THE EDUCATION, AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA) LOCATED IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, INVITES EPSO/CAST FGIII LAUREATES OR CANDIDATES WHO HAVE ALREADY RESPONDED TO THE EPSO PERMANENT CAST CALL (EPSO/CAST/P/1/2015) OR (EPSO/CAST/P/3/2015) TO EXPRESS THEIR INTEREST TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A RESERVE LIST FOR THE POST OF PROJECT OFFICER OR FINANCIAL OFFICER IN THE EACEA.

1. THE AGENCY

The EACEA (“the Agency”) is a European Commission Executive Agency established by the Commission's Implementing Decision 2013/776/EU. It operates by delegation of powers from the Commission[1] and its statute is governed by Regulation (EC) No. 58/2003[2]. The Agency's parent Directorates-General within the Commission are DG for Education and Culture, DG for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, DG for Migration and Home Affairs and DG for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.

The Agency is responsible for the implementation of certain EU programmes in the fields of education, audiovisual and culture, such as Erasmus+, The Creative Europe Programme, Europe for Citizens, EU Aid Volunteers, actions in the field of higher education and youth falling under external cooperation instruments and their predecessors. The Agency's current mandate runs until 31 December 2024[3].

As a legal entity, the Agency establishes an annual work plan and an annual activity report and has an operational budget of more than 600 Mio EUR per year.

In order to attain its objectives, the Agency has an internal structure consisting of 13 Units with a total of 458 staff members in 2015 (110 seconded officials/temporary agents and 348 contract agents).

The Agency working languages are English and French.

For further information on the Agency, please refer to our website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu

2. JOB DESCRIPTION

Within the Agency, the selected candidate(s), will manage, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the projects funded by the Agency. She/he will ensure compliance with the rules governing Executive Agency's activities. In particular, the Project Officer will:

• Assist in performing general programme management: calls for proposals and calls for tenders.
• Contribute in preparing, evaluating, monitoring and negotiating calls for tender/ calls for proposals.
• Ensure the follow-up of projects' implementation: support projects' coordinators and partners, monitor contractual obligations via reporting and assistance, periodic visits and audits.  
• Perform operational and financial evaluation of projects.
• Prepare follow-up reports and statistics.
• Assist in project auditing.
• Contribute to the communication and information policy of the programme by assisting or speaking at conferences/seminars.
• Contribute to information about good practice of successful projects.

3. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

A. Eligibility criteria

Candidates will be considered eligible for selection on the basis of the following formal criteria which must be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

A.1 General conditions:

• Be a national of a member state of the European Union;
• Enjoy full rights as citizen;  
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved[4];
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post;
• Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of his/her duties.
• Be on a valid EPSO/CAST FG III reserve list
  OR
  Have responded to the EPSO permanent CAST call (EPSO/CAST/P/1/2015) or (EPSO/CAST/P/3/2015) by 16 October 2015 at midday (GMT Brussels time)

A.2 Specific conditions:

A.2.1. Qualifications

a) Have a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma[5],

OR

b) Have a level of secondary education attested by a diploma, giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of at least 3 years[6].

To qualify for the position, candidates must have, in addition to the above, at least 4 years of proven fulltime professional experience;

B. Selection criteria

Candidates who comply with the above eligibility criteria will then be evaluated according to the following selection criteria:

Essential

• Professional experience: minimum 2 years of proven professional experience in the field of project management (operational and/or financial aspects).
• Knowledge of languages: for working purposes, a very good knowledge[7] of English both written and spoken is required.

Advantageous;

• Professional experience acquired in an international and multicultural environment.
• Knowledge (acquired through experience or training/education) of the organisation, structure, working procedures and policies of European Commission services and/or Agencies and/or other EU institutions.
• Proven project management working experience in one of the following fields: education, vocational training, culture, audiovisual, citizenship, youth, EU aid volunteers, sport.
• Very good command[8] of French both written abd spoken.
• Good command[9] of other European Union languages.
• Additional certification, studies and/or training relevant to the tasks listed in the job description.
• Proven advanced knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), a good knowledge of team collaboration tools (e.g. SharePoint) and data management & reporting tools (e.g. Business Objects).

4. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency applies a policy of equal opportunities and takes care to avoid any form of discrimination in its recruitment procedures.

5. SELECTION PROCEDURE

The selection will be organised as following:

1. The selection committee will select the applications which comply with the eligibility criteria and then it will evaluate them against the selection criteria (essential and advantageous) establishing a shortlist. Supporting documents showing evidence of the information given in the application will be requested at a later stage. No documents will be sent back to candidates. If, at any stage in the procedure, it is established that information provided by a candidate is incorrect, this candidate will be disqualified.

2. Of the shortlisted candidates, those who have already passed a "CAST" selection test, can be invited directly to an interview.  Candidates who have not passed a CAST will be invited to sit the test organised by EPSO: only those who are successful in the EPSO test will then be invited for an interview in the Agency.

The interview will aim to assess the candidate's suitability to perform the duties, his/her professional knowledge and background, motivation and level of languages.

3. Following the interview, the selection committee will place on the reserve list the most suitable candidates. Inclusion of candidates on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget.

Please note that the Selection Committee's works and deliberations are strictly confidential and that any contact with its members is strictly forbidden.

The reserve list will be valid until 31/12/2016 (the Executive Agency appointing authority can decide to extend the validity of the list).

6. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The Agency's appointing authority will appoint the successful candidate[10] as a Contract Staff member pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, offering him/her a contract for a determined duration of 2 years. This contract may be renewed for another year. Any subsequent renewal will be for an indefinite period.

He/she will be recruited as a Contract Agent, Function Group III. The basic recruitment grade for Function Group III contract agents is grade 8. The actual recruitment grade will depend on the candidate's professional experience. The basic monthly salary for FG III (grade 8 step 1) is 2476,74€. In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, in particular household allowance, expatriation allowance (16% of the basic salary), dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Community tax deducted at source and staff members are exempt of national taxation.

The place of employment will be Brussels, Belgium where the Agency has its seat.

For further information please consult:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/personnel_administration/publications_en.htm

7. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications specifying the CAST reference number/EPSO Expression of interest reference number, consisting of an updated CV and a motivation letter shall be submitted exclusively in English or French to the following email address EACEA-SPONTANEOUS-APPLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu by and no later than 16 October 2015 at midday (GMT Brussels time). Mention this call reference in the e-mail subject.

Applicants are strongly advised to apply well before the deadline since heavy internet traffic or other dysfunction could lead to difficulties in submission. The Agency shall not be held responsible for said difficulties and it will disregard applications submitted after the deadline or which are not complete.

Given the high number of individuals expected to express their interest, only candidates shortlisted to sit the interview will be contacted by the Agency.

8. DATA PROTECTION

The Agency will ensure that candidates' 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[11]. This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

[1] Commission Implementing Decision of 18 December 2013, establishing the "Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency" and repealing Decision 2009/336/EC, OJ L343 of 19.12.2013, p.46

[2] Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002, laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes, OJ L 11 of 16/01/2003, p.1.

[8] See footnote 7.

[9] Minimum Level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

[10] Before the appointment, a successful candidate shall undergo a medical examination by the medical services of the Commission in order to check if he/she satisfy the condition set forth by Article 21 (d) of the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities.

[11] OJ L 8 of 12.1.2001, p. 8.