Senior manager – Digitalisation for Sustainability

SELECTION CRITERIA:

(In your application, please provide examples from current or past work experience where these competencies have been applied)

Essential:

1. Professional experience of at least 5 years relevant to tasks listed above under “Job description”;
2. Professional experience of at least 5 years in leadership positions, including line-management and budget responsibility (e.g. Head of Unit, Head of Sector, Team Leader or equivalent). Please indicate (1) title and role of management positions held; (2) numbers of staff overseen in these positions; (3) the size of budgets managed; and (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below and number of peers;
3. Demonstrated familiarity with ICT technologies related to digitalisation, such as statistical and geospatial data management, data science, Earth observation technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Spatial Data Infrastructure, cloud based IT architecture and web services relevant for data collection, monitoring, assessment, reporting and communication related to the environment and sustainable development;
4. Excellent command of written and spoken English language, at least at level C1 in all categories according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language.

Advantageous:

1. Completed training in leadership and management;
2. Demonstrated familiarity with the broader EU context and in particular online information tools and the e-reporting process between Members Countries and the international level;
3. Demonstrated familiarity related to cyber and information security.

Candidates invited to the written test and interview stage will also be assessed against the following behavioural competencies:

• Capacity to share a compelling strategic vision to staff and stakeholders, seeking to build a shared purpose;
• Ability to identify and incorporate trends to help shape future strategy and seek stakeholder buy-in;
• Awareness of own and others' perspectives and emotions to ensure a clear focus on outcomes, continually enhancing, with humility, own leadership capability;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to interact with a wide range of people and management levels;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Excellent collaborative leadership skills;
• Strategic thinking and ability to empower others;
• Diversity awareness and sensitivity;
• Ability to work collaboratively and share expertise with others to deliver on common work goals.

CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS:

The successful candidate will be offered a Temporary Agent contract in accordance with Article 2f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities. The selected candidate will be employed for an initial time period of four years, renewable. 

Successful candidates who are recruited undergo an initial probation period of 9 months.

Should the successful candidate currently hold a Temporary Agent 2(f) contract and qualify for a transfer under the terms of the CEOS, the band width for this position which can be accommodated is in accordance with Annex I of the Staff Regulations.

For information on salary, please see information published under Temporary Agents. 

The place of work will be Copenhagen, Denmark. 

It is brought to the particular attention of candidates that the provisions of Articles 11 to 26 of the Staff Regulations, concerning the rights and obligations of officials, shall apply by analogy to Temporary Agents. These rules specify that:

“An official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the Union in mind. He shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organization or person outside his institution. He shall carry out the duties assigned to him objectively, impartially and in keeping with his duty of loyalty to the Union.

An official shall not without the permission of the appointing authority accept from any government or from any other source outside the institution to which he belongs any honour, decoration, favour, gift or payment of any kind whatever, except for services rendered either before his appointment or during special leave for military or other national service and in respect of such service.

Before recruiting an official, the appointing authority shall examine whether the candidate has any personal interest such as to impair his independence or any other conflict of interest. To that end, the candidate, using a specific form, shall inform the appointing authority of any actual or potential conflict of interest. In such cases, the appointing authority shall take this into account in a duly reasoned opinion. If necessary, the appointing authority shall take the measures referred to in Article 11a(2).”

For further information on the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union see:

Staff Regulations

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

A Selection Committee is set up for the selection procedure. It consists of members designated by the Appointing Authority and the Staff Committee. The Selection Committee is bound by the principle of confidentiality as enshrined in Article 6 of Annex III to the Staff Regulations. This works in two ways: first, it imposes obligations to ensure equal treatment for candidates; and second, it seeks to protect the Selection Committee to ensure that its decisions are totally impartial. 

The Selection Committee adheres strictly to the conditions of admission laid down in the vacancy notice when deciding whether or not candidates are eligible. Candidates admitted to a previous selection procedure will not automatically be eligible.

 Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the Selection Committee, either directly or indirectly. Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.

In a spirit of transparency, and in order to align our working methods with current practice in certain Member States, the administration has decided to proceed with the publication of names of Selection Committee members. 

Should the Selection Committee discover at any stage in the procedure that the candidate does not meet one or more of the general or special conditions for admission to the selection procedure, the candidate will be disqualified. 

The Selection Committee decides on those candidates who are admitted to the selection procedure in accordance with the requirements as specified under eligibility criteria. The applications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure are reviewed to establish whether or not they show evidence of all requirements as specified under selection criteria.

The Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the written test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 8). Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 8th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited may be increased accordingly to accommodate this.

The interview will be held in English and the candidate’s knowledge of other languages may also be assessed during the interview. Candidates invited for an interview will be asked to undergo a written test in English, in the area of expertise required for the post. The test and the interview will take place online.

All applicants invited to the interview and written test shall take part in an evaluation with an assessment centre before the interview. The assessment centre shall evaluate the applicants' potential and shall provide an in-depth analysis of managerial skills, adaptability and other core competencies. It shall comprise individual and/or group exercises as well as in-depth interviews focused on management skills. The result of the assessment centre evaluation shall be taken into consideration by the Appointing Authority.

At the end of the interviews the Selection Committee will submit the list of suitable candidates to the Appointing Authority who will decide on the appointment of the successful candidate and the establishment of a reserve list for the post advertised or similar posts that may become available. There may be conducted follow-up recruitment interviews with the suitable candidates. Candidates shall note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget.

The reserve list for this post will be valid until 31 December 2024 and may be extended at the discretion of the Appointing Authority. 

Prior to contract signature, the successful candidate will be asked:

• to provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents proving his/her eligibility, including a police certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record; 
• to undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.