RECRUITMENT NOTICE PE/306/2024/S/IPOL

TEMPORARY STAFF MEMBER 

Administrator in the field of budgetary control (AD9)

Before applying, you must read carefully the Guide for candidates in open competitions/selection procedures organised by the European Parliament attached to this recruitment notice. 

The Guide is an integral part of the recruitment notice and helps to understand the rules governing selection procedures and how to go about applying. 

CONTENTS

A.               JOB DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY

B.               PROCEDURE

C.               APPLICATIONS

ANNEX:    GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES IN COMPETITIONS/ SELECTION PROCEDURES ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

A. JOB DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY

1. General remarks

The European Parliament has decided to open the procedure for filling a temporary staff member post in the grade AD 9 in the Directorate-General for Internal Policies (DG IPOL).

The profile sought is that of administrator in the field of budgetary control. The place of work will be Brussels.

The contract will be concluded for an indefinite period. Recruitment will be at grade AD 9, first step, the basic salary for which is EUR 9 025,62 per month. This salary is subject to Union tax and to the other deductions provided for by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS). It is exempt from national tax. The step at which the successful candidate is recruited may be adjusted in accordance with their professional experience. Moreover, in certain circumstances allowances will be paid in addition to the basic salary.

The European Parliament is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications without discrimination on any ground such as gender, ethnicity, 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, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.

2. Job description

The Directorate-General for Internal Policies is responsible for organising the work of Parliament's committees in the field of internal policies and contributing to the exercise and development of the legislative and control powers of the European Parliament.

As part of the Directorate for Budgetary Affairs, the Secretariat of the Committee on Budgetary Control is responsible for:

–        helping the members of the Committee on Budgetary Control and particularly the Chair and the rapporteurs in the exercise of their duties;

–        ensuring the smooth running of the activities related to budgetary control, especially the discharge procedure, as well as of the legislative and non-legislative activities of the Committee on Budgetary Control, by following up all committee activities, liaising regularly with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), political group advisers, counterparts in Parliament’s Secretariat and in other EU institutions or agencies;

–        assisting MEPs in the performance of their duties throughout the discharge cycle (preparing follow up of the most recent discharge exercise, drafting reports, preparing compromise amendments, preparing voting lists) and the legislative cycle (pre-legislative consultations, adoption of new legislative texts, modification of existing texts and control of their implementation);

–        supporting MEPs in their relations with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Public Prosecutor's Office, the Court of Auditors and other institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union in budget control related activities, as well as with national parliaments and authorities, especially for the preparation of missions and events related to the Committee on Budgetary Control;

–        providing MEPs with specialised knowledge with the help of briefing notes, in-depth analysis and advice concerning legislative and non-legislative files on budgetary control.

The performance of these tasks requires in-depth knowledge of the budget of the EU and its implementation in the EU Member States.

A proven professional experience in a national or international administration in the EU budgetary or financial domains, in national budget execution and shared management of EU funds is required. Professional and research experience related to the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), to the annual EU budget and the discharge procedure would be an asset.

An in-depth knowledge in economics and prior parliamentary professional experience at national or European level are essential. Additionally, extensive experience in negotiations at the highest political level, including interinstitutional, is required in order to support the MEPs in the exercise of their budgetary control powers.

Excellent analysis and knowledge of parliamentary procedures, critical thinking and the drafting skills required in the preparation of legislative documents such as reports and opinions, voting lists, information notes and speeches for the MEPs are required for this post.

The successful candidate(s) must have excellent interpersonal skills, a sense of diplomacy in their internal and external contacts and the ability to stay calm under pressure. 

Regular missions to the various places of work and frequent contact with people inside and outside the European Parliament are to be expected.

3. Eligibility

On the closing date for applications, you must meet the general and specific eligibility criteria:

(a)     General criteria

Under Article 12(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, you must:

–        be a national of one of the European Union’s Member States,

–        enjoy full rights as a citizen,

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

–        be able to produce the appropriate character references as to your suitability for the performance of your duties.

(b)     Specific criteria

(i)      Qualifications required

You must have: 

–        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,

or

–        a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and professional experience relevant to the duties of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years,

Diplomas, whether issued in a Member State or in a non-EU country, must be recognised by an official body of an EU Member State, such as the ministry of education.

Candidates holding diplomas issued in a non-EU country must enclose with their application an EU equivalence for their diplomas. For further information on recognition of qualifications obtained in a non-EU country in the ENIC-NARIC networks, please consult the following link: https://www.enic-naric.net.

The selection committee will take account of the differences between education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are given in the table included in the Guide for candidates.

Candidates who will not enclose an EU equivalence for their diplomas and/or candidates with diplomas not recognised by an official body of an EU Member State will not be admitted to the selection procedure.

(ii)        Professional experience required

After obtaining the qualifications giving access to the selection procedure (see point (i) above), candidates must have acquired at least 10 years of professional experience relevant to the duties specified in section A.2, including at least 8 years in a national administration or an institution or body of the European Union. 

(iii)    Knowledge of languages

Candidates must have a thorough knowledge (level C1 minimum) of one of the European Union’s official languages (language 1): Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish or Swedish,

and

a satisfactory knowledge (level B2 minimum) of English (language 2). If your language 1 is English, you must have a satisfactory knowledge (level B2 minimum) of any of the other 23 European Union official languages. Language 2 must be different from language 1.

Please note that the minimum levels required above apply to each area of linguistic aptitude (speaking, writing, reading, listening) referred to on the application form. These abilities correspond to those specified in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europa.eu/europass/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills).

Please note that level C2 is the highest level in the framework, while A1 is the lowest level.

B. PROCEDURE

The Appointing Authority shall draw up a list of candidates who declare that they satisfy the criteria laid down in Section A.3.(a) of the notice, and who have submitted their application file in accordance with the arrangements and by the deadline stipulated in Section C of the notice. This list will be sent to the Chair of the selection committee.

The procedure is based on qualifications and tests.

1.         Admission to the selection procedure

The selection committee will assess applications of all candidates on the Appointing Authority’s list in the light of the specific eligibility criteria.

If you meet the specific eligibility criteria, the selection committee will admit you to the selection procedure.

It will base its decisions solely on the information given on the application form and substantiated by the supporting documents attached to it and submitted at the same time. A curriculum vitae is not regarded as a supporting document attesting to professional experience, qualifications or knowledge of languages (See the Guide for candidates for further details.)

2.         Assessment of qualifications

On the basis of an assessment grid laid down in advance, the selection committee will assess the qualifications of candidates admitted to the selection procedure and draw up a list of the twelve best candidates, provided they have achieved the pass mark, who will be invited to the next stage (written and oral tests). The selection committee will invite any candidates tied for the final qualifying place.

In assessing the candidates’ qualifications, the selection committee will take particular account of the following aspects (to be substantiated by supporting documents enclosed with the application file):

-          diploma in the field of economics;

-          professional experience in the field of budget and budget control;

-          professional experience in the field of audit and control of public funds;

-          experience in drafting legislative documents and information notes addressed to Members of the European Parliament;

-          experience in interinstitutional negotiations;

-          experience in negotiations at high political level between the EU bodies and the Member States;

-          experience as an advisor for a decision maker member of an European body;

-          experience as an advisor within a Ministry or a national administration;

-          experience in a managerial position within a Ministry or a national administration.

Marking: 0 to 20 points (pass mark: 10 points).

Candidates will be informed individually by email whether or not the selection committee has decided to admit them to the tests.

3.         Tests

With a view to assessing candidates’ knowledge and skills, the selection committee will hold the following tests:

Written test

a)        Drafting test in English, based on a set of documents, to test candidates’ ability to perform the duties set out in section A.2, and their drafting and summarising skills.

Maximum time allowed: 1 hour.

Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20).

This test will be computer-based and may be held online.

Oral test

b)       An interview with the selection committee in English to assess, taking account of all the information contained in the candidates’ application files, their suitability to perform the relevant duties set out in section A.2. 

The selection board will test the language 1 of all candidates who declared English as their language 2, and will also test the other language of those candidates who declared English as their language 1.

           Maximum time allowed: 45 minutes.

Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20).

The test may be held online or in person.

You will receive instructions concerning the written and oral tests in good time. The tests will take place at a specific time on a specific date. Both tests will take place either on the same day or on two consecutive days.

If you do not reply to an invitation, cannot be contacted by email or fail to show up for a test, you might be disqualified. You must follow the instructions to the letter. Any failure to follow the instructions or any action not consistent with the instructions may lead to your immediate disqualification.

4.         List of suitable candidates

On the basis of the results, the selection committee will draw up a list of suitable candidates, which will contain, in alphabetical order, the names of the three candidates who have obtained the highest overall scores in the procedure (assessment of qualifications and tests) and have passed each of the tests. The list will include any candidates tied for the final place.

You will be informed individually in writing of your results.

The list of suitable candidates will be published on the official website of the European Parliament.

The period of validity of the list of suitable candidates will expire on 31 December 2027. Its validity may be extended by decision of the appointing authority. If extended, the candidates whose names have been included on the list will be informed in good time.

If you are offered a job, you will be required to produce the originals of all requisite documents, including diplomas and employment certificates, for verification.

Inclusion on a list of suitable candidates does not constitute either a right to, or a guarantee of, recruitment.

C. APPLICATIONS

You must apply via the Apply4EP platform: https://apply4ep.gestmax.eu/search/index/lang/en_US

You must read carefully the Guide for candidates in competitions/selection procedures organised by the European Parliament before completing the application form and provide the relevant supporting documents.

Closing date for applications

12.00 (noon), Brussels time, on 2 July 2024

An acknowledgement of receipt will automatically be sent to you as soon as your application form has been validated.

You should only communicate about this selection procedure via your Apply4EP account. Please DO NOT TELEPHONE to ask about this selection procedure.

You are responsible for regularly checking the inbox of the email address you indicated in your Apply4EP account.