EMSA

Call for Applications: EMSA/AD/2017/19 - Accounting Officer

Post: EMSA/AD/2017/19 - Accounting Officer
Directorate/Unit: Executive Office
Type of post: Temporary agent post
Grade: AD8
Location: Lisbon
Closing date for applications: 5 January 2018

The selection of candidates will follow the EMSA Staff Recruitment Procedure. Candidates must apply for this post via the EMSA website http://www.emsa.europa.eu - vacancies. Please note that to make an EMSA on-line application you will need to create your EMSA profile using a valid e-mail address and a password.

1. Background

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).

2. Tasks of the agency

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.

3. Executive Office

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

Support to the Director in all areas under her responsibility. This includes helping good governance with management support, promoting compliance, transparency and civil service culture. In the area of planning and monitoring the Unit is responsible for developing the main institutional planning and reporting documents (SPD and CAAR), follow the full budgetary cycle, from the initial input to monitoring its execution. The Executive office provides secretariat to the EMSA’s Administrative Board and includes all compliance and audit related tasks of EMSA (IAS, ECA, ICF, etc) including risk management. Two other areas under the responsibility of the Executive Office are the continuous development of a Quality Management System and the Accounting Officer (with direct reporting to the Agency’s Administrative Board). Communication is also part of the Unit both in terms of traditional and digital/social media products. International and Interinstitutional relations for work with institutions and authorities, within the EU and beyond are also in the portfolio of the Executive Office. This involves planning and taking initiatives, coordinating EMSA’s position as well as organising events and visits.

4. Functions and duties

The Accounting Officer, under the responsibility of the Head of the Executive Office is responsible, in accordance with the EU Financial Regulations and internal rules of the Agency, for setting up, maintaining and controlling the Agency’s accounts and the accounting systems of the Agency. In particular, they will be responsible for the following tasks:  

  • Keeping, preparing, presenting and signing the annual accounts in accordance with EMSA’s Financial Regulation;
  • Collecting from the Authorising Officer all the information necessary for the production of accounts which should give a true and fair view of the Agency's net assets, financial performance, cash position and of budget implementation;
  • Implementing, on the basis of the Agency’s Financial Regulation, the accounting rules and methods and the chart of accounts in line with the provisions adopted by the European Commission’s Accounting Officer;
  • Laying down and validating the accounting systems and related software and, where appropriate, validating the systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information; in this respect, the accounting officer shall be empowered to verify at any time compliance with validation criteria;
  • Ensuring the execution of accounting transactions and the reconciliation of outstanding transactions;
  • Ensuring the end of year closing;
  • Organising the closure of the accounts involving all of the relevant internal parties;
  • Properly implementing payments, collection of revenue and recovery of amounts established as being receivable;
  • Managing treasury (cash-flow monitoring, managing cash and bank accounts);
  • Optimising the relevant accounting tools and drafting relevant policies and procedures to provide advice, guidance and support to the other units when necessary;
  • Maintaining the asset valuation of the agency including the value of in-house IT systems;
  • Preparing cash-flow estimates and subsidy requests to the European Commission;
  • Maintaining contacts with the Authorising Officers and cooperating with the European Commission (DG BUDG – DG MOVE), ECA, auditors, internal services and other stakeholders;
  • Following-up relevant accounting regulations and instructions and their changes, participating in the Interagency network of Accounting Officers, delivering advice to the management or internal training;
  • Ensuring a high quality contribution to the Annual Report;
  • Performing any other related activities.

5. Eligibility and Selection Criteria

A. 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 Experience:

  • At least nine years proven professional experience acquired after the award of university diploma when the normal duration of university education is four years, or;
  • At least ten years of proven professional experience acquired after the award of university diploma when the normal duration of university education is three years.

A.3 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: 
  • At least six years’ of proven experience and sound knowledge in:
    • implementing accounting operations and postings;
    • managing the execution of payments and the recovery of receipts;
    • recognition and reconciliation of assets;
    • treasury management;
    • preparation of year-end records and annual accounts;
    • organising and performing periodic control procedures for the quality of accounting data;
    • using relevant financial IT tools (for example SAP, and/or BO and/or ABAC).
  • Excellent working knowledge of the EU Financial Regulation and the Implementing Rules applicable to the general budget of the EU, as well as the EU accountancy rules.    

    B.2. Advantageous:

    • A University degree in Accountancy, Finance, Auditing, Business Administration or Economics or certification, such as ACCA, CPA etc.;
    • Working knowledge of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS);
    • Documented experience from working in an accounting function governed by the EU financial regulation.

    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 Committee 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:

    • Excellent analytical skills;
    • High degree of responsibility and initiative;
    • Ability to work independently;
    • Strong ability to analyse and summarise financial information;
    • Strong sense of discretion and confidentiality;
    • High degree of resilience and the ability to work under pressure;
    • Excellent communication skills.

    6. General conditions

    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.

    7. Conditions of employment

    The Accounting Officer will be appointed by the Administrative Board of EMSA, on proposal of the Executive Director upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

    This vacancy notice concerns a Temporary Agent position, pursuant to Article 2 f) of the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities.

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

    The successful candidate will be recruited in the grade AD 8.

    The basic monthly salary, before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 July 2016 for grade AD 8 first step is 5414.18EUR.

    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.

    8. Submission of applications

    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.

    9. 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 accommodate 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