EMSA

The European Maritime Safety Agency was established for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety, maritime security as well as prevention of and response to pollution by ships within the EU.

The idea of a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) originated in the late 1990s along with a number of other important European maritime safety initiatives. EMSA was set up as the regulatory agency that would provide a major source of support to the Commission and the Member States in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution from ships.

The European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, as amended, provides the legal basis for the establishment of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

The Agency provides technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission and Member States in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of, and response to, pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.

The Agency also contributes to the overall efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport and supports European cooperation on coastguard functions.

Unit C1 provides Member States and the Commission with technical, operational and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate marine pollution by ships and oil and gas installations, and, upon request, delivers support in a cost-efficient way to the anti-pollution mechanisms of Member States.

C.1.1 COOPERATION AND INFORMATION

C.1.1 develops and coordinates cooperative activities in the field of marine pollution preparedness and response, with clients being the European Commission services, the EU Member States and other relevant organisations. More specifically, the Sector prepares and disseminates scientific and technical information on oil spill response options, including the use of chemical dispersants and implements EMSA's Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) Action Plan through activities such as maintaining the MAR-ICE Network.

Following the latest revision of EMSA's Founding Regulation, the Sector also coordinates the development of the Agency's activities with regard to the response to marine pollution originating from offshore oil and gas installations.

C.1.2 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT & PLANNING

C.1.2 manages and develops the contracts necessary to establish the EMSA Stand-by Oil Spill Response Vessel Network for European waters, addressing any contract related financial and legal aspects. This is achieved through the development and coordination of complex public procurement procedures, as well as constant reviews and updating the financial and strategic planning.

C.1.3 RESPONSE ASSISTANCE

C.1.3 tasks include: participating in international oil spill response exercises; training responders and verifying the readiness of arrangements; conducting studies addressing the technical and operational status of the vessel network; and implementing improvements when appropriate. The Sector participates in the technical meetings of the Regional Agreements, and provides, upon request, the Member States and the Commission with technical and scientific assistance in support of spill response operations, either onsite or remotely.

The Project Officer for Pollution Response Services will, under the responsibility of the Head of Unit C.1 ‘Pollution Response Services’, contribute to the management of the Network of Standby-Oil Spill Response Vessels and associated Vessel Availability Contracts (VACs) by:

• Supervising the operational and technical aspects of the assigned VACs, monitoring the vessels’ readiness and condition of oil spill response (OSR) equipment;
• Implementing the overall maintenance plan for the pollution response equipment on board the different vessels of the network;
• Preparing for and participating in contractual drills and national/international exercises, assessing the technical condition of the contractual vessels and associated OSR equipment as well as the level of training of crews;
• Reporting on the results of drills and exercises contributing to the identification of actions to improve the response capabilities of the vessel network;
• Implementing improvement projects to adapt and/or upgrade the existing capabilities of the vessel network as well as to replace and overhaul OSR equipment;
• Supporting the administrative and financial management of VACs, e.g. payments, contract renewal, contract termination and equipment handover;
• Providing technical support to the procurement officers;
• Following a request for assistance, assisting in the mobilisation of EMSA’s pollution response services, providing expertise to Member States or the Commission if required;
• Supporting other activities relevant for the Department/Unit when required.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Qualifications and experience required:

A.1 Education:

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four years or more, or;
• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years.

A.2 language skills:

The main working language in the field of maritime safety is English. Candidates must therefore have a very good command of oral English as well as in writing with a satisfactory knowledge of at least one other official language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the above mentioned duties.

B. SELECTION CRITERIA

B.1 Essential:

• A University Degree/Diploma in Nautical Studies, Mechanical or Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture or Professional Certification as Master, Nautical Officer or Ship Engineer;
• At least 2 years of proven professional experience as an officer/engineer on board ships or as a naval architect involved in the design, building or repair of ships;
• Proven experience in designing and implementing an equipment maintenance programme with a special focus on hydraulic systems;
• Proven experience in oil spill preparedness and response at an operational level.

B.2 Advantageous:

• Professional experience as a ship superintendent or inspector;
• Experience in offshore exploitation with a special focus on HSE and emergency planning.

Candidates must clearly indicate on their application how the essential and advantageous criteria have been achieved. 

The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Board depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential criteria.

Applicants must meet the required eligibility criteria concerning the required educational qualifications and years of experience, as well as the essential criteria by the deadline for this call for applications.

In addition to the requirements above, candidates invited to the interview and test phase may also be assessed against the following supplementary requirements:

Supplementary:

• The ability to draft clear and concise reports;
• Professional experience as ship superintendent or inspector;
• Experience in offshore exploitation with special focus on HSE and emergency planning.

In order to be eligible the candidate must:

• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union or of Iceland or Norway;
• Be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled the obligations imposed on you by the laws concerning military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

The Project Officer for Pollution Response Services will be appointed by the Executive Director, upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

The initial duration of the contract is three years, with possibility of renewal.

The successful candidate will be recruited in the grade AD 5.

The basic monthly salary, before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 July 2016 for grade AD 5 first step is 3738.04 EUR.

In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, such as an expatriation allowance (16% of basic salary), household allowance, dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Community tax deducted at source and staff members are exempt of national taxation.

Please note that recruitment is done in the first or second step of the indicated grade, depending on the duration of the acquired professional experience. EMSA offers a comprehensive welfare package including pension scheme, medical, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance. Further information regarding rights and conditions of employment can be found in the following document.

Please note that in line with the Staff Regulations recruited candidates shall be required to demonstrate before their first promotion the ability to work in a third European Community language.

The place of employment is Lisbon, Portugal.

Candidates are advised that if they are offered a post, and accept, they must undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that they meet the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.

Candidates should ensure that they clearly indicate how they meet the selection criteria in their application and motivation letter.

Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EMSA website within the deadline. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) or submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

All candidates will receive an acknowledgement of receipt for their application.

EMSA is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all candidates who fulfil the eligibility and selection criteria without any distinction whatsoever on any ground such as 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, marital status or other family situation or sexual orientation.

You may apply in any of the official languages of the European Union, but it would be helpful to apply in English in order to facilitate the selection process.

For each selection process a Selection Committee is nominated. The selection is carried out in two phases:

1. In the first phase all eligible applications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee and scored against the selection criteria. Please note that non-compliance with at least one of the essential selection criteria will result in the exclusion of the candidate from the selection process. Advantageous criteria constitute additional assets and will not result in exclusion, if not fulfilled. The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Committee depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential selection criteria.

On this basis, the Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 15), on condition that they have achieved at least 60% of the highest possible score during the evaluation of applications. Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 15th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited will be increased accordingly to accomodate this. 

2. In the second phase, the selected candidates will be invited to pass one or several written tests related to the job profile and to take part in a selection interview.

During this recruitment phase, the selected candidates will be evaluated by the Selection Committee. After the interviews and tests, the Selection Committee will draw up a list of the most suitable candidates to be proposed to the Appointing Authority. Only candidates receiving at least 70% of the maximum points at interview and at the test phase will be included in the list of the most suitable candidates. The Appointing Authority will select the successful candidate and decide whether to also adopt a reserve list. The successful candidates will be informed accordingly.

Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the selection committee, either directly or indirectly. Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.

All candidates will receive an information letter of the outcome of their application.

Please note that a binding commitment can only be made after verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.

The reserve list will remain valid for a period of 1 year following its establishment. Therefore candidates whose name will be put on a reserve list could be offered a contract during this period of time. Please note however that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.

Please note that the selection process may take several months to be completed and that no information will be released during this period. Once a selection process has been completed, its status will be displayed in the e-recruitment.

Please note that once you have created your EMSA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EMSA profile.

For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to recruitment@emsa.europa.eu

Requests for information and appeal:

An applicant who would like further information, or considers that he/she has grounds for complaint concerning a particular decision may, at any point in the selection procedure, request further information from the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

For information on how to lodge a complaint and/or an appeal procedure, please consult the ‘General Information for Recruitment’ overview on our website for more information:

http://www.emsa.europa.eu/recruitment-info.html