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, environment 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. € 65 billion

CINEA is based in Brussels with a multinational team of nearly 600 persons. The number of staff will grow further over the coming years and 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, X (https://twitter.com/cinea_eu), Linkedin and our YouTube channel.

  

Position description

Profile

Project Management - Project Adviser

Position title

Project Adviser – Horizon Europe Climate

Contract

Contract agent

Grade

FGIV

Mission description

The project adviser will be responsible for a portfolio of climate research and innovation projects funded by either the Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe. The project adviser 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 adviser 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 and reporting the feedback to policy-makers in the European Commission's Directorate-Generals.

Tasks

Programme Development and Approval
• Select evaluators for project proposals submitted to calls for proposals and tenders and supervise their work.
• Plan and prepare documentation for evaluations.
• Analyse admissibility and eligibility of proposals.
• Moderate consensus meetings of evaluators
• Prepare grant agreements and / or contracts, supported by financial and legal teams
• Contribute to the drafting of calls for proposals/ tender specifications, when required.

Programme Management and Monitoring
• Guide project coordinators on the implementation of a portfolio of projects, acting as the main contact point for beneficiaries / contractors.
• Supervise implementation of these projects, ensuring fulfilment of contractual obligations through assessing project deliverables, organising, and performing periodic project reviews, and drafting formal assessment reports with input from external experts, which judge the eligibility, regularity and efficiency of project expenditure, as well as the project's technical progress.
• Support project implementation by advising on and processing amendments to the grant agreements / contracts, in collaboration with financial and/or legal teams.
• Represent the Agency at meetings and events.
• Support the organisation of public procurement procedures, tenders evaluations and contract management

Knowledge Management and Sharing
• Provide feedback to the Commission's policy Directorates-General on the results of the projects through reports, notes, briefings and statistics. This covers identifying and promoting synergies with projects financed by other EU programmes.
• Provide input in response to ad-hoc policy feedback requests by the Commission's policy Directorates- General .
• Contribute to preparing and distributing communication material.
• Act as the focal point for the unit on a theme (e.g. a technology) or process (e.g. IT tool), as required.
• Organise events, facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices.
• Work with and manage relevant IT tools, including portals and websites where applicable.
• Identify and edit examples of good projects for communication to external stakeholders (e.g. via web newsletters) and events.

Salary range

> 50 K€

Interview period - from :

17/02/2025

Interview period : to

30/04/2025

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 climate and research policy and relevant policy instruments as well as programme and EU 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. 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.

Please note that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or any other external assistance during the written test and/or interview is strictly prohibited. Any candidate found to be in breach of this rule will be disqualified from the selection process and their application will not be considered further.

Application procedure

For applications to be valid, candidates must submit:
• a detailed curriculum vitae, preferably in EU CV format(3);
• 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 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 10 January 2025 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.

(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.

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 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). In addition, the jobholder might be entitled to monthly allowances (e.g. child allowance, school allowance, expatriate allowance).

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

13/12/2024

Publication end date

10/01/2025

Candidate criteria

Eligibility criteria

A. Eligibility criteria

The candidates must 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 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://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/cast_list

(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;

Selection criteria

• 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
Essential:

• Professional experience acquired in at least one of the following areas:
o climate science, earth system science, climate change impacts and adaptation, climate change mitigation, environmental science and/or marine/maritime / freshwater resources and environment or related areas
• Professional experience in project management or programme management
• Very good command of English (C1, written and spoken)
Advantageous:
• university degree(s) in relevant technical field(s);
• pertinence and length of relevant professional experience;
• pertinence and length of experience working with research and / or innovation projects, or with research management procedures or processes;
• understanding of the EU funding programmes in the area of research and innovation, climate and environment.
• views presented in the letter of motivation.
Personal qualities essential for the position (evaluated during the interview):
• High degree of organisational and prioritisation skills;
• Ability to work autonomously;
• Good interpersonal and communication skills;
• Team player qualities.

Languages

English (Proficient C1)

Updates on the application process

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 candidates invited to the interview.

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 be sent via email only.

Candidates may request clarifications about the processing of their application by sending an email quoting the reference of the vacancy notice concerned, to the following address: CINEA-HR-RECRUITMENT@ec.europa.eu

Equal opportunities, appeal procedure & data protection

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