EEAS Vacancy Notice Contract Agent FGIII – Job title : Budget and Finance Assistant

We are:

The European External Action Service (EEAS) supports the work of the High Representative in defining and implementing an effective and coherent EU foreign policy. The EEAS supports his tasks of conducting the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and chairing the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in his capacity as Vice President of the Commission with regard to his responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field including the coordination of other aspects of the EU's external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with Member States, the Council and relevant services of the European Commission.

The Division RM.SCS.6, Real Estate, Safety and Greening Division is responsible for the definition and implementation of the Real Estate policy, Health and Safety as well as the Environmental Policies of the EEAS for HQ and the EU Delegations. In addition, it manages the buildings that host the EEAS in HQ as well as the office buildings, official Residences and staff accommodations in 145 EU Delegations and Offices of the European Union.

We propose

A position as Budget and Finance Assistant, contract agent FGIII as per article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS), in the Budget and Finance team of the Real Estate, Safety and Greening Division. The Budget and Finance Team manages the Division’s financial transactions and annual budget of circa €230 M. In a small team of 4 persons, s/he will be working in close cooperation with the operational teams and will be involved in a variety of financial, budgetary and accounting tasks, in a pleasant and challenging working environment. A great opportunity to acquire further knowledge in the financial and budgetary field. Support will be provided in the form of structured or on-the-job training, coaching and mentoring to ensure a smooth introduction to the Team and Division.

Place of employment: EEAS Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Post available: Immediately

We look for

A dynamic, proactive and highly motivated colleague with very good communication and organisational skills and with a developed sense of service. He/she will be entrusted with the following main tasks:

• Act as Financial Initiating Agent for payments of invoices related to services, supplies and building contracts;
• Initiating Provisional and Individual budgetary commitments;
• Assisting the Team Leader with budget estimates on different budget lines for Headquarters and Delegations;
• Analysing budgetary requests from Delegations and validating them in line with the policies and priorities of the Division;
• Providing support to operational colleagues for their financial procedures;
• Issuing recovery orders for the colocation arrangements in place;
• Follow-up the financial aspects of the Service Level Agreements with the Commission (OIB, SCIC and DG HR) and with the Council Secretariat;
• Follow-up of the financial aspects of EEAS buildings’ rental agreements.

Legal basis

The vacancy is to be filled in accordance with the conditions stipulated under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS). ¹

Subject to having passed the CAST exam, the successful candidate will be offered a contract agent position (Function group III), on the basis of a contract with an initial duration of one year that may be renewed for a maximum duration of 6 years.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates for this contract agent III post should:

• (i) have passed a valid EPSO CAST in a valid FG for this post or (ii) be registered in the EPSO Permanent CAST in a valid FG for this post (https://epso.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/open-for-application). In that case, while the registration will render the candidate eligible for the selection procedure, the recruitment of a candidate on this vacant post will be subject to their successfully passing of the CAST exam that this candidate will be called to attend.
• have a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma or a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of three year;
• have the capacity to work in languages of CFSP and external relations necessary for the performance of their duties. Knowledge of other EU languages would be an asset.
• be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen.

Selection criteria

Candidates should:

• have a good experience in administrative and financial management, including knowledge of IT tools (MS Office, in particular Excel);
• be familiar with the standard EU financial procedures and public procurement rules;
• understand the budgetary procedures of EU institutions;
• have good drafting and analytical skills combined with sound judgement;
• have excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain a network of contacts both within and outside the EEAS;
• have the ability to communicate clearly on complex issues and the capacity to perform with accuracy and in a flexible manner;
• have a good command of English and French (both orally and in writing);
• have the ability to work and deliver under pressure, work autonomously as well as part of a team, and in a service-oriented fashion;
• knowledge of external relations, internal policies and functioning of the Union.

Furthermore:

• a prior experience in an EU Institution or service;
• command of EU specialised IT tools (ABAC, ARES);
• a prior experience with SAP and/or SUMMA,

would be considered as strong assets.

Specific conditions of employment

The signature of the contract will be subject to prior favourable opinion of the Medical Service.

The requested level of security clearance for this post is: SECRET UE/EU SECRET. A description of the EU classified information levels is available under Article 2 of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS².

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC)³ issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned.

Candidates who do not already have a valid PSC will be required to go through the security clearance vetting procedure of their Member State to obtain this clearance in accordance with national laws and regulations and with the procedure laid down in the Decision ADMIN(2019)7 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS of 08 March 2019 and in Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS⁴. Until the PSC is issued by the competent authority of the Member State concerned, the selected candidate will not be authorised to access EUCI at the level of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above, or to participate in any meetings or workflow where EUCI is processed.

Please note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.

In case of failure to obtain or renew the required PSC, the AACC may take the appropriate measures in accordance with Article 3(3) of the Decision ADMIN(2019) 7 on Security Clearance Requirements and Procedures for the EEAS of 08 March 2019.

Equal opportunities

The EEAS is committed to an equal opportunities policy for all its employees and applicants for employment. As an employer, the EEAS is committed to promoting gender equality and to preventing discrimination on any grounds. It actively welcomes applications from all qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds and from the broadest possible geographical basis amongst the EU Member States. We aim at a service which is truly representative of society, where each staff member feels respected, is able to give their best and can develop their full potential.

Candidates with disabilities are invited to contact CONTRACTAGENTS-HQ@eeas.europa.eu in order to accommodate any special needs and provide assistance to ensure the possibility to pass the selection procedure in equality of opportunities with other candidates. If a candidate with a disability is selected for a vacant post, the EEAS is committed to providing reasonable accommodation in accordance with Art 1d.4 of the Staff Regulations.

Application and selection procedure⁵

Please send your CV and cover letter (with your EPSO CAST number) via email to RM-SCS-6-HQ@eeas.europa.eu

Deadline for applications: 20/07/2023 at 12.00 (CET).

Candidates shall draft their CV following the European CV form which can be found at the following internet address: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae.

Late applications will not be accepted.

The selection panel will make a pre-selection on the basis of the qualifications and professional experience described in the CV and motivational letter, and will produce a shortlist of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for the post. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be informed about the outcome of the pre-selection phase.

The candidates who have been preselected will be invited for an interview by a selection panel.

If not already holding a valid CAST exam, pre-selected candidates shall be invited to sit the CAST exam before or after the interview stage by the selection panel (in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out above). The selection panel may decide, in addition to the interview, to organise written tests, either for all pre-selected candidates or to the best ranked ones, after the interview. The content of such written tests will be defined by the selection panel and may include, but not be limited to, multiple choice questions, open questions and/or topics for a short essay. The panel will recommend a shortlist of candidates for a final decision by the Authority Empowered to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC). The AACC may decide to interview the candidates on the final shortlist before taking this decision.

If, exceptionally, on the date of recruitment, the successful candidate has not yet had the opportunity to pass the tests necessary to obtain the CAST, the latter will be engaged on condition that he obtains the CAST within six months of taking up his duties. Failure to obtain the required CAST will give the EEAS the right to terminate the employment contract.

It is recalled, that the selection procedure may be terminated at any stage in the interest of the service.

In the interest of the service, after identifying the candidate that best fulfils the requirement of the post as set out in the vacancy notice and that has successfully passed the CAST exam, the AACC may also establish a reserve list of candidates. These candidates shall be informed that the reserve list shall remain valid for a period of one year from when it is established and that it may be used to fill the same post or an equivalent post in the EEAS having the same job profile.

1. Staff Regulations of Officials (SR) and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS). For reference, see

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1570023902133&uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20190101

2. OJ C 126, 10 April 2018, p.1.

3. The ‘Personnel Security Clearance’ is defined under point 2 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2017) 10 on the security rules of the EEAS as “a statement by a competent authority of a Member State which is made following completion of a security investigation conducted by the competent authorities of a Member State and which certifies that an individual may, provided his ‘need-to-know’ has been determined, be granted access to EUCI up to a specified level (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above) until a specified date; the individual thus described is said to be ‘security cleared’.”

4. OJ C 126, 10 April 2018, p.1.

5 Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as implemented by ADMIN(2019)8 Decision of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The privacy statement is available on the Europa website: (https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eeas-privacy-statement-data-protection-notice-purpose-processing-personal-data-related-public_en) and on the EEAS Intranet:(https://intranet.eeas.europa.eu/page/eeas-work/data-protection/privacy-statements-dp-notices)