Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE)

Publication of the post of Principal Adviser (grade AD14)

(Article 29(2) of the Staff Regulations)

COM/2019/10390

(2019/C 331 A/01)

 

We are

Under the political guidance of the College of Commissioners, in particular, as it stands, Vice-Presidents Jyrki Katainen and Maroš Šefčovič and Commissioner Violeta Bulc, the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) is in charge of developing transport policies for the European Union. Its remit is to enable and promote mobility of people and transport of goods that are efficient, safe, secure and environmentally friendly, serving the needs of citizens and businesses.

DG MOVE develops strategic policies for the transport sector; it monitors the implementation of existing EU law and makes new legislative proposals; it encourages the exchange of best practices. Its work is accompanied by financial support programmes, particularly for research and innovation projects under Horizon 2020 and for co-financing investments in transport infrastructure under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The DG promotes policies internationally and provides information to the public as well as to stakeholders.

DG MOVE is assisted in its work by the expert input from several European Agencies and two Joint Undertakings, which it oversees: the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the European Railway Agency (ERA), Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), and the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking and the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking. DG MOVE has also built a strong partnership with Eurocontrol and is represented in the Management Board of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.

We propose

The main duties of the Principal Adviser will be:

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to support the Director-General by providing strategic advice and guidance on the digitalisation of transport and mobility in close cooperation with the Directorates-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), Research and Innovation (DG RTD), Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC);

—	to contribute to the development of the Commission’s digital and low-emission policy aimed at achieving a smart, safe, sustainable and congestion-free mobility to the benefit of citizens and businesses;

—	to collaborate closely with the Deputy Director-General and the Directorate responsible for policy on related issues, in particular Directorate B, while being directly attached to the Director-General.

We look for (selection criteria)

The ideal candidate will be an outstanding and dynamic professional who should fulfil the following selection criteria:

a)

Technical knowledge and experience, and in particular: — very good horizontal understanding of the functioning of the Commission policy making; — experience in digital issues especially concerning the topical issue of data (data protection, big data, artificial intelligence, cloud, cybersecurity, etc.); — good understanding of the policies falling within the remit of DG MOVE, and more particularly, of this Principal Adviser function.

b)	Management/advisory experience and skills, and in particular: — advisory experience and proven ability to set objectives, prioritise tasks and ensure their effective execution; — excellent ability to define and focus on priorities, ensure follow-up, evaluate progress and monitor implementation.

c)

Communication/negotiation and other skills, and in particular: — accomplished interpersonal, decision-making and negotiating skills at high level, sound political judgement and ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with all stakeholders inside and outside the Commission and to build trusted relationships with them; — proven capacity for outreach to Member States, with national and regional authorities, and stakeholders at senior level.

Candidates must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will only be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal requirements to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

—	Nationality: Candidates must be a citizen of one of the EU Member States of the European Union.

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University degree or diploma: Candidates must have: — Either 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: — or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years (this one year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate experience required below).

—	Professional experience: Candidates must have at least 15 years of postgraduate professional experience at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in a high-level advisory function (1).

—

Languages: Candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (2) and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these official languages. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language. This may include (part of) the interview being conducted in this other language.

—	Age limit: Candidates must not have reached regular retirement age, which of officials of the European Union is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 52 lit (a) of the Staff Regulations (3)).

In addition, candidates have to have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service; produce appropriate character references as to their suitability for the performance of their duties and be physically fit to perform their duties.

Selection and appointment

The European Commission will select and appoint the Principal Adviser according to its selection and recruitment procedures (see: Document on Senior Officials Policy (4)).

As part of this selection procedure, the European Commission sets up a pre-selection panel. This panel analyses all applications, proceeds with a first eligibility verification and identifies candidates having the best profile in view of the selection criteria mentioned above, and who may be invited for an interview with the pre-selection panel.

Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel draws up its conclusions and proposes a list of candidates for further interviews with the European Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). The CCA, taking into consideration the conclusions of the pre-selection panel, will decide on the candidates to be invited for an interview.

Candidates who are called for an interview with the CCA participate in a full-day management assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants, unless they have already been evaluated trough an assessment centre organised at the request of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security for a type of post at the same level as the one they are currently applying for during the two years preceding the date of the interview with the CCA. Taking account of the results of the interview and the report of the assessment centre, the CCA establishes a shortlist of candidates it considers suitable to exercise the function of Principal Adviser.

Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member of the Commission responsible for Mobility and Transport (5).

Following these interviews, the European Commission takes the appointment decision.

For functional reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in the interest of the candidates as well as that of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in English and/or French (6) only.

Equal opportunities

The European Union applies a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (7). Given the low representation of women in management functions, the Commission would particularly welcome applications from women.

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Staff Regulations (8).

The successful candidate will be recruited as an official at grade AD 14. S/he will be classified depending on the length of her/his previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.

Applicants should note the requirement under the Staff Regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.

The place of employment is Brussels.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up her/his duties, the Principal Adviser will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests, which might be considered prejudicial to her/his independence.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all eligibility requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, professional experience as well as linguistic capacity required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

If you want to apply, you must register via the internet on the following website and follow the instructions concerning the various stages of the procedure:

https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/

You must have a valid email address. This will be used to identify your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the procedure. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your email address.

To complete your application, you need to upload a CV in PDF format and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Your CV and your letter of motivation may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union.

Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an electronic mail confirming that your application has been registered. If you do not receive a confirmation mail, your application has not been registered!

Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application on-line. You will be contacted directly by the European Commission regarding the status of your application.

If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 4 November 2019, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.

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 fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations are not accepted.

Important information for applicants

Candidates are reminded that the work of the different selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. Any query has to be addressed to the secretariat of the respective panels.

Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

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(1)  In their CVs candidates should clearly indicate for all years during which a high-level advisory experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of the positions held; (2) the number of hierarchical layers above and below; and (3) the number of peers.

(2)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01958R0001-20130701&qid=1408533709461&from=EN

(3)  http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

(4)  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/compilation-of-the-senior-official-policy-at-the-european-commission_en.pdf

(5)  Unless the Member of the Commission concerned, in line with the Commission Decision of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007)1811), has delegated this task to another Member of the Commission.

(6)  Selection panels will ensure that no undue advantage is given to native speakers of these languages.

(7)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140701&from=EN

(8)  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140701&from=EN

(9)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).