Profile
Project Management - Project Officer
Position title
Project Officer – CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION
Contract
Contract agent
Grade
FGIII
Mission description
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the European Green Deal and specifically Clean Energy Transition in the EU as part of the long-standing and successful LIFE Programme. The LIFE programme has an allocation of 5.6 bn EUR for the financial perspective 2021-2027, of which approximately 1 bn EUR under the Clean Energy Transition subprogramme to fund innovative projects across the EU and approximately 1 bn EUR to support innovative actions in climate mitigation and adaptation.
The project officer will be responsible for a portfolio of projects under the LIFE Clean energy transition sub-programme. The project officer will work autonomously under the authority of a team leader. They will also collaborate fully with a wider team of colleagues in the Agency and the European Commission.
The project officer will perform tasks related to all stages of the project management cycle, from the evaluation of proposals, the preparation of grant agreements, the monitoring of projects, the assessment of technical and financial reports. The project officer will contribute to feedback to policy-makers in the European Commission's Directorate-Generals and participate in policy debates in the field of expertise
Tasks
Core tasks:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Assist with the grant agreement preparation with project coordinators and ensure the technical and financial consistency of the projects to be funded.
Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Adviser, assist in the preparation, launching, and managing public procurements with the CINEA Procurement team for service contracts and/or evaluation of the programme
Monitoring of the implementation of projects and service contracts, in particular the performance of project coordinators and beneficiaries and the fulfilment of contractual obligations by means of periodic reviews and assessment of project reports.
Assess project reports and control the eligibility of the expenditures, their regularity and their adequacy with the contractual provisions.
Act as the principal interlocutor of the beneficiaries or contractors during the implementation of the grant agreement or contract, in close liaison with financial officers.
Participate in project meetings and possible monitoring visits.
POLICY FEEDBACK and COMMUNICATION
Act as focal point for one or more specific technical areas
Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Advisor, contribute to the policy development to the parent DG by providing timely feedback and reporting on project implementation and results.
Provide advice, support, and feedback within CINEA and to the partner Directorate-General and develop links between the programme's action and other programmes / networks to facilitate synergies if applicable.
Contribute to ensuring the dissemination and promotion of project results and present the programme and projects at workshops, seminars, conferences and other public events; regularly update the projects' database; contribute to the preparation of communication materials.
Participate in the organization of conferences, workshops, experts' meetings and similar events; facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices; feed and manage IT tools related to various actions, including portals and websites if applicable.
PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT and COORDINATION - within the unit /department /Agency
Represent the unit, as instructed, in contacts with other units and departments of the Agency.
Assist in the preparation and management of calls, including support to the evaluation panels.
Assist in the coordination of specific horizontal activities within the unit, departments, and Agency.
Contribute to administrative development of the management process within the unit.
Assist in coordinating activities of the unit with other services to respond to inter-service consultations.
Drafting of replies to requests for information from the hierarchy and other services within the Commission, and prepare briefings.
Salary range
35-50 k€
Interview period - from :
01/09/2024
Interview period : to
30/11/2024
Selection procedure
Oral test (30 min)
Interview with the Selection Committee in English to assess:
• your suitability to carry out the duties of a Project Officer,
• your knowledge and experience in the field of Project management,
• your communication, inter-personal and problem-solving skills,
• your general knowledge about the CINEA and related policies,
• your motivation and your ability to adjust to working as a Contractual Agent in a multicultural environment.
This test will be marked out of 100 (pass mark: 60).
Applicants receiving the minimum score and above (60 out of 100), will be included in a reserve list of suitable candidates.
Please note that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.
The Agency may have a second interview with the candidates in the reserve list.
If the recruitment unit/department considers that writing skills need to be tested, a written test could be included in the procedure as part of the second interview. The test would not be scored and will be used as an additional source of information for taking the final decision on the candidate to be recruited.
Application procedure
For applications to be valid, candidates must submit:
• a detailed curriculum vitae, in EU CV format ;
• a letter of motivation, including their views on the proposed position (2 pages maximum).
Your CAST application ID number, the reference of CAST call and the name of the post must be mentioned in your CV and motivation letter.
Please note that both CV and the motivation letter form an essential basis for the pre-selection decision.
Applications may only be submitted through the eRecruitment system on our website at
https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/about-us/job-opportunities_en
Closing date: Applications must be sent no later than 12th July 2024 midnight.
Supporting documents showing evidence of the provided information may be requested at a later stage.
Candidates are invited to apply in English to facilitate the selection process.
In no circumstances should candidates approach the Selection Committee themselves, either directly or indirectly concerning this recruitment. The authority habilitated to conclude contracts reserves itself the right to disqualify any candidate who disregards this instruction.
Appointment and conditions of employment
The jobholder will be appointed on the basis of a shortlist proposed by the selection committee.
Prior to the engagement of the staff the Agency may request references from former employers and reserves the right to contact them.
The jobholder will be recruited as contract staff, in function group III, pursuant to Article 3a of the new Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS).
The basic monthly salary within this function group will depend on the number of years of relevant professional experience at appropriate level (in function group III, either grade 8, grade 9 or grade 10).
The jobholder will serve a probation period of nine months.
The initial contract will be for a duration of 1 year. Afterwards, the contract may be renewed for 1 additional year. If the contract is renewed again, it shall be concluded for an indefinite period.
The place of employment will be Brussels where the Agency has its activities.
For reasons related to the Agency's operational requirements, the candidate will be required to be available at short notice.
For further information on the legal framework of contract agents, see the web site of the Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security (DG HR) on the internet at
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031…
Publication date
Publication start date
14/06/2024
Publication end date
12/07/2024
Candidate criteria
Eligibility criteria
• Have successfully passed a CAST in the function group for which you are applying* OR be registered in a CAST Permanent Call for Expression of Interest in function group FGIII ** by the deadline for application of the current vacancy;
• A post-secondary education attested by a diploma OR a secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education and appropriate professional experience of three years;
• Thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another EU language to the extent necessary to perform his/her duties.
* Candidates must be included in the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) database for contract agents in function group III and have successfully passed the EPSO selection tests for that function group. Please note that candidates who are on a valid EPSO list published in 2010 (CAST2010) are eligible on the condition they have successfully passed the complementary tests (DB3), as an Annex to the selection procedure CAST2010. The candidates concerned are invited to consult the letter they received from EPSO for further information.
** In the context of the calls for expression of interest EPSO/CAST/P/2017 FGIII procedures (1), your application will be considered only if you have completed and validated the online application form by the deadline for application to the current vacancy (2).
Other eligibility criteria
(1) Link to the call for expression of interest: https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/open-for-application
Link to the FAQs:
https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/epso-faqs-by-category
(2) Candidate's application in the EPSO database must be active during the whole duration of the procedure. Candidates are fully responsible for the creation, validation and regular update of their EPSO profile in the relevant function group, otherwise candidates' details are not or not anymore visible to the recruiting services and they cannot be invited to sit tests. Candidates whose EPSO CAST profile is blocked and therefore cannot be flagged in order to be invited by EPSO to undergo an EPSO computer-based reasoning test in the required function group will be considered as not eligible regardless of the relevance of their CV.
In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:
• be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union;
• be entitled to his or her full rights as citizen;
• meet the appropriate character reference as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties;
• have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service, and;
• be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.
Please note that only candidates that comply with the Eligibility criteria will be considered for further steps of the Selection procedure.
Selection criteria
B. Selection criteria
Essential:
• Relevant professional experience in one or more of following technical areas:
Project development of energy efficiency projects including their financial engineering, notably building renovation
Implementation of clean Energy transition in cities and regions, notably urban/regional energy planning and transition processes
• Professional experience in project management or programme management
• Very good oral and written command of English (C1).
Advantageous:
• University degree(s) in relevant technical field(s);
• Pertinence and length of relevant professional experience;
• Pertinence and length of experience working with clean energy transition projects and processes, including experience working across the EU and/or in an international context;
• Understanding of the framework and the procedures at EU level, including grant management with relevant EU programmes (LIFE, HORIZON 2020, HORIZON EUROPE, INTERREG etc).
Personal qualities essential for the position (evaluated during the interview):
• High degree of organisational skills and ability to work under pressure;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills;
• Proven ability to work as a team member;
• Ability to appreciate and follow priorities.
After having been preselected by the Selection Committee, the Agency will invite for an interview the best candidates that have successfully passed an EPSO CAST in the relevant function group, with a maximum of 20.
Languages
English (Proficient C1)
Updates on the application process
An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to all candidates by email to confirm the reception of their application.
All candidates will be informed in due time about the status of their application, i.e. whether they are invited for the selection phase described above or not. These notifications will only be sent via email.
A candidate may request clarifications about the processing of his/her application by sending an email quoting the reference of the vacancy notice concerned, to the following address: CINEA-HR-RECRUITMENT
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (CINEA-HR-RECRUITMENT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Equal opportunities, appeal procedure & data protection
Equal opportunities
The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on the ground of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Appeal procedure: for complete list of means of redress please browse the following link: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/about-us/job-opportunities/means-redress_en
Data protection
The purpose of processing of the data submitted by candidates is to manage the applications in view of a possible pre-selection and recruitment at the CINEA. The personal information requested from candidates will be processed in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 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.