JOB DESCRIPTION

Is this job for you?

You will work in the Governance and International Relations section in the Director’s Office and contribute to the work of ECDC in the areas of cooperation with the EU Member States and the European Economic Area countries (EU/EEA), EU Institutions and international relations.

To find out more about what the unit does, visit https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/about- us/ecdcs-organisational-structure.

Reporting to the Head of Section Governance and International Relations, you will be part of a team of approximately seven staff.

In this position, you will have a wide variety of tasks that will give you the opportunity to:

• Contribute to the Centre’s collaboration and engagement with the EU/EEA within ECDC’s mandate;
• Contribute to coordination of work of ECDC with EU institutions, especially the European Commission services, and international organisations, particularly the World Health Organisation, major Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDCs) in non-EU countries etc.;
• Support, in coordination with the European Commission services, the development of technical cooperation and collaboration between ECDC, EU/EEA countries and the countries neighbouring the European Union (e.g. EU enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Partner countries);
• Develop and maintain structured cooperation frameworks and collaborative relations with international partners in the assigned areas of responsibility;

• Participate in ECDC missions, travelling within and outside Europe;
• Support any other international activities, as requested, as part of the Governance and International Relations section in the Director’s Office;
• Contribute to other activities of ECDC as required, within your field of competence.

What are we looking for?

1. Formal requirements

For your application to be considered eligible you must fulfil all the following requirements by the application deadline:

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least 3 years attested by a diploma^[1];
• Thorough knowledge of one of the official EU languages and a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language to the extent necessary for the performance of your duties^[2];
• Nationality of one of the EU Member States or of Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and to be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
• To have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved^[3]; and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

You will need to provide appropriate documents to show that you meet all of the above criteria.

1. Selection criteria

For your application to be evaluated further, you will also need:

• At least 3 years, following the award of the diploma, of professional experience acquired in positions relevant to the job description, including experience in international relations, public health and/or public administration with exposure to public health;
• Work experience in international/EU institutions or experience of cooperating with such institutions, providing an understanding of international relations/cooperation;
• Excellent knowledge of the relevant EU policies and activities, in particular familiarity with the EU external relations policies and/or EU public health policies;
• Work experience providing an understanding of the context in which national public health institutes (in the EU) operate;
• Hands-on experience in project management, including budget monitoring, and timely and accurate reporting;
• Excellent level of English, both written and spoken.

Additionally, we will assess the following competencies:

• Very good oral and written communication skills, including briefing and report writing and oral presentation skills;
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multicultural team and to build strong working relationships;
• Very good diplomatic and negotiation skills;
• High degree of political awareness and sensitivity;
• Ability to work under pressure and manage responsibilities; results oriented and quality driven.

Depending on the number of applications received, the selection committee may apply stricter requirements within the aforementioned selection criteria.

[1] Only diplomas and certificates that have been awarded in EU member states or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration

[2] Candidates with a non-official EU language or English as their mother tongue must provide proof of their level of a second language with a certificate (B1 or more).

In addition, in order to be eligible for a promotion through an annual promotion exercise the staff members have to have a working knowledge of a third EU language, as described in the applicable Staff Regulations and Implementing Rules.

[3] Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide a certificate from the police file to the effect of non-existing criminal record.