JOB DESCRIPTION

Call for Applications: EMSA/AD/2025/14 – Officer – Legal Services

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. Unit 4.2: Legal, Finance & Facilities

The Unit provides advice to the Executive Director on legal, budgetary and financial matters and ensures compliance of legal and financial transactions with EMSA Financial Regulation. In this area, it particularly provides advice and verification on procurement procedures and legal commitments, financial and budgetary issues. The Unit carries out ex-ante financial verification of all financial transactions; in ensures the Agency invoice registration and management of contract archive and all access rights to the ABAC suite. Finally, it aims at streamlining administrative procedures by providing training in relation to finance and procurement, drafting and updating relevant rules, guidelines, templates and procedures and as business Unit enhancing procurement and financial tools of the Agency including e-procurement. It also handles matters of access to documents.

The Unit provides the framework for setting the environmental policy of the Agency and coordinates the project aiming at EMAS registration.

Finally, the Unit maintains and operates EMSA’s premises and infrastructure, deals with safety and security matters, provides support for EMSA events and provides numerous support services. There are 12 staff members working in the unit.

4. Functions and duties

The Officer – Legal Services, under the responsibility of the Head of Unit 4.2, Legal, Finance and Facilities, will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Providing the Executive Director and management with legal advice related to the activities of the Agency;
• Preparing replies to requests for advice and/or legal opinions in support of the preparation and implementation of any activity within the Agency’s mandate;
• Carrying out a legal review of documents and providing legal advice and assistance related to procurement;
• Carrying out a legal review of documents and providing legal advice and assistance related to contract management;
• Providing legal advice and assistance in other administrative and operational areas related to EMSA’s tasks (such as intellectual property rights, access to documents, good administrative practices, data protection, governance procedures, interpretation of EU law in the maritime sector etc.);
• Providing legal training to EMSA staff members;
• Preparing, developing and implementing EMSA’s internal procedural documents, rules, templates and guidelines;
• Organising and assisting in the representation of EMSA before judicial or arbitration bodies.

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 university degree in Law;
• At least three years of work experience in providing legal advice either in private legal practice, an EU institution or body, or in a public body/international organization;
• Proven professional experience in the following two areas: procurement and contract management;
• Proven professional experience in at least one additional area of EU law relevant for the work of EMSA: IPR law, EU staff regulations, data protection, public access to documents, legal obligations in relation to information management (e.g. EUCI, sensitive non-classified information), litigation and/or arbitration, maritime law, general principles of administrative law;
• Proven experience in drafting legal documents (e.g. legal guidelines, internal procedures, legal opinions/advice, legal and contractual templates, Executive Director or Management Board Decisions, etc);
• Excellent knowledge of the EU legal framework applicable to an EU decentralized Agency, in particular, the EU Financial Regulation.

B.2. Advantageous

• A working knowledge of Portuguese and/or French (ideally at B.2 level).

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 against the following supplementary requirements (soft skills):

• The ability to communicate complex legal matters to non-legal professionals;
• The ability to take a solution-focussed approach;
• The ability to draft clear and concise documents;
• A high sense of responsibility, discretion and confidentiality;
• The ability to work under pressure.

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