Politics of the European Union

We are:

• Procurement (supplies, services and works public contracts):
  • Procurement plan for Delegations and Headquarters;
  • Ex-ante controls or centralisation of procurement procedures;
  • Templates procurement documents and step-by-step by procedure type.
• Contracts
  • Support in the management of contracts including ex-ante visa on certain amendments;
  • Horizontal issues such as data protection, access to documents and EDES.
• Finance (commitments, payments and recovery orders stemming from public contracts under the remit of the Division):
  • Single point of registration of invoices for HQs’ managed contracts;
  • Financial verification (decentralized verification) for all transactions at headquarters with third parties;
  • Definition and update of the financial processes.
  • 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 tasks of conducting the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and chairing the Foreign Affairs Council.
  • The EEAS works in close cooperation with Member States, the Council and relevant services of the European Commission.
  • It supports and advises the authorizing officers by sub-delegation in their management of public contracts including their risk management.

We propose

The position of Procurement Assistant in the Public Procurement, Contracts and Finance Division BA.BS.2 - contract agent FGIII as per article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS).

We look for

• The successful candidate will report directly to the Head of Sector and will mainly:
  • Analyse the operational needs, translate them in the procurement documents and be in charge of the preparation and running of procurement procedures stemming from Delegations and operational Divisions covering services, supplies and works subject to the Public Procurement Directive;
  • Provide the necessary support or advice in the area of procurement and contract management to the different internal stakeholders within the EEAS;
  • Train EEAS staff on public procurement;
  • Be the focal point for a number of horizontal tasks such as the preparation/update of templates, standard documents and guides relating to procurement, including for (very)low and middle-value contracts;
  • Be proactively involved in the activities of the Division.

  
  We are looking for an experienced public procurement colleague, enthusiastic and good team player.

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 The successful candidate will be offered a contract agent position (Function group III); renewable contract for a maximum duration of 6 years (with a valid CAST exam).

Eligibility criteria

• Candidates for this contract agent III post should:
  • (i) have passed a valid EPSO CAST in a valid FG for this post
• or
  • (ii) be registered in the EPSO Permanent CAST in a valid FG for this post https://epso.europa.eu/apply/job-offers_en?keyword=&contract=37&grade=Al...
  • 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 and external relations 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 have:
  • a strong proven experience in public procurement;
  • experience in working in a team in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural environment and be a flexible team player;
  • strong drafting and analytical skills combined with sound judgement;
  • excellent communication skills both in English and French (C1 and above);
  • the capacity to perform with accuracy and in a flexible manner a diversity of tasks in a complex institutional environment
  • a "client oriented approach" and strong organisational and prioritising skills.

Specific conditions of employment

The signature of the contract will be subject to prior favourable opinion of the Medical Service. The successful candidate might be required to undergo security vetting if she or he does not hold already a Personal Security Clearance to an appropriate level, in accordance with relevant security provisions.

Equal opportunities

The External Action Service applies an equal opportunities policy.

Application and selection procedure 2

• Candidates shall draft their CV following the European CV form which can be found at the following internet address:http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae.
• 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 panel will recommend a shortlist of candidates for a final decision by the Authority Empowered to Conclude Contracts of Employment.
• The Authority may decide to interview the candidates on the final shortlist before taking this decision.

• Luca Jahier, president of the EESC since April 2018, expressed his gratitude to all of the members and highlighted the important contribution of the civil society organisations represented at the EESC to the European project.
• The EESC said goodbye to 135 of its current members yesterday during its September plenary session, the last of the 2015-2020 term.
• In October, a new five-year term will start under a new presidency and the partial renewal of the members.
• The outgoing president, Luca Jahier, took stock of the work done during his term of office, which started in April 2018 with a call for a second European Renaissance or "rEUnaissance".
• He expressed the hope that the EESC could take an active part in the Conference on the Future of Europe proposed by the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Institutional support

• I'm looking forward to cooperating closely with you at the Conference on the Future of Europe.
• The EESC has an important role to play in feeding into the debate, said Ms von der Leyen.
• Mr Sassoli also expressed his willingness to work more closely with the EESC to create a structured dialogue with organised civil society.
• He also proposed that the taboo of neutral communication should be broken, as controversy and disagreement will create more energy.

Future steps

• Under the rotating system of the EESC, the new president will come from the Employers' Group and will hold the position for two and a half years.
• The EESC plenary will also appoint two vice-presidents chosen from each of the two other groups in rotation, one from the Workers' Group who will be responsible for the budget and one from the Diversity Europe Group in charge of communication.

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• AMinisterial declarationwas agreed by the International Contact Group.

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