WE ARE

The European External Action Service (EEAS) supports the High Representative in the exercise of his mandate to conduct and implement an effective and coherent EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), to represent the EU and to chair 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 the EU Member States as well as the General Secretariat of the Council, the services of the Commission and the Secretariat-General of the European Parliament.

The Division’s "RM.BHR.5 - Local Agents” mission is to formulate a comprehensive human resource policy for over 3200 local agents employed in the EU Delegations and to help the delegations implement it.

We develop rules, policies and guidelines pertaining to HR policy, employment conditions, health insurance, pension and emoluments of local staff employed in Union Delegations and we ensure their conformity with the respective local laws of host states (outside the EU).

We support the Heads of Delegation and the Heads of Administration in the daily management of local staff and in handling legal disputes that may arise in this context.

To this end, the division is supported by the Legal Department (SG.LD.2), which provides legal analyses and legal opinions on Union law concerning the employment of local staff, as well as the local law provisions applicable by virtue of their employment contracts.

We facilitate an inclusive and wide-ranging social dialogue with the staff representatives and committees. We also carry out these activities on behalf of and in coordination with the Commission.

WE PROPOSE

The position of Legal HR Officer in the BHR.5 Local Agents division. Administrator – AD07. A highly motivated colleague will be handling complex HR policy and legal issues pertaining

to the local legislation of the local staff’s countries of employment and the European Union’s

legal framework.

As legal officer/advisor in the area of human resources (HR), s/he will work in a team of three legal HR officers and focus mainly on the legal compliance of our HR decisions and processes with Union law and local law: from recruitment until the end of contract entitlements, including payroll and other employee benefits.

A colleague will be designing and implementing HR policy, and should be solution- and service – oriented.

The main responsibilities are as follows:

• providing legal analysis and advice on administrative law, labour law and on EEAS staff matters, in particular for local staff in EU Delegations (including employment contracts, disciplinary procedures, termination of contracts, conflict resolution including before local jurisdictions, etc);
• reviewing draft internal administrative rules and legal acts (internal rules, implementing rules, contracts and other legal instruments);
• providing legal guidance to management and operational units (including Delegations);
• communicating and giving training on local agent employment issues, especially on disciplinary measures, to the HR officers and assistants in the Division;
• providing advice on ad hoc cases or horizontal issues in other areas of administrative law and EU civil service law, including and not limited to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, data protection and access to documents;
• preparing written communications to relevant actors in HQ and Delegations on legal obligations and procedures;
• preparing synthesis notes and briefings on legal risks to facilitate decision-making by hierarchy, including on relations with other Union institutions (European Parliament, Court of Auditors, European Ombudsman, etc.).

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, in accordance with EEAS Decision ADMIN(2015)20 on the engagement and use of temporary agents.

The successful candidate will be offered a contract as Temporary Agent under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) at the grade of AD07 for a 4-year duration, renewable for another 2 years.

WE LOOK FOR

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Candidates must meet all of the following general and specific conditions on the closing date for online applications:

• Be a national of one of the EU Member States and enjoy full rights as a citizen;
• Meet any obligations imposed on him or her by the laws concerning military service;
• Provide the appropriate character references as to his suitability for the performance of his duties;
• Have the capacity to work in languages of the CFSP (English and French, in writing and orally). Both languages are required in the performance of the duties. The command of one language must be at minimum C1 level (Language 1 — thorough knowledge) and the command of the other one must be at minimum B2 level (Language 2 — satisfactory knowledge).
• possess a level of education
  • which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more, OR
  • which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and relevant professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years.
• have gained at least 6 years full time professional experience. This experience must have been gained after obtaining the four-year diploma or after obtaining the three-year diploma and the one year relevant professional experience;

• Have at least two years’ proven, pertinent working experience as lawyer or legal adviser

or officer.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Candidates should:

• have an excellent ability to maintain diplomatic relations and to ensure representation, communication in a complex, multicultural environment;
• have an excellent capacity to create constructive working relations with national authorities, international organisations and the Member States;
• have strong drafting, communication and analytical skills combined with sound judgement;
• have professional experience providing legal advice;
• have strong drafting and analytical skills combined with sound legal judgement;
• have sound knowledge of EU legal and institutional matters;
• have excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain a network of contacts both within and outside the EEAS;
• have strong service attitude;
• be able to draft legal texts in English and in French;
• be a flexible team player;
• experience in working with or within other EU institutions, especially in HR or legal services ;
• have proven ability to work on an autonomous basis and be able to find legally sound but pragmatic and practical solutions to administrative issues;
• have proven ability to work under pressure, and manage tight deadlines; Furthermore:
• professional experience in labour law;
• have a background knowledge of human resources policies, practices and procedures and possess the ability to apply them in an organizational setting;
• have sound understanding of the EU Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment of other Servants (CEOS);
• experience of working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment;
• proficiency in Spanish would be considered as an asset;
• experience in dealing with employment, tax and social security;
• experience in working in a fast-pace environment;
• agility, creative and flexible mind-set to solve multi-dimensional problems would be considered assets.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE (2)

The selection procedure will take place in three different and successive steps:

1. Expression of Interest

Expressions of interest should be sent by e-mail to the following email addresses:

Pierre-Luan.Nguyen@eeas.europa.eu Cc: Mihai.Titire@eeas.europa.eu

For the purposes of the e-mail application, this post will appear under the subject of the email:

“EoI: Legal HR Officer – EEAS BHR.5 Local Agents division / 2024-EoI-HQ (AD)- TA2b-AD07-JN449081 – NAME APPLICANT”

Such an expression of interest must be accompanied by:

• An updated Curriculum vitae. Candidates are invited to use the "Europass" CV format (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/documents/curriculum-vitae) for their applications.
• A letter of motivation (maximum 2 pages) in either English or in French.

Expressions of interest/applications may be submitted until 03/09/2024 at 12.00h midday (CET - Brussels' time).

2. Pre-selection

The selection panel will make a pre-selection of the eligible expressions of interest on the basis of the qualifications and the professional experience described in the CV and motivation letter.

3. Selection

The candidates who have passed the pre-selection step will be invited for an interview so that the selection panel can evaluate these candidates objectively and without prejudice based on their qualifications, professional experience and linguistic skills. Additional specific written or oral tests might be organised by the panel.

On the basis of the outcome of the comparative merits of the interviewed candidates, the selection panel will recommend to the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC) a shortlist of a limited number of eligible candidates who best meet the selection criteria for the post.

For correspondence concerning the selection procedure, please use the following email address (the e-mail must have in the subject the following title: “2024-EoI-HQ (AD)- TA2b-AD07- JN449081”:

EEAS-HQ-APPLICATIONS-AD@eeas.europa.eu

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.

If pre-selected, candidates with disabilities are invited to contact us at EEAS-HQ- APPLICATIONS-AD@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 and recruited, the EEAS is committed to appropriate measures in order to accommodate his or her special needs to the working place or working conditions in accordance with Art 1d(4) of the Staff Regulations.

APPOINTMENT

The selected candidate will be recruited as temporary agents under Article 2(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS), in accordance with EEAS Decision ADMIN(2015) 20 on the engagement and use of temporary agents.

The selected candidate will be required to undergo a medical fitness examination in accordance with Article 13 of the CEOS.

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 Annex A of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 on the security rules of the EEAS3.

The selected candidate should hold, or be in the position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance (PSC)4 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(2023) 18 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.

In case of positive results on the medical fitness examination and after assessment of the PSC conditions, the candidate will be offered a contract as Temporary Agent, Grade AD7 for a duration 4 years renewable only once for another 2 years.

All member of the temporary staff shall serve initially a nine-month probationary period in accordance with Article 14 CEOS.

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Brussels, Belgium

POST AVAILABLE: 01/09/2024

CONTACT: Pierre-Luan Nguyen, Head of Division Tel: +32 2584-2473

Email: Pierre-Luan.NGUYEN@eeas.europa.eu

The closing date for submissions is 03/09/2024 at 12.00h midday (CET - Brussels' time).

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 Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) 2018/1725. The privacy statement is available on EEAS webpage: http://eeas.europa.eu/data_protection/rights/index_en.htm 

3       OJ C 263, 26 July 2023, p.16.

4           The ‘Personnel Security Clearance’ is defined under point 2 of Annex A I of the Decision ADMIN(2023) 18 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’.”