Recruitment of Contract Agents

THE COMMUNITY FISHERIES CONTROL AGENCY -  CFCA -  IS A EUROPEAN UNION BODY ESTABLISHED IN 2005 TO ORGANISE OPERATIONAL COORDINATION OF FISHERIES CONTROL AND INSPECTION ACTIVITIES BY THE MEMBER STATES AND TO ASSIST THEM TO COOPERATE SO AS TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES OF THE COMMON FISHERIES POLICY IN ORDER TO ENSURE ITS EFFECTIVE AND UNIFORM APPLICATION.

The Community Fisheries Control Agency is organising selection procedures with a view to drawing up a reserve list for the following position:

FISH-CFCA-CA-GR3-0710: COMMUNICATION OFFICER

The Agency will welcome applications from highly motivated candidates to participate in a small team, in the first steps of the setting up phase of the administrative organisation of CFCA.

1. Conditions of employment

The successful applicants will be appointed as Contract Staff members of CFCA, according to the provisions of Article 80, title IV of the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities (CEOS).

The successful candidate will be recruited in function Group III for the position 0710.

The initial duration of the contract is of one year, with possibility of renewal.
The place of employment is Brussels, Belgium, where the temporary seat of CFCA is situated. As decided by the European Council on 13 December 2003, the official seat of the Agency is in Vigo, Spain, where CFCA will be relocated at a date which is to be fixed.
Applicants are informed that Staff members of CFCA will not be entitled to any additional indemnities than those already foreseen by the CEOS when the relocation in Vigo will take place.

2. General conditions for applications

Candidates may apply only where meeting the following criteria for consideration of their application:

A. Common conditions to all positions

• You must be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union or of Iceland or Norway.
• You must be entitled to your full rights as a citizen.
• You must have fulfilled the obligations imposed on you by the laws concerning military service.
• You must meet the character requirements relating to the position you apply for.
• You must submit a completed application for each post applied for.
• You will be invited, if selected for an interview, to sign and date a declaration that information provided in the application documents is true and complete.

Candidates may apply in any of the official languages of the European Community, but it would be helpful to apply in English in order to facilitate the selection process, when the Agency follows a practise of using English as working language.
However candidates are also requested to state their educational qualifications and positions held in the language of origin.

The Agency is an equal opportunity employer and accepts applications without discrimination on the grounds of age, race, political and/or religious beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, marital and/or family status and regardless any kind of disability.

If you are invited to an interview, you will be asked to submit supporting documents to prove the information provided in your application.

B. Submission of applications

Each application shall contain the following documents:

• A detailed curriculum vitae in European format (that can be obtained at the following address
  http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/europass/home/vernav/Europasss+Documents/Europass+CV/navigate.action
• A motivation letter of 2 pages maximum including a clear mention of the post applied for and of your address for correspondence and for invitation to interview.
• A duly completed and signed declaration of honour ( ~87 Kb).

These three documents should be sent by electronic mail only to:

cfca-vacancies-ca@ec.europa.eu

Please, note that only complete applications containing the above mentioned documents and information required will be taken into account.

Deadline for sending your application is Friday 31 August 2007.

3. Selection procedure

A. Selection

A selection board is set up for the selection procedure. The principle of confidentiality, which states that the proceedings of the selection board must be secret, shall apply. It works in two ways: first, it imposes obligations to ensure equal treatment for candidates; and second, it seeks to protect the selection board to ensure that its decisions are totally impartial.

The selection board adheres strictly to the conditions of admissions laid down in the publication notice when deciding whether of not candidates are to be admitted. Candidates admitted to a previous selection procedure will not be automatically eligible. Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the selection board, either directly or indirectly. Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.

Should the selection board 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 or that the information on the application form does not correspond with the supporting documents, the candidate will be disqualified.

The selection board decides on those candidates who are admitted to the selection procedure in accordance with the requirements as specified in the publication notice. The applications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure are reviewed and the selection board decides on those candidates who are invited to attend for interview. The selection board may decide on the need for interviewees to undergo one or more written tests related to the nature of the duties in order to facilitate the selection process. Following the interviews, which are conducted by the selection board, the selection board decides which candidates will be placed on the reserve list.

B. Reserve list and recruitment

Each candidate will be informed by mail whether or not he/she has been placed on the reserve list. Candidates should note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee appointment. The recruitment procedure is as follows: as and when funds become available, candidates on the reserve list will be considered and the reserve list will be drawn on to fill vacancies. If a letter of intention is issued, the candidate must undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved and the candidate must provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents.

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

C. Pay and welfare benefits

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with various allowances, including family allowances.

Basic salary: there is a basic salary scale for each grade, divided into a number of steps. Staff members progress automatically to the next step every two years until they reach the top of the scale for that grade.
Allowances: in addition to their basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, in particular an expatriation or foreign residence allowance, and family allowances, including household allowance, dependent child allowance, pre-school allowance and an education allowance.

Under certain circumstances, in particular where staff members are obliged to change their place of residence in order to take up employment, the Agency may also reimburse various expenses incurred on recruitment, notably removal expenses.

Additional information can be obtained from the web site of the European Commission at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/personnel_administration/contract_agents_en.htm 

D. Important

Please, take note that a binding commitment can only be made after verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.
Note that this call may be used for the recruitment of a similar post, for a period of 2 years following the closing date stipulated. Therefore candidates whose name will be put on a reserve list could be offered a contract during this period of time.
Please note that the selection process may take some time to be completed and that no information will be released during this period. Once a selection process has been completed, its status will be displayed on the web site of DG FISH of the European Commission, and, when available, on the web site of CFCA.

4. Specific requirements and details of position offered

Job description overall purpose:

The Communication officer will be responsible for defining and implementing the communication policy and strategy of the Agency.

Functions and Duties:

Under the Secretary General, the Communication officer is responsible for:

• Defining and implementing the communication plan of the Agency
• Establishing and maintaining a network of contacts with Stakeholders and the media
• Coordinating information sessions, events and publications of the Agency
• Drafting and presenting articles, press releases, news letters
• Liaising with external providers
• Contributing to the development of the website of the Agency, as well as for specific Networks with member states and stakeholders
• Contributing to the corporate identity of the Agency

Qualifications and experience required:

A. Eligibility criteria

• Level of post secondary education attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least three years or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post secondary education, and appropriate professional experience of at least six years
• A minimum of two years of the above mentioned experience must have been spent in the functions of the post
• Thorough knowledge of English and Spanish with a good knowledge of at least one other official language of the European Union
• Proven abilities to use MS Office tools

B. Selection criteria

Essentials

• Proven experience of working in a communication environment either in journalism, web, public relations, marketing or publishing
• Very good command of both written and spoken English
• Experience in organising events and related communications services
• Experience of building productive relationship with a wide range up to a senior level
• Strong organisational and management skills (planning, co-ordination and prioritisation)
• Ability to present ideas in a clear and concise format
• Attention to details and commitment to quality

Advantageous

• Experience in an EU Institution or an Agency
• Experience specifying website content and website design
• Experience in Fisheries and Maritime Affairs