JOB DESCRIPTION

Call for Applications: EMSA/AD/2025/13 – Reserve List for an Officer – Pollution Response (Alternative Fuels)

Post:	EMSA/AD/2025/13 – Reserve List for an Officer – Pollution Response (Alternative Fuels)
Directorate/Unit:	Reserve list to be used by various departments
Type of post:	Temporary agent post
Grade:	AD6
Location:	Lisbon
Closing date for applications:	23 October 2025

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 1990’s along with a number of other important European maritime safety initiatives. EMSA was set up as the decentralised agency that would provide a major source of support to the European Commission and the Member States in the field of maritime safety, security and prevention of pollution from ships. The Agency was established by Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 and subsequent amendments have refined and enlarged its mandate to cover among other measures, the efficiency of maritime transport.

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.

EMSA’s activities can be broadly described as:

• providing technical and scientific assistance to the Member States and the European Commission in the proper development and implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety, security, prevention of pollution by ships and maritime transport administrative simplification;
• monitoring the implementation of EU legislation through visits and inspections;
• improving cooperation with and between Member States;
• building capacity of national competent authorities;
• providing operational assistance, including developing, managing and maintaining maritime services related to ships, ship monitoring and enforcement;
• carrying out operational preparedness, detection and response tasks with respect to pollution caused by ships and marine pollution by oil and gas installations;
• at the request of the European Commission, providing technical operational assistance to non-EU countries around relevant sea basins.

3. Reserve list to be used by various departments

Depending on the Agency’s needs and the qualifications and profiles of the applicants, the successful candidates could be offered employment in a determined unit within one of the departments.

4. Functions and duties

In the context of the European Green Deal agenda, and in particular the Fitfor55 package as well as the Zero Pollution Action Plan and the global agenda for decarbonization, alternative power solutions are gaining momentum. However, the risks associated with their usage, in particular, uncontrolled releases into the marine environment, are still to be investigated and the best responses to such an event are still to be defined.

Under the responsibility of the Head of Unit, the Officer – Pollution Response (Alternative Fuels) will be responsible for the following tasks:

Technical assistance and Research: 

• Following the work on this topic under the Pollution Prevention and Response sub-Committee of IMO;
• Providing technical assistance/advice in relation to pollution preparedness and response;
• Contributing to the definition of research projects at EU level in cooperation with the relevant services of the European Commission aiming at investigating the incidents scenarios and developing best practices and guidance for response to uncontrolled release of these substances;
• Analysing and compiling the outcome of existing projects in this field to produce and maintain updated technical documents;
• Supporting the relevant work related to alternative fuels at EU level, in support of the European Commission;
• Organising and initiating the launch of technical studies by the Agency on specific topics related to uncontrolled release of alternative fuels into the marine environment;
• Supporting other studies and reports aimed at the development of the operational services in the Unit;
• Contributing to any other activity of EMSA in the field of green shipping.

Improvements of the pollution response toolbox: 

• Contributing to the definition of technical specifications for the procurement of adapted response equipment and its installation on board EMSA chartered response vessels, following a positive feasibility study;
• Contributing to the definition of technical specifications for the procurement of adapted stand-alone response equipment to be made available to Member States through EMSA Equipment Assistance Services;
• Contributing to maintaining the Agency’s pollution response toolbox up and running.

Capacity building:

• Developing technical guidance on the response to uncontrolled releases of alternative fuels into the marine environment;
• Contributing as subject matter expert for Unit 1.3 in the design, preparation and delivery of learning material as part of the tasks undertaken by the EMSA academy to support Member States and relevant stakeholders in the transition to alternative fuels.

5. Eligibility and Selection Criteria

A. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

A.1 Education and experience

• 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 AND at
  least three years proven professional experience acquired after the award of university
  diploma, or; A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies
  attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is at least three
  years AND at least four years of proven professional experience acquired after the award
  of university diploma.

It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom
who do not hold the nationality of another European Union Member State, are not eligible.

Only qualifications that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are subject to the equivalence certificates issued by the authorities
in the EU Member States will be taken into consideration. Please note, that degrees awarded by the United Kingdom up to 31/12/2020 are
considered as valid.

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 certificate of competence as Master or Chief Mate (according to STCW II/2), or, a university degree in one of the following fields: Naval Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering, Chemistry or Chemical Engineering;
• A minimum of 3 years of proven professional experience related to the functions and duties: on board tankers specialised in chemical transportation, or in Port liquid bulk terminals, or in a specialised fire brigade, or in a laboratory specialised in pollution of the marine environment by hazardous substances, or as a researcher in projects related to alternative fuel chemistry, or in a maritime administration with tasks related to pollution preparedness and response.

B.2. Advantageous

• Completed advanced studies in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering;
• Proven professional experience in hazard identification and analysis processes;
• Proven professional experience in response to incidents involving chemicals.

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.

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

In addition to the requirements above, candidates invited to the interview and test phase may also be assessed again the following supplementary requirements (soft skills):

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills including the ability to anticipate potential problems, determine and implement solutions;
• The ability to work under pressure and to respond quickly to new demands;
• Good communication, presentation and reporting skills in English.

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 his/her full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled the obligations imposed on him/her 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.

It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another European Union Member State, are not eligible for calls for applications at EMSA due to the fact that they do not fulfil the requirements of Article 12.2 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, namely, that they do not hold the nationality of a EU Member State.

7. Conditions of employment

The Reserve List for an Officer – Pollution Response (Alternative Fuels) will be appointed by the Executive Director, upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

This vacancy notice concerns a Temporary Agent position, pursuant to Article 2f) 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.

If recruited from the reserve list, the successful candidate will be recruited in the grade AD6.

The basic monthly salary, before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 April 2025 for grade AD6 first step is 6,224.61EUR.

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.

EMSA is an Agency focused on gender balance and a harmonic workplace and strongly encourages the applications of women for the positions where they are underrepresented.

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. Staff is selected without prejudice as to sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age 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 be informed that the interviews and/or the written tests will be organised remotely. Further information on the organisation of the  test and interview will be provided upon invitation.