21.2.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CA 48/1

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NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION

EPSO/AD/125/08

(2008/C 48 A/01)

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising the following admission tests and open competition, based on oral tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit

DOCTORS  (1)

‘COMMISSION’ CHANNEL (AD7)

‘OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ CHANNEL (AD9)

CONTENTS

I.	DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY

A.

DUTIES

B.	ELIGIBILITY

II.	ADMISSION TESTS

TEST PROCEDURES

III.	OPEN COMPETITION

TEST PROCEDURES

IV.	HOW TO APPLY

V.	GENERAL INFORMATION

ANNEX:

Requests for review — Appeal procedures — Complaints to the European Ombudsman

I.   DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY

Open competition EPSO/AD/125/08 (AD7 and AD9) is being held to recruit doctors.

The purpose of this competition is to draw up two reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the institutions of the European Union.

Number of successful candidates:

‘COMMISSION’ CHANNEL (AD7)	‘OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ CHANNEL (AD9)
4	9

Please note that you may apply for one of the two channels only. You must make your choice when you register online and you will not be able to change it after the deadline for registration.

A.   DUTIES

Carrying out the tasks required of a medical officer or occupational health officer within the European Union's institutions:

—	pre-recruitment examinations

—	annual check-ups

—	invalidity committees

—	medical emergencies

—	medical consultations

—	preventive medicine

—	health advice

—	medical and administrative opinions.

Participating in various committees:

—	health and safety at work

—	ergonomic workplace design

—	invalidity

—	board of senior medical advisors of the European Union institutions.

Establishing contacts with outside doctors and/or hospitals in their specialist fields.

These duties require good people skills, the ability to listen, confidentiality/discretion, thoroughness and flexibility.

NB: The European Parliament applies flexible working hours and some travel will be required, notably to and from Strasbourg.

The European Union institutions attach particular importance to your ability to grasp problems of all kinds, often complex in nature, to react rapidly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. You will have to show initiative and imagination and be highly motivated. You should be able to work frequently under pressure, both on your own and in a team, with due regard for professional ethics, and adjust to a multicultural working environment. You will also be expected to develop your professional skills throughout your career.

B.   ELIGIBILITY

(a)   General conditions

You must:

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

—	enjoy your full rights as a citizen,

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

—	meet the character requirements for the duties involved.

The competition notice does not set any age limit, but please note the information in Section V.7 concerning the retirement age.

(b)   Specific conditions

1.   Qualifications

You must have completed a course and obtained a degree in medicine.

The selection board will allow for differences between education systems. For examples of the minimum qualifications required, see the tables annexed to the Guide for Applicants (http://europa.eu/epso/on-line-applications/guide_en.htm) for each category. Note that these are examples only — stricter requirements may be set in the competition notice.

2.   Professional experience

‘COMMISSION’ CHANNEL (AD7)

‘OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ CHANNEL (AD9)

Since obtaining the qualification required, you must have acquired at least six years' professional experience; this experience must have been gained in at least two of the following areas: occupational medicine, general medicine, emergency medicine, internal medicine, tropical medicine, ergonomics, assessment of physical injury, any medical specialisation associated with the duties to be performed.

Since obtaining the qualification required, you must have acquired at least ten years' professional experience; this experience must have been gained in at least two of the following areas: occupational medicine, general medicine, emergency medicine, internal medicine, tropical medicine, ergonomics, assessment of physical injury, any medical specialisation associated with the duties to be performed.

3.   Knowledge of languages

(a)	main language (language 1) You must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union.

(b)	second language (language 2 — must be different from language 1) You must have a satisfactory knowledge of English, French or German.

Under Article 45(2) of the Staff Regulations, officials must prove their ability to work in a third language before their first promotion after recruitment.

You must specify your choice of language for the admission tests and the oral test (English, French or German: language 2) when you register online  (2). You will not be able to change your choice after the deadline for online registration (27.3.2008).

To ensure that all general texts relating to the competition and all communication between you and EPSO are clearly understood on both sides, only English, French or German will be used for the invitations to the various tests and correspondence between you and EPSO.

You may send any questions to EPSO by e-mail (EPSO-AD-125-08@ec.europa.eu), but please check first that the information you want is not in the competition notice, the Guide for Applicants or the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso).

II.   ADMISSION TESTS

The appointing authority will invite you to the admission tests if your online registration shows that you meet the general and specific conditions in Section I.B on the closing date for online registration (27.3.2008).

TEST PROCEDURES

EPSO will organise computer-based admission tests for all the candidates admitted. The tests will be held in the European Union in one or more centres specialised in this type of test, depending on availability.

You will be informed of the procedure for attending these tests via your EPSO profile.

You will take the admission tests in English, French or German (language 2).

(a)	A test comprising a series of multiple-choice questions to assess your general verbal reasoning ability and skills. This test will be marked out of 50.

(b)	A test comprising a series of multiple-choice questions to assess your general numerical reasoning ability and skills. This test will be marked out of 50.

The combined pass mark for tests (a) and (b) is 50.

Wrong answers in these tests will not be penalised.

The candidates with the highest aggregate marks (3) and the pass mark in the admission tests (see table below)will be invited to submit a full application for admission to the open competition.

‘COMMISSION’ CHANNEL (AD7)	‘OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ CHANNEL (AD9)
48	108

III.   OPEN COMPETITION

Once the applications have been received, the appointing authority will draw up a list of the candidates who meet the general conditions set out in Section I.B.(a) and send it to the chair of the selection board together with their application files.

After having looked through this list, the selection board will admit you to the oral test if you are among the candidates with the highest aggregate marks  (3) in the admission tests (see table below) and meet the specific conditions set out in Section I.B.(b).

‘COMMISSION’ CHANNEL (AD7)	‘OTHER INSTITUTIONS’ CHANNEL (AD9)
12	27

TEST PROCEDURES

1.   Oral test — marking

(i)

Before your interview with the selection board, you will be asked to take tests in an assessment centre. The tests will be held in English, French or German only (language 2). For organisational reasons, the tests and the interview will be held in Brussels, normally on consecutive days. The report on the tests will be communicated to the selection board as a specialist aid and technical contribution to the decision-making process. The tests will comprise in particular: — a written exercise to assess your drafting skills, — an exercise to assess your ability to perform the duties required of a medical officer or occupational health officer, — an interview with a human resources expert to assess your skills profile.

(ii)

The day following the tests in the assessment centre, you will be invited to an interview in English, French or German (language 2) with the selection board to enable it to complete its assessment of: — your specialist knowledge in the field, — your professional experience, your ability to organise your work, and your ability to adapt, take decisions and more generally perform the duties of a doctor, — your general knowledge of the European Union, its institutions and its policies, — your motivation and your ability to adjust to working as a European civil servant in a multicultural environment.

Your knowledge of your main language (language 1) will also be examined.

This test will be marked out of 100 (pass mark: 60).

NB: The report produced by the assessment centre is not covered by the rules on secrecy governing the selection board's deliberations and will be given to you at the end of the oral test.

2.   Reserve lists

The selection board will place on the reserve lists the names of the candidates with the highest marks (3) (see Section I, Number of successful candidates) among those with a pass mark in the oral test.

The lists will be drawn up by channel and the names of the successful candidates will be given in alphabetical order within each merit group.

The reserve lists and their expiry dates will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso) (4).

IV.   HOW TO APPLY

Please consult the Guide for Applicants (http://europa.eu/epso/on-line-applications/guide_en.htm), which can be found on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso). It contains detailed instructions to help you submit your application correctly.

The closing date for online registration is 27.3.2008, with a deadline of 12.00 (midday) Brussels time on that day.

1.   Creating an EPSO profile/online registration

Before registering, you should check carefully whether you meet all the eligibility criteria.

If you decide to apply, you must register via the Internet by going to the EPSO website and following the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.

It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy Internet traffic or a problem with the Internet connection could lead to your online registration being interrupted before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline has passed, you will not be able to register.

On completion of your online registration, you will receive on screen a registration number, which you must note — this will be your reference number in all matters concerning your application. Once you receive this number, the registration process is finished — it is the confirmation that we have registered the data you entered.

If you do not receive a number, your application has not been registered!

Please note that you must have an e-mail address. This will be used to identify you. The information you must enter when registering includes your choice of languages and details of the qualifications required for admission to the competition (qualification, name of issuing establishment and date obtained).

No documents are required at this stage. Full applications will be requested later (see Section IV.3).

Once you have registered online, you can follow the progress of the competition by going to the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso) and clicking on ‘Ongoing competitions’.

If you have a disability that prevents you from registering online, you may request a paper version of the form  (5) , — preferably by fax — which you should fill in, sign and return by registered mail, postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between EPSO and you will be by post.

You must enclose with your application form a certificate attesting your disability, issued by a recognised body. You should also set out on a separate sheet of paper any special arrangements you think are needed to make it easier for you to take part in the tests.

2.   Invitations

Details of when and where to attend the admission tests and the oral test will be available only on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso). You can access this information by entering the user name and password you specified when registering online. You are responsible for updating your EPSO profile to reflect any change in your postal or e-mail address.

You are also responsible for consulting your EPSO profile to keep track of the progress of the competition and to check the information relevant to your application at every stage. If you find that you cannot do this, you must notify EPSO immediately by e-mail (EPSO-AD-125-08@ec.europa.eu).

Wherever possible, you will be asked to sit the admission tests in the city you chose when registering online. For organisational reasons you will not be able to switch to another venue unless you can prove that you have changed residence and have informed EPSO of this no later than three weeks before the planned date of the admission tests.

3.   Full application

If you are among the candidates with the highest aggregate marks and the pass mark in the admission tests, as specified in Section II, you will be asked to print out and complete the full application form, which you will find in your EPSO profile on the website. It must be sent in by the required closing date (6).

Documents to enclose

Your application must give details of your citizenship, studies and professional experience. You should also enclose the following documents:

—	a copy of a document proving your citizenship (e.g. your passport, identity card or any other official document specifying your citizenship, which must have been obtained no later than the closing date for online registration),

—	a copy of the diploma(s) attesting successful completion of your studies,

—	employers' references clearly indicating the starting and finishing dates and the level and exact nature of the duties carried out; you will be given more detailed instructions, via your EPSO profile, on how to present your professional experience.

You should also enclose a numbered index of these documents on a separate sheet.

You should only send uncertified photocopies of these documents. Paper copies of web pages and/or references to websites do not constitute supporting documents for these purposes.

When completing your application form, you may not refer to any previous application forms submitted or any other documents enclosed with such applications. None of the documents submitted with your application will be returned.

Signing and sending the form

It is your responsibility to make sure that your application form, duly completed, SIGNED and accompanied by all the supporting documents, is sent by registered post to the address below by the closing date  (6) (the postmark will serve as proof of the date of sending):

European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)

C-80

Open competition EPSO/AD/125/08

B-1049 Brussels

Scrutiny of applications

The selection board will look through the files of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks and the pass mark in the admission tests to determine whether they satisfy the conditions laid down in Section I.B of this notice. The selection board will invite you to the oral test if you are among the candidates with the highest marks and meet all the criteria for admission to the competition (see Section III, second paragraph).

You will be disqualified if:

—	you do not complete your online registration by the deadline (27.3.2008),

—	you do not complete and/or sign the application form (original signature required),

—	you do not meet all the eligibility criteria,

—	you post your application after the closing date (6),

—	you do not send all the required supporting documents.

4.   Reserve lists

The names of the successful candidates (see Section III.2) will be entered on the reserve lists.

5.	If, at any stage in the procedure, it is established that the information in your online registration or official application form is incorrect, you will be disqualified from the competition.

6.	To simplify administration of the competition, please quote in all correspondence YOUR FULL NAME AS GIVEN ON YOUR APPLICATION FORM, THE COMPETITION NUMBER, AND THE REFERENCE NUMBER YOU RECEIVED WHEN YOUR ONLINE REGISTRATION WAS ACCEPTED.

V.   GENERAL INFORMATION

1.   Equal opportunities

The European Union institutions 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 or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

2.   Selection board

A selection board is appointed for each competition. Its members are designated by the institutions and their staff committees in equal numbers. The chair and members are then appointed by EPSO's appointing authority. Their names will be published on the EPSO website after candidates have been notified whether they have been admitted to the competition.

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is responsible for all communication with you until the competition is completed. You are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the selection board, either directly or indirectly. The selection board will decide whether candidates infringing this rule are to be disqualified.

3.   Approximate timetable

Depending on the total number of candidates, the competition will take approximately one year from the closing date for online registration.

Full details will be available on the EPSO website.

4.   Requests from candidates for access to information concerning them

Candidates involved in selection procedures have the specific right of access to certain information concerning them directly and individually, as described below. EPSO may therefore supply supplementary information on candidates' participation in the competition at their request. Candidates must send such requests in writing to EPSO within a month of being notified of their results in the competition. EPSO will reply within a month of receiving the request. Requests will be dealt with taking account of the confidential nature of selection board proceedings under the Staff Regulations (Annex III, Article 6) and in compliance with the rules on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. Examples of the type of information which may be supplied are given in the Guide for Applicants, Section III.3.

5.   Requests for review — Appeal procedures — Complaints to the European Ombudsman

See Annex.

6.   Recruitment conditions/career

If you are placed on the reserve list you will be eligible for appointment as a doctor; recruitment will normally be as a probationary official, as and when required by the European institutions, in Brussels, Luxembourg, or any other place of activity.

If you are on the reserve list and are offered a post, you will be asked to produce the originals of all the requisite documents, in particular your qualifications, so that copies can be authenticated.

Recruitment will depend on posts and funds becoming available.

Depending on the nature of the post concerned, successful candidates on the reserve list may initially be offered a temporary contract; in this case, their names will remain on the reserve list.

Article 29(1)(b) of the Staff Regulations refers to the possibility for officials to request a transfer to another institution or agency at any time during their career. However, in the interests of the service, newly recruited officials are transferred only in exceptional and duly justified cases during their first three years of service. Any such transfer is subject to the agreement of both the institution or agency that originally recruited the official and the institution or agency to which the official requests to be transferred.

7.   Retirement

Under the provisions of the Staff Regulations concerning the retirement age of staff, officials are retired:

—	either automatically at the age of 65 years,

—	or, at the official's own request, at the age of 63 years or where the official is between 55 and 63 years of age and satisfies the requirements for immediate payment of a pension,

—	exceptionally, at the official's own request and where it is considered to be in the interest of the service, at not later than the age of 67.

8.   Grade

Doctors will be recruited from the reserve list to grade AD7 and AD9.

9.   Remuneration

Basic monthly salary as at 1 January 2008:

grade AD7, first step: EUR 5 187,30

grade AD9, first step: EUR 6 640,50

10.   Protection of personal data

As the body responsible for organising the competition, EPSO ensures that applicants' 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 ( Official Journal of the European Communities, L  8 of 12 January 2001). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

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(1)  The European Union institutions 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 or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

(2)  For practical reasons the online registration form is available in English, French or German only.

(3)  Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be admitted to the next stage of the competition.

(4)  A successful candidate may explicitly request that his/her name not be published. Any such request must reach EPSO no later than two weeks after candidates are notified of the results.

(5)  EPSO — Info-recrutement — Avenue de Cortenbergh, 80 — 4/11 — B-1049 Brussels — Fax (32-2) 295 74 88.

(6)  The closing date will be indicated in good time in your EPSO profile.

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