Before applying, you must read carefully the Guide for candidates attached to this competition notice. The Guide is an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the rules governing selection procedures and how to go about applying.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. JOB DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY
B. TIMETABLE FOR THE COMPETITION
C. APPLICATIONS
ANNEXES: GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES IN COMPETITIONS ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
TALENT EVALUATOR
A. JOB DESCRIPTION AND ELIGIBILITY
1. General remarks
The European Parliament has decided to organise, on the basis of Article 29(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, an open competition (AD 5) for the recruitment of officials to the Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD).
The profile sought is that of intercultural and language professional for the following languages:
1. German (12 successful candidates)
2. Croatian (12 successful candidates)
3. Lithuanian (12 successful candidates)
4. Hungarian (12 successful candidates)
5. Slovenian (12 successful candidates)
This competition notice covers those five languages. You may only apply for one of them. You must choose the language when you complete the online application. Once you have validated your electronic application you will no longer be able to alter that choice.
Recruitment will be at grade AD 5, first step, the basic salary for which is EUR 5 453.02 per month. That salary is subject to tax payable to the EU budget and to the other deductions provided for by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union. 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 given 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 Translation (DG TRAD) provides the European Parliament with translation services for its written or electronic communication in all official languages of the European Union.
DG TRAD’s mission is:
· to make available in all official and working languages all documents relating to Parliament’s role as co-legislator and one of the two arms of the budgetary authority; in order to ensure the legitimacy and transparency of the legislative and budgetary process of the European Union;
· to enable the European Parliament to meet its commitment to the policy of multilingualism, which is designed to ensure the equal treatment of languages and to allow all citizens of the European Union to communicate with the institutions and have access to the documents of those institutions in their own language;
· to improve the clarity and readability of texts through the use of clear language and thus make Parliament more engaging and accessible for citizens, including the use of new formats that take into account how people will read in the future;
· to ensure that all these services are provided as efficiently and effectively as possible.
DG TRAD’s vision is about building bridges between different languages and cultures and promoting sustainable multilingualism as an essential component of the European democratic ideal.
Based in Luxembourg, intercultural and language professionals facilitate communication, in their mother tongue, between the European Parliament and the general public. They are required to use clear language in all aspects of their work, while taking into consideration the cultural context of the country or countries in question. They translate and localise content for reading, listening or viewing purposes, revise the work of colleagues and provide drafting support and editing services to authors of non-legislative texts. They are also required to adapt content in their mother tongue. Good teamwork and interpersonal skills are essential, as intercultural and language professionals work closely with colleagues from other units in DG TRAD and also have occasional contact with the requesting services.
The tasks of intercultural and language professionals are:
· facilitating communication with citizens in clear language, in their mother tongue;
· translating, adapting, transcreating and revising all types of content in or into their mother tongue;
· working from at least two other official EU languages to provide intercultural and linguistic mediation (e.g. subtitling or linguistic adaptation of audiovisual content, podcasts and websites);
· providing assistance with the drafting of non-legislative documents;
· helping with training measures, terminology work and the development of IT and communication tools;
· maintaining regular contact with the requesting services;
· contributing to quality assurance and control processes and ensuring that best practice is followed so as to optimise the quality of content delivered by DG TRAD.
The subjects concerned are often complex and generally deal with political, legal, economic, financial, scientific or technical issues in the European Union’s areas of activity.
To perform these tasks you will need to make intensive use of specific IT and related tools. The work will also involve linguistic and intercultural mediation in connection with the translation of audiovisual content and subtitling.
The job of an intercultural and language professional requires a high degree of adaptability and an ability to deal with a wide range of often complex problems, respond rapidly to changing circumstances and communicate effectively. You must be able to work intensively, on a regular basis, both on your own and as part of a team, in a multicultural working environment. You should also be keen to continue your professional training throughout your career.
3. Eligibility
On the closing date for applications, you must meet the following general and specific eligibility criteria:
(a) General criteria
In accordance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations of Officials 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 the duties involved.
(b) Specific criteria
(i) Qualifications required
When the normal period of university education is at least three years, you must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma officially recognised in one of the Member States of the European Union.
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, see https://www.enic-naric.net/. The selection board 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.
You may refer to Annex I to the Guide for candidates in competitions organised by the European Parliament.
(ii) Knowledge of languages
You must have a command of at least three official languages of the European Union. In this competition notice, reference is made to languages in the following manner:
— language 1: main language chosen from among the five languages of this competition (German, Croatian, Lithuanian, Hungarian or Slovenian), perfect knowledge at mother-tongue level;
— language 2: English or French, thorough knowledge (minimum C1 level);
— language 3: one of the 24 official languages of the European Union, thorough knowledge (minimum B2 level). Language 3 must be different from languages 1 and 2.
The language options for this competition have been laid down in the interests of the service. By virtue of the duties involved, the post of intercultural and language professional calls for specific abilities as set out in section A.2 of this competition notice.
Accordingly, in order for the persons recruited to perform their duties and ensure the smooth functioning of DG TRAD, they must be able to work and communicate effectively in three languages.
French and English are the two languages most frequently used in communication within DG TRAD and with the other directorates-general and political bodies of the European Parliament. Accordingly, in order for the persons recruited to perform their duties and ensure the smooth functioning of the service, they must be able to work and communicate effectively in at least one of these two languages.
English and French are also the main source languages of documents for translation: English accounts for approximately 80% of original documents for translation, French 10% and other languages 10%.
(iii) Professional experience required
No professional experience is required. Nevertheless, any professional experience you have acquired exclusively of working into your language 1 in the area covered by this competition (see the list of tasks of intercultural and language professionals in the ‘Job description’ section) would be an advantage.
B. TIMETABLE FOR THE COMPETITION
The competition consists of two stages:
1. Pre-selection:
a. multiple-choice questions,
b. talent evaluator.
2. Test
1. Pre-selection
(a) Multiple-choice question (MCQ) test
You will be invited to take a pre-selection test (computer-based MCQ test) if you have submitted your application:
- in accordance with the requirements stipulated in section C, and
- by the deadline stipulated in section C.
The MCQ test will be in language 2 (English or French).
The MCQ test will consist of a maximum of 40 questions intended to assess your ability to identify information relating to the values of the European Union and the role of the European Parliament. You will be sent sample questions in good time prior to the date of the test.
This test will last a maximum of 80 minutes and will be held online.
Should the number of candidates registered for any language of the competition fail to exceed the maximum number of candidates admitted to the talent evaluator stage (see Section B.1.b) below), the MCQ test will not be held for the language concerned. The selection board will then proceed directly to assessing the answers given by all the candidates concerned in the talent evaluator.
(b) Talent evaluator
You must complete the talent evaluator form attached to this competition notice and include it with your online application. The talent evaluator must be included in your application file by the deadline for submission of applications (section C). You may choose to complete the talent evaluator in your language 2 (English or French), which will facilitate the work of the selection board.
Please ensure that the languages indicated in your talent evaluator are the same as you have indicated on your application. Should the languages 1, 2 and 3 indicated in you talent evaluator not match the ones you have indicated on your application, then the selection board will only take into account the languages indicated on your application.
If you are among the best candidates in the MCQ test, the selection board will assess the answers you give in the talent evaluator. For this, the selection board will consider the 150 highest-scoring candidates for each of the languages of the competition. The selection board will consider any candidates who may have tied for a final qualifying place.
In order to make a selection on the basis of qualifications, the selection board will consider the answers given by candidates in the talent evaluator. Each answer will be awarded between 0 and 4 points. The selection board may decide to apply a weighting of between 1 and 3 to each selection criterion, depending on its degree of importance. In that event, the points awarded for each answer will be multiplied by the weighting coefficient. Each candidate’s points will be added up with a view to identifying the persons whose profiles match most closely the duties to be performed.
The selection board will base its assessment solely on the answers given in the talent evaluator to admit the 60 best candidates for each language of the competition to the written tests. Following that assessment, the selection board will verify that the candidates meet the specific eligibility criteria (section A.3) and that their answers are substantiated by the supporting documents submitted with their application.
Should the number of candidates registered for any language of the competition fail to exceed the maximum number of candidates to be invited to the written tests, the selection board will invite all candidates meeting the general and specific eligibility criteria (section A.3) directly to the written tests.
2. Tests
Translation and clear-language drafting tests
(a) Translation of a text connected with the legislative activities of the European Parliament from language 2 into language 1.
Maximum time allowed: 90 minutes for a text of approximately 450 to 500 words
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20)
The (b) and (c) tests of candidates who do not achieve the pass mark in this test will not be marked.
(b) Translation of a speech or a notice intended for citizens from language 3 into language 1.
Maximum time allowed: 90 minutes for a text of approximately 450 to 500 words
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20)
The (c) test of candidates who do not achieve the pass mark in this test will not be marked.
(c) Drafting test: drafting of a clear-language text intended for citizens, in language 1, on the basis of a complex document in language 2. The objective of this test is to assess your knowledge of language 2 and your ability to identify essential ideas and summarise them in clear language in language 1.
Maximum time allowed: 60 minutes
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20)
These tests will be held online.
The 24 candidates, for each language of the competition, who obtain the highest scores in the written tests will be invited to the oral tests, provided they have achieved the pass mark in each of the tests. The selection board will invite to the oral tests any candidates tied for a final qualifying place for each language.
Oral tests
(d) Interview with the selection board in language 2 to assess your suitability to perform the duties outlined in the ‘Job description’ in a European institution, taking account of all the information contained in your application file, as well as your development potential and your dependability. The selection board may decide to test your knowledge of the other official languages specified in your application.
Maximum duration: 45 minutes
Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20)
The (e) test of candidates who do not achieve the pass mark in test (d) will not be marked.
(e) Group discussion or role-play exercise in language 2 to enable the selection board to assess your adaptability, flexibility, result-orientation and team spirit in the context of the tasks described in section A.2 ‘Job Description’.
The selection board will decide how long the group discussion test should last on the basis of the composition of the groups.
The maximum duration of the role-play exercise will be 25 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 attend a test, you may 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.
3. List of suitable candidates
The selection board will draw up, for each of the languages concerned, a list of suitable candidates containing the names of the eligible candidates with the highest overall scores in the tests, as laid down in section A.1 ‘General remarks’. These overall scores are the total of the number of points the candidates obtained for all the written (a), (b) and (c) and oral (d) and (e) tests, provided they achieved the pass mark in each of the tests. The list may include any candidates tied for the final place on the list, for each language. The names of the successful candidates will be listed in alphabetical order.
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.
The successful candidates will be informed individually of their results, and the list of suitable candidates will be published on the official website of the European Parliament.
If you are offered a job, you will be required to produce the originals of all the 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
How to apply:
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 organised by the European Parliament before completing the application form and provide the relevant supporting documents.
Deadline for applications
The deadline for applications is
17.00 Luxembourg time on 12 January 2024
An acknowledgement of receipt will automatically be sent to you as soon as your application form has been validated.
Please DO NOT TELEPHONE the European Parliament to ask about this competition.
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