Secretary to the Head of Delegation

Job Description

WE LOOK FOR

The Secretary/Assistant will be required to provide general administrative and secretarial support as well as document management services to the Head of Delegation office.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Further to the conditions set out in Article 82 CEOS, in order to be eligible for the post of contract agent FG II, candidates must:

1. have passed a valid EPSO CAST in a valid FG for this post or
2. be registered in the EPSO Permanent CAST in a valid FG for this post https://epso.europa.eu/en/Cast-Permanent

Candidates must meet the minimum qualifications for engagement as contract agent FG II:

• (I) Have a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma; or
• (II) a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, and appropriate professional experience of at least three years; or
• (III) in exceptional circumstances and where justified in the interest of the service, professional training or professional experience of an equivalent level (related to the nature of the tasks and qualifications indicated in the Job Description).
• Have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP necessary for the performance of their duties;
• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen.

Additional eligibility criteria in case of an internal call for expression of interest:

• Be an EEAS contract agent in the function group concerned by the call for expression of interest and:
• Recruited under Article 3b of the CEOS, employed at the EEAS Headquarters for no less than three years; or
• Recruited under Article 3a of the CEOS temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters for at least 2 years;

EEAS contract agents having accepted a new posting proposed in the framework of the mobility exercise will not be considered eligible unless he/she can show a significant change in his/her personal circumstances (demonstrated by supporting documents), which did not exist and was not foreseeable at the time of the expression of interest and that is of a nature to prevent them from taking up duties in the initially proposed and accepted posting (article 4.12 of the decision ADMIN (2020)35).

SELECTION CRITERIA

Proven relevant experience as Secretary/Assistant:

• to a Head of Delegation, a Director or a Head of Division (senior or middle management);
• in external relations;
• with Secretarial/Assistant activities/techniques and knowledge on how to apply Institution’s administrative rules and procedures;
• with filing methods and knowledge of document management systems and other IT tools (MIPs, Sysper, Ares);
• with sound computer skills (word processing, spreadsheets, presentation systems, internet and e-mail);
• handling secure communications and classified information.

General skills and competences

• Capacity to effectively multi-task while assuring quality, speed and accuracy in performing a variety of tasks in a very difficult, complex, and high-risk multicultural environment without constant supervision;
• Ability to work under pressure and to respond quickly to new demands;
• Excellent skills in agenda setting, monitoring and following up on appointments;
• Ability to coordinate briefings and ensure a proper follow-up of Ambassador’s correspondence, in compliance with protocol;
• Ability to manage functional mailbox(es), set-up and update contacts databases;
• Ability to communicate information clearly and effectively and to focus on priorities;
• Capacity to be able to work as part of a team as well as with a degree of autonomy;
• Sense of initiative, responsibility, discretion, organisation and innovation;
• Ability to deal with confidential matters professionally;
• Ability to deal helpfully and courteously with people;
• Ability to organise social events, taking into account protocol rules;
• Ability to work in a different socio-cultural environment and to adapt quickly to evolving situations;
• Ability to sustain pressure of life and work in difficult conditions.

Working languages

• Capacity to work in languages of the CFSP and external relations necessary for the performance of their duties (EN and FR).
• Knowledge of Portuguese will be considered as an asset.

POSTING POLICY

EEAS career development policy places the need for staff to develop a mix of competences at its core, e.g. working in various fields of expertise and responsibilities in the course of a person’s career, including postings at Headquarters and Delegations.

Contract staff in Delegations is usually posted for 2, 3, 4 or 6 years. Call for interest to apply for extension or early mobility will be launched annually prior to the publication of the mobility exercise. Staff are reminded that extension and early mobility are not a right.

Contract staff assigned to a post where the living conditions allowance determined in accordance with Art 10 of Annex X of the Staff Regulation (LCA) is 30% or 35% may participate in the mobility exercise after 4 years.

Contract staff assigned to a post where the LCA is 40% may participate in the mobility exercise after 3 years.

Contract staff assigned to a non-family post may participate in the mobility exercise after 2 years.

For candidates currently in compound-confined, non-family posting, please refer to Article 6, point 2(g) of the Decision ADMIN(2021)221.

Within the mobility exercise, contract staff may be temporarily assigned to the EEAS Headquarters in Brussels; such assignment shall remain exceptional and depends on the availability of posts. The assignment shall be for no less than two years, unless a derogation is authorised by the Head of Division Selection and recruitment in the interest of the service. The assignment shall be for no more than four years, in accordance with Article 118 of the CEOS and Article 3 of Annex X of the Staff Regulations. The member of contract staff temporarily assigned to Headquarters shall be included in the mobility exercise in time to be reassigned to a Union Delegation before he/she reaches the maximum period of 4 years.

Candidates currently in HQ are expected to have served at least three years in HQ by the expected time of posting in Delegation. Derogation to this rule may only be granted in the interest of the service.

External candidates may also apply to any vacancy position published for Delegations.

It is in the interest of the service to ensure that staff members in Delegations are able to complete full postings before reaching the age of retirement. Before taking any final decisions on nominations, the appropriate Authority Authorised to conclude contracts of engagement (AACC) will ensure on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the Staff Regulations (SR) and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants to the Union (CEOS)² that the successful candidates will indeed be able to complete the relevant full posting for the post for which they were selected. As stated in Article 6, Point 2(a), applications from candidates not fulfilling this requirement will be examined by the AACC for exceptional and justified reasons and in the interest of the service.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE³

The procedure will take place in three different and successive steps:

1. Application

Before submitting their application, candidates should carefully check whether they meet all the eligibility criteria in order to avoid automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

Equally, candidates are deemed to be fully aware of the local living conditions, including information concerning the accommodation, before applying. Individual post reports are available from EEAS.BA.HR.3, Rights and Obligations (RIGHTS-AND-OBLIGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu).

Candidates should also ensure that they are fully aware of the relevant security provisions i.e. Personal Security clearance at the level EU SECRET will be requested in all EU Delegations. Successful candidates will be required to undergo security vetting if they do not already hold security clearance to the appropriate level in accordance with the EEAS relevant security provisions.

During the application procedure, candidates will be required to send the following documents:

1. an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (preferably using the Europass format https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/documents/curriculum-vitae, indicating clearly the EPSO ID application number;
2. a letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages) in either English or French;

Applications should be submitted to the following email address:

DELEGATION-ANGOLA-HOA@eeas.europa.eu

With copy to

CONTRACTAGENTS-DELEGATIONS@eeas.europa.eu

By submitting an application, candidates grant permission to the concerned human resources and recruiting departments to use these documents⁴.

Deadline for applications is 24/10/2022 at 12.00 hours (midday, Brussels time). Candidates are strongly advised to submit their application as early as possible. Late applications will not be accepted.