General information

Organisation

The European Climate, Environment and Infrastructure Executive Agency (CINEA) has been established by the European Commission to support stakeholders in delivering the European Green Deal through high-quality programme management that helps to implement projects contributing to decarbonisation and sustainable growth. CINEA implements parts of EU funding programmes for transport, energy and climate action with strong focus on contributing to the European Commission's Green Deal priority.

The main programmes managed are:

•The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF);
• Horizon Europe: the EU's Research and Innovation programme for which CINEA manages the areas of transport and energy;
•The Innovation Fund;
•LIFE Programme;
•European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund;
•The EU Renewable Energy Mechanism;
•The Public Sector Loan Facility of the Just Transition Mechanism.

The budget managed by CINEA in 2021-2027 period is ca. € 58 billion

CINEA is based in Brussels with a multinational team of around 500 persons. The number of staff will grow further over the coming years, due to the Agency's new portfolio. The purpose of this publication is therefore to set up a reserve list, which will be used to cover the growing needs of the Agency. The reserve list may also be used by other Executive Agencies.
More info on: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/index_en, https://twitter.com/cinea_eu, Linkedin and our YouTube channel.

  

Position description

Profile

Project Management - Project Manager

Position title

Project Adviser for the EU LIFE programme

Contract

Contract agent

Grade

FGIV

Mission description

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Sector/Head of Unit, the job holder is responsible for implementation of a number of programme management actions including the management of all the stages in the lifetime of projects in collaboration with other services in the Agency and in liaison with the partner Directorate General.

Functions and duties
Programme/ project management
• Launch, promote, monitor and/or manage calls for proposals, calls for tenders, ad hoc grants, etc. related to the specific Programme.
• Prepare the evaluation phase of the call and participate in evaluation panels;
• Analyse and present the evaluation results, provide input for future improvements and provide feedback to applicants.
• Conduct the grant agreement preparation with project coordinators and ensure the technical and financial consistency of the projects to be funded;
• With regard to call for tenders, work on the specifications and/or act as member of the Evaluation Committee.
• Monitor the implementation of projects, in collaboration with financial officers, in particular the performance of project coordinators and partners and the fulfilment of contractual obligations by means of periodic reviews and assessment of project reports.
• Organise and monitor the work of external project monitors.
• Manage requests for contract amendments in collaboration with financial officers.
• Assess and approve project reports and check the technical eligibility of the expenditures, their regularity and their adequacy with the contractual provisions.
• Plan and carry out programme's actions that are implemented by means of public procurement procedures and contribute to the evaluation of the programme.
• Act as the principal interlocutor of the beneficiaries or contractors during the implementation of the grant agreement or contract, handling in-coming correspondence, in close liaison with financial officers.
• Participate in meetings with and monitoring visits to the projects to explain relevant EU policies and procedures, to encourage stakeholder involvement and project networking, and to monitor the technical implementation of the projects, including extraction of policy relevant conclusions.
• Fulfil the role of operational initiating agent.

Tasks

Other tasks

Communication
• Write reports and briefings; provide statistics on project results.
• Ensure the dissemination and promotion of project results and present the programmes and projects at workshops, seminars, conferences, etc.
• 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.
Policy feedback
• Act as focal point for one or more specific thematic areas and/or countries. Analyse clusters of projects within those thematic areas in order to extract lessons learned and policy feedback relevant information.
• Provide advice, support, and feedback within the Agency and to the relevant DGs/services of the Commission, related to the policy-relevant experiences and lessons derived from the projects CINEA manages, and develop links between the Programme's action and other programmes / networks to facilitate synergies if applicable.

Salary range

35-50 k€

Interview period - from :

13/11/2023

Interview period : to

21/01/2024

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 Adviser,
• your knowledge and experience in the field of project management,
• your communication, inter-personal and problem-solving skills,
• your general knowledge about CINEA, the LIFE programme and related EU 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(3);
• a letter of motivation, including his/her 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 the motivation letter forms an essential basis for the pre-selection decision.

Applications must 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 29 September 2023 midnight.

Supporting documents showing evidence of the provided information may be requested at a later stage. No document will be sent back to candidates.

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 these instructions.

(3) EU CV format available on: https://europa.eu/europass/eportfolio/screen/profile-wizard?lang=en

Appointment and conditions of employment

The jobholder will be assigned on the basis of a shortlist proposed by the selection committee.

The jobholder will be recruited as contract staff, in function group IV, pursuant to Article 3a of the 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 IV, either grade 13, grade 14 or grade 16).

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:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

Publication date

Publication start date

08/09/2023

Publication end date

29/09/2023

Candidate criteria

Eligibility criteria

A. 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 FGIV ** by the deadline for application of the current vacancy;
• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma OR, when in a member state of the European Union access to a profession of an equivalent level to function group IV is by State examination, professional training or any other equivalent procedure, the authority authorised to conclude contract of employment may agree to recognize this qualification as being equivalent to a university degree;
• Thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Communities 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 IV 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.

Other eligibility criteria

**In the context of the calls for expression of interest EPSO/CAST/P/2017 FGIV 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) . The pre-selected candidates will be requested by the Agency to undergo the EPSO computer-based reasoning tests. Only candidates that have successfully passed an EPSO CAST selection in FGIV will be invited for an interview.

(1) https://epso.europa.eu/contact/faq/contract-agents/cast-permanent_en

(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/her full rights as citizen;
• meet the appropriate character reference as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties;

Selection criteria

In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:
• 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.

B. Selection criteria (1\2)
Essential

• Candidates should have acquired at least 3 years of relevant professional experience in one or more of following areas:
- Nature and biodiversity;
- Circular Economy and Quality of Life (e.g. green and circular economy, environment and health, waste, water, air, soil, agriculture or forests);
• Candidates should have experience in program and/or project management;
• Candidates should have a sound knowledge of the EU environmental policies;
• Very good oral and written command of English (C1).

Languages

English (Proficient C1)

Updates on the application process

B. Selection criteria (2\2)
Advantageous

• A university degree (bachelor) in a field related to the areas detailed in the previous section. One or more additional university degrees (master or PhD) in a relevant field will be considered as a further advantage;
• Previous professional experience in policy and/or program management in the services of EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies;
• Previous professional experience related to implementation of the LIFE programme;
•
• Working knowledge of EU languages which are underrepresented in the LIFE Environment unit in CINEA including LV, EE, SK, CZ, SE, DK, and FI.

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 with a maximum of 30 candidates invited to the interview.

An acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to all candidates by email to confirm the reception of their application.

Equal opportunities, appeal procedure & data protection

All candidates will be informed in due time about the status of their application.
A candidate may request clarifications about the processing of his/her application by sending an email quoting the reference of the post to the following address: CINEA-HR-RECRUITMENT@ec.europa.eu
Equal opportunities
The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on the grounds 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.
Appeals: 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. . Candidates are invited to carefully read the relevant Data Protection Notice on the dedicated page of CINEA's website: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/about-us/job-opportunities_en