Administrative Agent - Statistician

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)[1] is organising a call for applications with a view to establishing a reserve list for an Administrative Agent - Statistician.

The registration of applications will begin on 18 February 2014 and will close on 17 March 2014 at 23:00 Eastern European Time.

Reference number	Vacancy notice	Grade	Maximum n° on reserve list
EIGE/2014/CA/01/FG3	Administrative Agent - Statistician	FG III	6

1. The Institute

Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, EIGE is a regulatory agency of the European Union (EU) entrusted with specific objectives envisaged to contribute and strengthen the promotion of gender equality.

To achieve its goals, the Institute collects and analyses comparable and reliable information at EU level and develops appropriate methodological tools for the integration of gender equality into all EU policies. It fosters the exchange of good practices and dialogue between stakeholders and raises EU citizen awareness of this policy area by providing technical assistance to EU institutions, in particular the Commission, as well as the authorities of the Member States.

In the course of its work to promote and strengthen gender equality EIGE strives to eliminate gender discrimination.

2. The job

2.1 Profile

Reporting to the Head of Operations, the jobholder will assist in socio-economic research covering all areas of equality between women and men and will provide technical and statistical support to the Gender Experts in the implementation of EIGE's Work Programme.

In particular the jobholder will be responsible for literature reviews, qualitative and in particular quantitative research and report writing on different gender equality topics as well as other tasks and projects. The jobholder will also take part in defining and commissioning research tasks/projects, preparing calls for tenders and supporting the research teams involved.

2.2 Duties

The responsibilities of the post include the following tasks and activities:

• run research activities and projects focused on various areas of gender equality;
• conduct interpretative analyses of sex-disaggregated data and produce gender statistics in order to provide high quality results on assigned research areas;
• work with international/EU/national datasets, assess the quality of data from a gender equality perspective and make proposals for data quality improvement;
• assess the quality of existing indicators and develop new indicators which are relevant to measure progress in gender equality;
• support the maintenance and update of the Institute’s statistical databases;
• prepare research reports, briefing notes and responses to enquiries;
• provide analytical support in the planning, implementation and the final evaluation of research activities/projects;
• initiate and maintain statistical information exchanges with relevant national/international/EU services;
• assist the Institute in the organisation and coordination of meetings, workshops, seminars and network cooperation in the field of gender equality;
• follow the latest research developments, including methodologies, in the area of gender equality at national and European levels as well as globally.

3. Qualifications & experience required

3.1 Formal requirements

To be considered eligible for selection, an applicant must meet by the closing date of this call, the following formal requirements:

• completed post-secondary education attested by a diploma[2] or a secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience[3] of at least three years;
• nationality of an EU Member State;
• a good command, both spoken and written, of at least two official EU languages;
• entitlement to full rights as a citizen;
• have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the national laws concerning military service;
• be physically fit to perform duties linked to the post.[4]

3.2 Selection criteria

Essential:

• at least three years professional experience, following the award of a diploma[5], of work with social statistics and databases at a national, EU and international level;
• experience in the field of gender equality, including theory or practice, and/or in- depth understanding of related key issues and debates;
• at least two years practical experience and excellence in preparing, implementing and/or supporting research projects;
• experience of working with international official data sets, such as those provided by EUROSTAT or the UN;
• excellent skills in using statistical software, including Excel, SPSS and Stata, in addition to MS Office.
• very good command of English which is the predominant working language at the Institute;
• the capacity to conceptualise and structure information and to communicate effectively both technical and specialised information, for example, through drafting and editing textual materials;
• evident organisational skills, including the ability to manage priorities, work under pressure and reaching tight deadlines.

Advantageous:

• professional experience of producing gender statistics and indicators on gender equality;
• knowledge of the current developments in the field of existing statistics related to gender equality monitoring and the evaluation of gaps, existing indices and indicators on an international level;
• knowledge of EU institutional framework and policies, especially those related to gender equality;
• author or co-author of at least one article/report/book on gender equality published in English in international academic journals or at an academic publishing house;
• previous work experience in an international context.

4. Selection procedure & application

The selection procedure includes the following steps:

• Only duly completed applications submitted electronically within the deadline will be taken into consideration.
• Each duly completed application will be examined with a view to establishing that the candidate meets all eligibility criteria.
• Eligible applications will be evaluated by the appointed Selection Committee based on selection criteria defined in this vacancy notice. Depending on the number of applications received, the Selection Committee may apply stricter requirements within the selection criteria noted above.
• The best-admissible candidates will be short-listed for interview.
• Due to large volume of applications, only candidates selected for the interviews will be contacted.
• Interviews will be held in English.
• During the interview session, the Selection Committee will examine the candidates' profiles and assess their relevancy for the post in question. On the day of the interview, candidates may also be required to undergo a competency assessment exercise.
• On the day of interview candidates will be requested to present , originals and copies of documents detailing citizenship, studies and professional experience, in particular:
  • a copy of identity card, passport or other official document specifying citizenship;
  • a copy of diploma certifying a required level of academic qualifications;
  • documentary evidence of professional experience, clearly indicating starting and finishing dates.

Copies of these documents will be retained by the Institute.

• If at any stage of the procedure, it were established that information in the application has been knowingly falsified, the candidate shall be disqualified from the selection process.
• Successful candidates will be included in a reserve list which will be valid for 12 months. The validity of this list may be extended. Each candidate will be informed by letter whether or not s/he has been placed on the reserve list. However inclusion of candidates on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.
• The Director of the Institute will appoint the selected jobholder from the reserve list, taking into account the establishment of a gender balanced, geographically diverse organisation.

The internal proceedings of the Selection Committee are strictly confidential and any contact with its members is strictly forbidden. Soliciting on behalf of a candidate can lead to immediate disqualification.

For applications to be valid, candidates must complete an EIGE application form.

EIGE Application form (.doc)

It is to be forwarded electronically to eige.hr@eige.europa.eu. The subject title should include the vacancy reference number.

Applicants are requested not to attach any supporting documents at this stage (e.g. copies of ID cards, diplomas, evidence of previous professional experience, etc.). Only candidates invited to an interview will be asked to present copies of these documents for verification. Applications will not be returned to candidates but will be kept on the file by the Institute in line with its data protection guidelines.

Please note that the time period between the closing date for the submission of applications and the end of the process to short list candidates for the interview may take several weeks.

Due to the large volume of applications, the Institute regrets that only candidates selected for the interviews will be contacted.

5. Appointment & conditions of employment

The place of employment shall be Vilnius, Lithuania. For reasons related to the Institute’s operational requirements, the chosen candidate will be expected to be available at short notice. A Contract Agent contract at an FG III under Article 3 (a) pursuant to the conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities shall be offered, subject to a nine month probation period. The duration of the initial contract will be three years and the initial contract may be renewed.

The pay of the Community temporary agents consists of the basic remuneration as well as various allowances[6] depending on personal situation of the jobholder. For information, the current gross basic salary of the first step in the applicable first grade, before deductions and the correction coefficient weighting of 71.9% for Lithuania, is approximately €2,457. The applicable grade could be higher depending on the length of experience of the chosen candidate. The salary will be paid in the local currency: LTL. Remuneration is subject to tax at source. Deductions are also made for medical insurance, pension and unemployment insurance. Salaries are exempt from national taxation.

6. Independence & declarations of interest

The job holder will be required to enter into a commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make complete declarations of any direct or indirect interests that might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence. Candidates must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

7. Equal opportunities

The Institute applies a policy of equal opportunities and accepts applications without distinction on any grounds.

8. Appeal procedures

If a candidate considers that s/he has been adversely affected by a particular decision, s/he can lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, by writing to The Director, European Institute for Gender Equality, Gedimino Prospektas 16, Vilnius Lithuania LT01103.

The complaint must be lodged within three months. The time limit for initiating this type of procedure (see Staff Regulations as modified by Council Regulation No 723/2004 of 22nd March 2004 published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 124 of 27th April 2004 – http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex ) starts to run from the time the candidate is notified of the act adversely affecting her/him.

9. Protection of personal data

As the body responsible for organising the competition, the EIGE ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (Official Journal of the European Communities, L 8 of 12 January 2001). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

Personal data shall thus be processed solely for the purpose of the selection procedure.

10. Lithuania & life in Vilnius

Lithuania is a member of the Schengen Area and it borders Latvia, Belarus, Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia. Its western coastline - noted for its fine beaches, dunes and majestic pines - straddles the Baltic Sea. Vilnius is Lithuania's capital with an estimated population of just over half a million citizens. Lithuanian summers are sunny and warm with an average temperature of +17 C. Winter is white and generally cold with average temperatures that hover around – 4 C.

In addition to ample green spaces, it has impressive Baroque, Gothic, Renaissance and Russian architecture as well as one of Europe's largest medieval old towns, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. A university city since the Middle Ages, Vilnius is the centre of the country's politics, business, science, culture and entertainment and it attracts an increasingly varied assortment of local and international events. In addition to hosting a number of international schools, it has a well-developed infrastructure and ambitious future plans.

Further information is available here: http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/en/tourism.

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[1] Established by the European Parliament: the Council Regulation (EC) No 1922/2006 of 20 December 2006 (OJ L 403/9 of 30.12.2006).

[2] Only qualifications issued by EU Member State authorities and qualifications recognised as equivalent by the relevant Member States authorities will be accepted.

[3] Professional experience will be counted from the date on which the applicant acquired the minimum qualification for access to the profile in question. Only duly documented professional activity (i.e. remunerated employment or self-employment) is taken into account. Part-time work will be taken into account in proportion to the percentage of full-time hours worked. Periods of education or training and unremunerated traineeships are not taken into account Fellowships, grants and PhDs can be counted as professional experience up to a maximum of 3 years. Any given time period can be counted only once (e.g. if the applicant had a full-time job and did freelance consultancy work in the evenings and weekends, the days spent on the latter will not be added to the period of the former).

[4] Prior to recruitment, the successful candidate will be medically examined for the purposes of Article 12(2) (d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities.

[5] Professional experience will be counted from the date on which the applicant acquired the minimum qualification for access to the profile in question. Only duly documented professional activity (i.e. remunerated employment or self-employment) is taken into account. Part-time work will be taken into account in proportion to the percentage of full-time hours worked. Periods of education or training and unremunerated traineeships are not taken into account Fellowships, grants and PhDs can be counted as professional experience up to a maximum of three years. Any given time period can be counted only once (e.g. if the applicant had a full-time job and did freelance consultancy work in the evenings and weekends, the days spent on the latter will not be added to the period of the former).

[6] For example: expatriation allowance, household allowance, education allowance, dependent child allowance etc.