Budget Officer

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

The registration of applications will begin on 25 November 2011 and will close on 21 January 2012 at 23:00 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.

2. Job profile and duties

Under the supervision of the Head of Administration and working in close collaboration with other colleagues, the jobholder will support the process of ensuring sound financial management of the Institute primarily by applying applicable financial processes in line with the Institute's financial regulations and preparing its annual budget.

The Budget Officer will be involved in the following tasks and activities:

• Provide the necessary support in preparing and presenting the Institute's annual budget;
• Co-ordinate the input of the relevant units in the administration and operation in the process of budget preparations and negotiations with relevant European Commission services;
• Prepare the annual budget (and amendments) of the Institute and all related documents;
• Coordinate the publication of the budget;
• Manage the Institute's budget in ABAC/SAP and oversee credit operations and carry over of credits;
• Monitor budget consumption, discuss and agree necessary budget transfers in line with the applicable regulation/s ;
• Prepare quarterly budget implementation reports to be submitted to management;
• Grant the “financial validation” visa upon which the authorising officers will base their decisions by checking the regularity of all financial transactions - commitments, payments and recovery orders, etc.;
• Assist in the dissemination of information on budget procedures and assess budgetary internal controls;
• Act as alternate to the Institute's Accounting Officer;
• Reconcile bank accounts and bank statements;
• Advise the Head of Administration on budgetary issues.

3. Qualifications and 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 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:

Essential:

• at least three years professional experience following the award of a diploma[5];
• experience and knowledge in a budget officer function as noted in Section 2 above;
• knowledge of budgetary principles, analysis and reporting of financial data;
• a good knowledge of EU financial regulations, procedures and guidelines;
• previous work experience financial software;
• the ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken English, the predominant working language of the Institute;
• the ability to work well both with colleagues and independently;
• the mind-set to see through to conclusion specific tasks, ensuring that deadlines and quality standards are heeded;
• evident interpersonal, organisational, administrative and problem solving abilities.

Advantageous:

• relevant work experience in an EU institution;
• proficiency in and experience with ABAC/SAP;
• proficiency in using MS Office applications, in particular Excel;
• knowledge of European integration, the institutions of the EU and EIGE.

4. Selection procedure and 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, 188KB)

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 and 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 take up the post in January 2012 and will be required to be available at short notice. A Contract Agent contract at a Function Group IV level 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 applicable step in FG IV before deductions and the correction coefficient weighting of 72.5% for Lithuania, is €3,145. 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/her independence. Candidates must confirm their willingness to do so in their application.

7. Equal opportunities

EIGE 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, Svitrigailos g. 11m, Vilnius, Lithuania LT-03228.

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 him/her.

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 and 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. 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.

Vilnius is Lithuania's capital with an estimated population of just over half a million citizens. It has impressive Baroque and Gothic 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.lithuaniatourism.co.uk/index.php?id=333

[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] 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, dependant child allowance etc.