Before applying, please read carefully the Guide for Candidates 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 SELECTION PROCEDURES ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
A. JOB DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY
The European Parliament has decided to open the procedure for filling a temporary staff member post (AST 4).
The profile sought is that of assistant in the European Parliament Liaison Office in Munich (Germany).
The contract will be concluded for an indefinite period. Recruitment will be at grade AST 4, first step, the basic salary for which is EUR 4 534.93 per month. This salary is subject to Community 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 candidates are 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 accepts 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.
The mission of the European Parliament’s DG Communication (DG COMM) is to ‘build the reputation of the European Union by highlighting its democratic legitimacy, embodied in the European Parliament’, whose democratic power and influence rest on the mandate given by voters in all Member States. All decisions taken by the EU have a strong impact on citizens. DG COMM’s main objective is to provide citizens and the media with complete and impartial information on Parliament’s activities, and to give citizens the resources to engage in the European democratic process. To achieve these objectives, DG COMM has several key channels to communicate about what Parliament does and what it stands for, such as its Members, the media, networks of public and private multipliers, citizens and influencers.
In addition, DG COMM assists Members in their communication activities and provides Parliament’s political authorities with support and expert advice in the area of communication.
Located in the Member States, the European Parliament Liaison Offices are often European citizens’ first point of contact with the institution. They implement the European Parliament’s communication strategy at a decentralised level by planning and organising local, regional and national activities. The liaison offices are key actors in raising awareness of the decisions taken by the European Parliament among the general public and opinion formers across the European Union.
In addition to the 27 liaison offices in the capitals of the Member States, there are five regional offices: Munich, Milan, Barcelona, Wrocław and Marseille.
The role of the liaison offices is to:
increase awareness of the European Parliament and its powers by providing MEPs with platforms for debate on political and legislative issues under discussion in Parliament with a view to engaging with national and regional parliaments, stakeholders in legislation, civil society, the media and other multipliers;
pursue, through press officers, a proactive policy vis-à-vis national, regional and local media and provide information to maximise coverage of the institution;
raise awareness and promote debate on the values of the Union and the functioning of European parliamentary democracy, in particular among young people;
act as a contact point with Parliament for the citizens of the Member States and respond to requests for information about the European Parliament, its Members, powers and competences, decisions, policies and values;
develop networks of multipliers such as media, social media, civil society organisations, stakeholders and others interested in European affairs and the role of the European Parliament.
Based in the Munich regional office, under the supervision of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Germany in Berlin, the main tasks of this post will include:
- Helping to carry out information projects organised by the office for the media (press conferences, press releases, press reviews with comments, etc.);
- Helping to carry out and participating in communication projects organised by the office for the general public (public events, shows, fairs and exhibitions, etc.);
- Contributing to and fostering contacts with the public, internal and external visitors, the media, external service providers, national bodies and networks of correspondents in civil society;
- Managing and maintaining a presence for the office on social networks;
- Entering and updating information on the Directorate-General’s communication projects and publishing them on the internet;
- Budget management for the office (contact with suppliers, preparing invitations to tender, preparing requests for expenditure commitments, management of an imprest account, payment of invoices, etc.);
- Looking after the documentation service (documentation management, client service, etc.) and managing communication equipment (stock, inventory, etc.);
- Helping to deal with matters with administrative and/or financial and/or staff management, etc. aspects.
This post includes regular contacts in German with the general public, various stakeholders, contractors and the Berlin office. In addition, communication between the Munich regional office and the central services of the Directorate for Liaison Offices, other departments in the directorate-general and other liaison offices is mainly in English.
Knowledge of English would be an advantage, given that communication between the Munich regional office and the central services of the Directorate for Liaison Offices, other departments in the directorate-general and other liaison offices (outside Germany) is mainly in English.
These duties call for the following:
- organisational and planning skills;
- the ability to process information;
- versatility;
- interpersonal skills;
- flexibility.
On the closing date for applications, you must meet the following criteria:
(a) General criteria
In accordance with 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:
or
or
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.
The selection committee will take account of the differences between the Member States’ education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are given in the table included in the Guide for Candidates.
The professional experience required under the second and third indents will not be taken into account when evaluating the professional experience required under point A.3(b)(ii).
(ii) Professional experience required
In addition to the qualifications required under point A.3(b)(i), you must have acquired at least four years of professional experience relevant to the duties specified in section A.2, including at least two years in an international environment.
(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 thorough knowledge (level C1 minimum) of German (language 2). Language 2 must be different from language 1. If language 1 is German, a satisfactory knowledge (level B2 minimum) of one of the European Union’s 23 other official languages is required.
Knowledge of English would be an asset.
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/select-language?destination=/node/1375).
The language 2 option for this selection procedure (German) has been laid down in the interests of the service and reflects the skills required to perform the duties set out in section A.2. The person recruited must be able to understand the tasks to be carried out, address problems and communicate effectively with people inside and outside Parliament in this language. Given that this post, by its nature, involves regular contacts in Germany with the general public, various stakeholders and contractors, a thorough knowledge of German is required.
In addition, in the interests of equality of treatment and in accordance with Article 12(2)(e) of the CEOS, all candidates are required to have at least a satisfactory knowledge of a second language. In the case of candidates who have German as their first official language, the second language must be a language other than German.
B. PROCEDURE
The procedure is based on qualifications and tests.
If you
the selection committee will assess your application 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 supporting documents.
On the basis of a marking 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 12 best candidates, who will be invited to the 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):
Marking: 0 to 20 points.
Written test
a) Drafting test in German, based on a set of documents, to test your ability to perform the duties set out in section A.2 and your drafting skills.
Maximum time allowed: 3 hours.
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20).
This computer-based test will be held remotely.
Oral tests
b) Interview with the selection committee in German to assess, taking account of all the information contained in your application file, your suitability to perform the duties set out in section A.2. The selection committee will also test the language you specified as language 1 (or language 2 if your language 1 is German), and may decide to test your knowledge of English if you specified it on the application form.
Maximum duration: 45 minutes.
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20).
c) Group discussion or role-play exercise in German to enable the selection committee to assess your adaptability, negotiating skills, creativity and decision-making, as well as your performance in a group or in a given situation.
The selection committee will decide how long the group discussion test will last on the basis of the composition of the groups.
The maximum duration of the role-play exercise will be 20 minutes.
Marking: 0 to 20 points (pass mark: 10).
These tests may be held remotely.
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. If you do not reply to an invitation, cannot be contacted by email or fail to show up for a test, you will be disqualified. You must follow the instructions to the letter. Any failure to follow the instructions or any action not consistent with the instructions will lead to your immediate disqualification.
The list of suitable candidates will contain, in order of merit, the names of the three candidates who have obtained the highest overall scores in the procedure (assessment of qualifications and tests) and have achieved the pass mark in each of the tests. The list will include any candidates tied for the final place.
Candidates on the list of suitable candidates could be recruited by the European Parliament Liaison Offices in: Berlin, Vienna, Munich.
You will be informed individually in writing of your results.
The list of suitable candidates will be published on Parliament’s intranet.
The period of validity of the list of suitable candidates will expire on 31 December 2026. Its validity may be extended by decision of the appointing authority. If it is 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.
Being included on a list of suitable candidates does not constitute either a right to, or a guarantee of, recruitment.
C. APPLICATIONS
To apply, you must have an account on the Apply4EP platform: https://apply4ep.gestmax.eu/search/index/lang/en_US. You may create only ONE account. To do so, click on the ‘Apply online’ tab at the bottom of the page.
Candidates must read the Guide for Candidates carefully BEFORE completing their application form.
Deadline for applications
Candidates must apply online on the Apply4EP platform at the latest by
12.00 (noon), Brussels time, on 2 September 2022.
Please DO NOT TELEPHONE to ask about this selection procedure.
An acknowledgement of receipt will automatically be sent to you as soon as your application form has been validated.