environment both at strategic and internal management level.

Management

—	solid experience of budgetary, financial and human resources management at a senior level in a national and/or international organisation.

Working with partners

—	proven capability to interact and negotiate at senior management level with the European Community institutions, public authorities and social partners,

—	ability to cooperate and communicate with stakeholders, in particular the European Commission, national authorities and social partners.

Communication

—	excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills,

—	a good command of English is essential; good knowledge of Spanish, French or German is an additional asset.

Equal opportunities

The European Union institutions and other bodies apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without distinction on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

Conditions of employment

The Director will be appointed as a member of the temporary staff at grade AD 14 pursuant to Article 2a of the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities for a period of five years. This term may be extended by a further period of up to five years.

The place of employment is Bilbao (Spain). A residence within a reasonable distance of the Agency's offices will be required.

Remuneration

Remuneration will be based on the European Union scale of salaries, scale AD 14 under the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities.

Pay is subject to European Union tax and other deductions laid down in the Staff Regulations. It is, however, exempt from any national taxation.

Selection and appointment (2)

The European Commission will set up a pre-selection committee for the selection process; following a first assessment of all applications on the basis of their merits and the criteria set out above, this panel will invite applicants with the best profile for the specific requirements of this position, to a first interview.

The pre-selection panel will then draw up a list of candidates proposed for a further interview with the Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA); however, before this interview takes place, they will need to undergo a full-day testing by an assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants assisting the CCA. Candidates who are shortlisted by the CCA can then be interviewed by the relevant Commissioner.

On the basis of a proposal by the relevant Commissioner, the European Commission will adopt a shortlist of successful candidates. This shortlist will be communicated to the Governing Board of the Agency, which will appoint the Director from among the shortlisted applicants in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Regulation establishing the Agency.

Before being appointed, the applicant selected by the Governing Board will be asked to make a declaration before the competent committee(s) of the European Parliament and answer questions from its/their members.

This call for applications is the basis for the establishment of the Commission's shortlist. Inclusion on the shortlist is no guarantee of appointment.

The successful candidate will be expected to take up the post by 15 September 2011.

Independence and declarations of interest

The Director will be required to enter into a commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make complete declarations of any direct or indirect interests that might be considered prejudicial to his or her independence. Candidates must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

Application procedure

This application can be published in parallel with other senior official 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, 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.

Those wishing to apply must send:

—	the application form which can be downloaded from http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/personnel_administration/working_senior_mgt_en.htm duly completed,

—	a letter of motivation,

—	and a curriculum vitae using the standard European CV format from http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/

to the address provided below.

The application form is available in English only. In order to facilitate the selection process, all correspondence with applicants concerning this vacancy will be in English. The three documents making up the application must be drafted in English, French or German (though preferably in English).

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.

Closing date for applications

Electronic copies of applications will be accepted.

The complete application, comprising the application form, the letter of motivation and the CV, must be sent by electronic mail not later than 7 December 2010 to:

Empl-Avis-De-Vacance@ec.europa.eu

and

Mr Robert VERRUE

Director-General of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

For the attention of Mrs Emmanuelle GRANGE

DG EMPL/H/1

European Commission

J27 Bureau 04/51

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Failure to submit all documents as specified above will automatically result in rejection of application.

Important information for candidates

—	In preparing their applications, candidates may in no event refer to documents, applications or other forms submitted in connection with previous applications.

—	A successful candidate who receives an offer of employment will be required to produce the originals of his/her diplomas, academic qualifications or employment certificates.

—	Supporting documents sent with the application will not be returned to candidates.

—	Candidates are asked to report any change of address in writing without delay, mentioning the competition number.

—	External consultants will assist the Selection Committee in evaluations and interviews.

—

Candidates are reminded that the Selection Committee's work and deliberations are confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with the Selection Committee or for anybody else to do so on their behalf. All enquiries or requests for information or documentation in relation to the competition should be sent in writing to the address indicated above.

Protection of personal data

The Commission and the Agency will ensure that candidates' personal data are processed as required by 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 (3).

(1) In their CVs applicants should indicate at least for these five years during which high level 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; and (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below and number of peers.

(2) The recruitment procedure is launched subject to the availability of appropriations in the Agency's budget and of the relevant posts in its list of posts.

(3) OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.