ECA/2024/6 - Director (1 post) - Information, Workplace and Innovation

WHO WE ARE

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) was established in 1975 as the European Union’s external auditor. One of the EU’s seven institutions, it is based in Luxembourg and employs around 1 000 audit, support and administrative staff of all EU nationalities [1].

The ECA operates as a collegiate body of 27 Members, one from each EU Member State. Our auditors check that the EU keeps good accounts and correctly applies its financial rules, and that its policies and programmes achieve their intended objectives and deliver value for money.

Through our work, we contribute to improving the EU’s financial management and promote accountability and transparency. We warn of risks, provide assurance, identify shortcomings and successes and offer guidance to EU policymakers and legislators. We present our observations and recommendations to the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and national governments and parliaments, as well as the general public.

As part of the Secretariat-General of the ECA, the Directorate of Information, Workplace and Innovation (DIWI), plays a central role in the institution’s functioning and development. DIWI helps the ECA to achieve its strategic objectives through activity in the following areas: information technologies, technological innovation, physical workspace, library and archive services.

DIWI is committed to the digital transformation of the ECA and the modernisation of the physical workplace. To this end, its activity is grounded in a dynamic vision of the future of work based on connecting people and facilitating knowledge management.

The Director [2] of DIWI is responsible for a budget of around EUR 15 million. Reporting directly to the Secretary-General, the Director is supported by a management team of three principal managers overseeing the work of approximately 60 staff and 70 external service providers.

WHAT WE ARE OFFERING

This vacancy notice is being issued on the basis of Article 29(1) and (2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union [3].

The successful candidate will be recruited at grade AD 14. The basic monthly salary at that grade is currently EUR 16 735. Under the Staff Regulations, certain benefits may be added to the basic salary, which is subject to EU tax and exempt from national tax.

The successful candidate’s main responsibilities will include:

¾   providing overall strategic orientation and management for the Directorate in accordance with the ECA’s internal rules, strategic objectives and annual work programme;

¾   preparing development plans for the Secretariat-General in areas relevant to the Directorate’s work;

¾    drafting and implementing annual work programmes, and reporting on their implementation;

¾    creating channels of good governance to establish and maintain cooperation and partnerships with all other ECA departments and committees;

¾    overseeing the delivery of high-quality IT services to guarantee business continuity at the institution and support the digital transformation;

¾    ensuring that the ECA’s IT systems and services and its archiving policies are compliant with the applicable rules;

¾    apportioning the Directorate’s budget to its activities, and acting as sub-delegated authorising officer for the related expenditure in compliance with the financial rules, in particular in the area of public procurement;

¾    promoting innovation, encouraging experimentation, and steering the use of innovative digital tools for audit and non-audit tasks;

¾    monitoring the quality of the Directorate’s internal control and management systems;

¾   representing the ECA on interinstitutional bodies in areas relevant to the Directorate’s work.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The advertised position is open to applicants who, by the application deadline, meet the following criteria.

I.           ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1.    General requirements

In accordance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations, candidates must, on the date of their application:

¾     be a national of one of the EU’s Member States;

¾     enjoy their full rights as citizens;

¾     have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them by the recruitment laws concerning military service; and

¾     satisfy the character requirements for the duties involved.

2.    Qualifications

In accordance with Article 5 of the Staff Regulations:

(i)    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

(ii)    a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years (this one year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).

3.    Knowledge of languages

As English and French are the ECA’s official working languages, a sound knowledge of one of these languages (minimum level C1 in understanding, speaking and writing) and a good knowledge of the other language (minimum level B2 in the same categories) are required.

If the candidate’s mother tongue is English or French, a sound knowledge of the other working language (minimum level C1 in understanding, speaking and writing) is required.

To assess your foreign language skills, see:
https://europa.eu/europass/en/common-european-framework-reference

In your CV, please indicate your language skills on the basis of this assessment model.

4.    Professional experience

At least 18 years’ professional experience in an area relevant to the position. Of those 18 years, at least four must have been acquired in a managerial post involving the management of both human and budgetary resources[4] (type of post: at least head of unit or the equivalent).

5.    Age limit

Candidates must not have reached the regular retirement age, which is defined for officials of the European Union as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 (see Article 52(a) of the Staff Regulations).

II.    SELECTION CRITERIA

Candidates must be able to demonstrate:

1.    Solid knowledge in the field of IT, including impending challenges and opportunities.

2.    Strategic management skills – the ability to design and successfully implement strategy and shape the Directorate’s future objectives.

3.    Proven capacity to oversee the management of IT projects and bring them to successful completion, with proven impact and results for the organisation.

4.    Experience in managing human and financial resources, including the efficient and effective planning and allocation of resources and the professional development of staff.

5.    Communication and interpersonal skills – the capacity to communicate clearly both orally and in writing, to speak in public, to convince and to negotiate.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

I. ELIGIBILITY AND PRESELECTION

The selection committee [5] will be composed of four Members and the Secretary-General of the ECA.

The committee will first determine whether applicants meet all the eligibility criteria as set out above.

It will then assess and compare the qualifications, professional and managerial experience of all eligible candidates on the basis of the information provided in their applications, also taking into consideration the specific selection criteria set out above.

The eight best candidates will be invited to sit a written test.

II. ASSESSMENT CENTRE AND INTERVIEW

The four [6] candidates who obtain the highest overall marks in the comparative assessment and written test combined will be invited to a mandatory in-person assessment centre (AC) in Brussels and an interview with the selection committee in Luxembourg. All necessary information about the organisation of the AC and interview will be given in the invitation letter.

The AC will focus on the shortlisted candidates’ strategic management, communication and interpersonal skills in the light of the selection criteria set out above. The AC will result in a report which will be made available to the selection committee prior to the interview stage.

The interview will focus on each candidate’s motivation, and will assess how well their profile matches the selection criteria.

If necessary, the selection committee may decide to organise additional interviews with the four shortlisted candidates.

III.    APPOINTMENT

After completing its assessment, the selection committee will submit to the college of Members a reasoned report identifying the candidate(s) it considers best qualified for the post.

In their joint capacity as Appointing Authority, the Members will then adopt a decision on the appointment of a candidate. 

APPLICATIONS

The deadline for applications is 12:00 (midday) CEST on 8 May 2024.

Applications must be drafted in English or French and submitted only via the online form provided at the bottom of the vacancy notice (EN or FR) available on the ECA’s Job Opportunities page (under ‘Open positions’): https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/JobOpportunities.aspx.

The applications must comprise the following documents, drafted in EN or FR:

¾    a cover letter (max. 4 pages);

¾    an up-to-date CV (max. 7 pages), preferably in the Europass format (see https://europa.eu/europass/).

Any application received after the deadline, or which is not submitted using the online form will be rejected.

The selection committee will evaluate applications based solely on the information given in these documents. It may ask candidates to provide supporting evidence for statements made in their applications. If candidates fail to provide such evidence when it is requested, their applications will be rejected.

To ensure that your application is completed on time, we strongly advise you not to wait until the last few hours to apply. Experience has shown that the system may become overloaded as the deadline approaches.

RECRUITMENT POLICY

In line with its Diversity and Inclusion policy and Article 1d of the Staff Regulations, the ECA embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We accept applications without discrimination on any grounds, and we take steps to ensure that recruitment is evenly balanced between women and men, as required by Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The ECA would encourage applications for this position from female candidates.

If you require any special arrangements for a specific handicap or disability in order to take part in this selection procedure, please send an email in good time to ECA-Selection@eca.europa.eu.

DATA PROTECTION

The ECA is committed to ensuring that applicants' personal data are processed in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council [7] .

For more information, see our specific privacy statement on recruitment at the following address: https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/Specific_Privacy_Statement_vacancies/Specific_Privacy_Statement_vacancies_EN.PDF

REQUESTS FOR RECONSIDERATION — COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS — COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

If, at any stage in the selection procedure, you consider that a decision taken in your regard is wrong, the following options are available:

Request for the selection committee to reconsider its decision

You may submit a written reasoned request for reconsideration of a decision taken by the selection committee. This request must be sent, within 10 calendar days of notification of the decision, to ECA-Recours@eca.europa.eu. Where the last day of this period is a public holiday, Saturday or Sunday, the period shall end with the expiry of the last hour of the following working day.

Complaints

Under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations, you may submit a written complaint against the ECA’s decision to reject your application, within three months of being notified thereof, to the following address:

The Secretary-General
European Court of Auditors
12, rue Alcide De Gasperi
L-1615 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG

Judicial appeals

Under Article 91 of the Staff Regulations, you may appeal against a decision to reject your complaint, insofar as it adversely affects you, to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The action must be brought by a lawyer within three months of notification of the decision to reject the complaint.

Complaints to the European Ombudsman

If you believe that the handling of your application has involved maladministration by the ECA, you may lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman, having first contacted the ECA with the aim of settling the dispute. You must submit your complaint in writing within two years of discovering the relevant facts. An online complaints form is available on the European Ombudsman’s website. Applying to the European Ombudsman will not suspend the appeal deadlines given above.

[7]     Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).