The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) [1] is publishing a call for applications with a view to establishing a reserve list for the post of Procurement Officer.

The registration of applications will begin on 12th October 2010 and will close on 11th November 2010 at 22:00, Eastern European Time.

1. The role of the Institute

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

To achieve its goals, the Institute shall collect and analyse objective, comparable and reliable information at Community level and develop appropriate methodological tools for the integration of gender equality into all Community policies. EIGE shall equally foster the exchange of good practices and dialogue between stakeholders and raise EU citizen awareness of this policy area by providing technical assistance to the Community 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 will also strive to eliminate gender discrimination.

More information can be found on: http://www.eige.europa.eu .

2. The Job

2.1 Profile

Reporting to the Head of Administration, the Procurement Officer shall contribute to, and facilitate the development, implementation and monitoring of the Institute's procurement function in line with its annual procurement plan. The jobholder shall play a key role in consolidating and enhancing the quality of the Institute's procurement function in accordance with procurement and financial procedures as well as the applicable regulatory frameworks and service requirements.

2.2 Duties

S/he will be responsible for the following activities:

  • Support the development, implementation and consolidation of the Institute's procurement plan whilst ensuring that the applicable policies and procedures are followed.
  • Assist in drafting and administering calls for tender, providing guidelines as necessary on applicable financial and procurement rules.
  • Advise the Institute's management team on procurement issues.
    Provide procurement procedures and contract management advice to EIGE colleagues as well potential contractors and suppliers.
  • Conduct market research in order to identify potential contractors and/or in order to ascertain market prices.
  • Support in the knowledge development and training of staff in procurement matters.
  • Act as initiating agent for commitments and payments ensuring the legality and regularity of related financial transactions.
  • Prepare replies to information requests from tenderers.
  • Facilitate the development of tools and procedures applicable to the procurement function at EIGE.
  • Contribute to the development and availability of template documentation related to procurement.
  • Support the provision of training on procurement matters to the Institute's staff.

3. Qualifications and experience required

3.1 Formal requirements

To be considered eligible for selection, an applicant must meet the following formal requirements:

  • completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma[2] and appropriate professional experience[3] of at least one year;
  • nationality of a Member state of the European Union,
  • a good command, both spoken and written, of at least two official EU languages,
  • entitlement to full rights as a citizen,
  • to have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the national laws concerning military service, and
  • to be physically fit to perform duties linked to the post [4].

3.2 Selection Criteria

Eligible candidates will then be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Professional experience/ knowledge:

  • at least three years professional experience following the award of a diploma [5];
  • experience and knowledge in a procurement function as noted in section 2.2;
  • a good knowledge of EU procurement procedures and guidelines
  • a high level of computer literacy and familiarity with relevant software applications.

Personal characteristics:

  • the ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken English, the predominant working language of the Institute;
  • the mind-set to see through to conclusion specific tasks, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met;
  • the ability to work well with colleagues;
  • the ability to work in a proactive, autonomous way;
  • evident interpersonal, organisational, administrative and problem solving abilities.

Advantageous:

  • Knowledge of Lithuanian.
  • Work experience in an EU institution.
  • Knowledge on European integration, the institutions of the EU and EIGE.

4. Application and Selection procedure

4.1 Selection procedure

The selection procedure includes the following steps:

  • Only duly completed applications together with a completed Eligibility and Selection Criteria Grid, submitted electronically within the deadline, will be taken into consideration.
  • Each duly completed application and Eligibility and Selection Criteria Grid will be examined with a view to establishing that a candidate meets all eligibility criteria.
  • Eligible applications will be evaluated by the appointed Selection Committee based on selection criteria defined in this vacancy notice.
  • 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:
    • an identity card, passport or other official document specifying citizenship,
    • diploma/s certifying the required level of academic qualifications,
    • professional experience clearly indicating starting and finishing dates.

Copies of the above mentioned documents will be retained by the Institute.

  • If at any stage of the procedure, it were established that any 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 candidate from the reserve list.

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

4.2 Submission of applications

For applications to be valid, applicants must complete an EIGE application form, available only in English and which is to be forwarded electronically to eige.hr@eige.europa.eu . The subject title should include the vacancy reference number. Application forms are available below. Applicants are also required to complete an Eligibility and Selection Criteria Grid which is available below.

Application form

Eligibility and Selection Criteria Grid

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.

The deadline for sending applications is 11th November 2010 by not later than 22:00 Eastern European Time. Incomplete applications and applications sent to EIGE after this deadline will not be considered.

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. Conditions of employment

The place of employment shall be Vilnius Lithuania. The successful candidate will be offered a Contract Agent's contract pursuant to the conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities. S/he will be engaged at Function Group IV and shall undergo a nine month probationary period. The duration of the initial contract will be three years and the initial contract may be renewed.

The pay of the Community Contract 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 FG IV (first step) before deductions weighted by the correction coefficient of 73.4% for Lithuania is €3,086.25. The salary will be paid in the local currency: LTL.

All remuneration is subject to a Community tax at source. Deductions are also made for medical insurance, pension and unemployment insurance. Salaries are exempt from national taxation.

6. Independence and 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 or her independence. Candidates must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

7. Equal opportunities

EIGE applies a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without distinction on any grounds.

8. 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.

[1] Established by the European Parliament and of 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] Before recruitment, the 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: 16% expatriation allowance, household allowance, education allowance, dependant child allowance etc.

Relevant Documents:

Vacancy Notice

Application form

Eligibility and Selection Criteria Grid

Metadata

Published date