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/her tasks of conducting the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy and chairing the Foreign Affairs Council. It also supports the High Representative in his/her capacity as Vice President of the Commission with regard to his/her responsibilities within the Commission in the external relations field including the coordination of other aspects of the Union's external action. The EEAS works in close cooperation with Member States, the Council and relevant services of the European Commission.

The EU Situation Room is an EEAS division, attached to the EEAS Crisis Response Centre (SG.CRC), which supports the EU external action by providing early warning and global, comprehensive and timely situational awareness. It is a permanent stand-by body that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round. It acts as a situation information hub for all relevant stakeholders from the European institutions. It acts as well as the EEAS switchboard (mainly HRVP phone calls with world leaders) and embeds within situation reports or flash reports all crisis related information provided by open sources, but also by EU Delegations, EU Member States, EU CSDP Missions and Operations, EU Special Representative teams, and International Organisations. The EU Situation Room is the first point of contact for all information on crisis situations.

We propose

The position of Duty Assistant in the Duty Sector of the EU SITUATION ROOM, Contract Agent FGIII, as per article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).^[1]

Place of employment: EEAS Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium

Post available: 16 July 2024

We look for

One experienced and dynamic Assistant to work as Duty Assistant in the Duty Sector of the EU Situation Room. Tasks will include:

• monitor world events 24 hours a day on the basis of open sources (major news networks, on line media, etc.) and internal sources (e.g. EU Delegations, CSDP Missions and Operations) in order to identify events that are of political and/or security interest and alert the EU High Representative/Vice President of the Commission and other senior officials thereof, as appropriate;
• act as the 24-hour, 7 days a week, contact point for the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission, for Secretary General of the EEAS, for the Director of the Crisis Response Centre and other senior officials, as appropriate;
• produce written information products (Daily Headlines, crisis situation reports, etc.);
• send out alerts through messaging applications and SMS;
• provide initial situational awareness (flash reports), in case of an unfolding crisis;
• set up teleconferences for the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission, the Secretary General of the EEAS and other senior leaders, as appropriate;
• maintain contacts with EEAS Staff in Brussels, EU Delegations, EU CSDP Missions and Operations and national crisis centres of EU Member States, as well as crisis centres of other international and/or regional organisations;
• act as information liaison with other international and/or regional organisations, EU Delegations and EU Member States' diplomatic missions, as well as national crisis centres of EU Member States;
• support the EEAS Crisis Response Mechanism, especially by providing initial and continuous situational awareness reports;
• liaise closely with the EU Watchkeeping Capability on issues related to EU CSDP Missions and Operations;
• provide support in case of the activation of the Integrated Political Crisis Response mechanism (IPCR);
• carry out ad hoc and routine EU SITUATION ROOM tasks, as required.

In order to work in the EU SITUATION ROOM, a security clearance at minimum level EU SECRET is required.

Specific requirements:

The EU Situation Room Duty Assistants s work in 24/7 shifts all around the year. Currently, dayshifts start at 7 a.m. and finish at 19 p.m. and nightshifts start at 19 p.m. and finish at 7a.m. Weekly rotation of shifts runs from Wednesday to Wednesday. The yearly number of working hours for a Duty Assistant

is the same as for all staff (equivalent to 8 hours per day). For the work out of office hours (night shifts, weekends and official holiday periods), a specific financial compensation is foreseen in accordance with the Staff Regulation.

The recruited person undertakes the responsibility to join one of the teams of Duty Assistants and agree on a yearly shift plan.

Legal basis

The vacancy is to be filled in accordance with the conditions stipulated under the CEOS, in particular Article 82 thereof.

Subject to having successfully passed the CAST exam, the selected 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 successively renewed for a maximum duration of up to 6 years.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates for this Contract Agent III post should:

• have successfully passed a valid EPSO CAST in a valid FG for this post

or

• be registered in the EPSO Permanent Contract Agent Selection Tool (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 successfully passing the CAST exam that this candidate will be required to participate in;
• 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 (EN/FR) 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:

• experience of working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment;
• be dynamic and have a strong sense of responsibility and be a strong team player;
• be able to work autonomously and take initiatives, whenever appropriate;
• have strong service attitude;
• be able to work long hours, in shifts, including nights and public holidays;
• experience in working with or within other EU institutions;
• have a good knowledge of the functioning of EU institutions and understanding of international affairs;
• be well-organised and have a sound judgement;
• have a sound grasp of the standard IT tools and internet;
• be able to work autonomously and resolve problems, including technical and IT-related issues;
• be able to use a variety of tools for communicating classified information;
• have previous experience in media monitoring, notably at early warning and situational awareness level;
• be fluent in English and have a good knowledge of French.

The following would be considered as strong assets:

• having working experience in a crisis room or a similar national/international body would be an asset;
• having experience working in the field of CSDP and/or crisis management would be an asset;
• having working experience in collecting, writing and publishing news and articles about political, diplomatic or global affairs (journalism) would be an asset.

Specific conditions of employment

The signature of the contract will be subject to a 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 EEAS .

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC)  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 EEAS . 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 procedure^[2] 

Please send your CV and cover letter (with your EPSO CAST number), in English or in French via email, with reference to the Vacancy number in the Subject field, to:

evgenia.karatari@eeas.europa.eu

Deadline for sending application: 16/06/2024 at 12.00 (CET).

Candidates shall draft their CV using the EuropassCV, 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.

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.

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 panel will recommend a shortlist of candidates for a final decision by the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment 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, 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 of the European Union (SR) and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-20140501&from=EN

^[2]    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)