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 Officer

Position title

Project Officer – Horizon Europe – Climate, Energy or Transport

Contract

Contract agent

Grade

FGIII

Mission description

The project officer will be responsible for a portfolio of research and innovation projects under the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes. The projects can cover a range of development levels, from lab-based research, through demonstration to market uptake. The project officer will work autonomously under the authority of a team leader. S/he will also collaborate 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 EU Horizon programmes 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.

The job holder will mainly carry out the following tasks:
Programme Development and Approval
• Assist with contributing to the drafting of calls for proposals/ tender specifications, when required.
• Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Management Coordinator, assist with the selection of evaluators for project proposals submitted to calls for proposals and tenders and supervise their work.
• Assist with the planning and preparation of documentation for evaluations.
• Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Management Coordinator, analyse admissibility and eligibility of proposals.
• Moderate consensus meetings of evaluators
• Prepare grant agreements and / or contracts, supported by financial and legal teams

Tasks

The job holder will mainly carry out the following tasks:
Programme Management and Monitoring
• Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Management Coordinator, guide project coordinators on the implementation of a portfolio of projects, acting as the main contact point for beneficiaries / contractors.
• Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Management Coordinator, supervise implementation of these projects, ensuring fulfilment of contractual obligations through assessing project deliverables, attending and performing periodic project reviews, and drafting formal assessment reports, which judge the eligibility, regularity and efficiency of project expenditure, as well as the project's technical progress.
• Under the supervision of a Head of Sector or Project Management Coordinator, support project implementation by advising on and processing amendments to the grant agreements / contracts, supported by financial and/or legal teams.
• Represent the Agency and communicate project results at meetings and events. Contribute to preparing and distributing communication material.
Knowledge Management and Sharing
• Assist with the provision of 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.
• Assist with the provision of ad-hoc expertise to the Commission's policy Directorates- General not based on project results.
• Act as the focal point for the unit on a theme (e.g. a technology) or process (e.g. IT tool), as required.
• Assist with the organisation of events, facilitate the exchange of experiences and good practices. Feed and manage relevant IT tools, including portals and websites where applicable.
Research Programme Management
In addition, for the “research programme management” area of the selection criteria, the following tasks will be particularly relevant:
• Assist with the organisation of proposal evaluations by coordinating calls for proposals
• Assist with the preparation of grant agreements with successful applicants, including liaising with the financial and legal staff of CINEA
• Assist with the organisation of project reviews and proposal evaluations through the contracting of experts
• Assist with the identification and editing of examples of good projects for communication to external stakeholders (e.g. via web newsletters), as well as with the organisation of events
• Assist with the collection of information for feedback to policy
• Support the organisation of public procurement procedures, tenders evaluations and contract management

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 in the area of the vacancy notice you have chosen,
• 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 12 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:1962R0031:20140101:EN:PDF

Publication date

Publication start date

21/06/2024

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) 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;
• 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:
• Professional experience acquired in one of the following four areas:
o climate science, adaptation and mitigation and/or marine, maritime, freshwater resources and environment (i.e. climate change impacts and adaptation, earth system science, climate ecosystem interactions, marine/water protection, marine and freshwater research); or
o transport and mobility (i.e. clean road transport and batteries, technologies, propulsion and materials for aviation and waterborne transport, automated transport, smart and integrated transport and urban mobility, infrastructure, safety, logistics, and climate neutral cities); or
o non-nuclear energy (i.e. renewable energy generation, energy use in buildings and industry, energy systems (including grids, batteries and materials development for electrochemical storage), carbon capture, utilisation and storage, hydrogen generation and storage); or
o research programme management.
• English (C1 level)
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 research programmes in the areas of climate, transport or non-nuclear energy.

Languages

English (Proficient C1)

Updates on the application process

B. Selection criteria
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 40 candidates invited to the interview. No more than 15 candidates will be invited for interview for each of the climate, transport and non-nuclear energy profiles, and no more than 10 for the research programme management profile.

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.europa.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.