JOB DESCRIPTION

About this role

The Agency is looking to recruit a Head of the Veterinary Medicines Division. The Head of Division is responsible for ensuring the effective and efficient operation of the business of Division, including the authorisation, supervision and maintenance of veterinary medicinal products, assuring the safety of animals, users, the environment and consumers of products of animal origin, and ensuring that legal deadlines for all procedures are observed.

In this role, you will be a member of the EMA Executive Board, with specific responsibility for cross-Agency projects and strategic initiatives affecting the Veterinary Division. You will also be responsible for cooperation with partners within the European Regulatory Network and with external stakeholders at European and international level. As a Head of Division, you will ensure that the goals for the Division as identified in the Agency Programming Document are met within the agreed deadlines.

The European Medicines Agency is a decentralised body of the European Union with all its offices and Headquarters based in Amsterdam. Its core responsibility is the protection and promotion of public health through the evaluation and supervision of medicines. More information about the Agency’s activities is available under www.ema.europa.eu/about us.

In this role

In this role, you will work closely with and report to the Executive Director, and:

• Have a firm understanding of a complex work environment to create and articulate the organisational vision; Lead, motivate and inspire professionals to work towards that vision and produce measurable results directly tied to business and people goals;
• Contribute to the collective leadership of the Agency;
• Drive the overall Agency strategy development as a member of the Executive Board;
• Deliver upon the strategic objectives by having and executing a concrete plan for the Division and each of the organisational entities;
• Provide advice to the Agency’s Management Board on matters specific to the Division;
• Be responsible for escalating (upwards and horizontally) with appropriate sense of urgency, matters of significance, for information or action, by Executive or Strategic boards;
• Promote and lead the development of the Agency’s change initiatives and programmes by ensuring transparent and timely communication to staff and by maintaining high levels of staff engagement;
• Ensure that processes are in place for managing and coordinating the human resources of the Division so that people are well motivated, act professionally and deliver consistently high performance within ethically sound principles;
• Promote the Agency’s values and shape a positive culture that allows driving change and transformation;
• Foster a business-oriented mindset and develop a focus on the creation of clear and value-added business outputs;
• Act as Authorising Officer, as required.
• Be responsible for delivering set objectives/results by understanding resource constraints and ensuring transparency of financial transactions at the Agency in line with the Agency’s financial rules and regulations;
• Coach, mentor and develop Heads of Department and manage their performance;
• Manage and monitor human and financial resources to achieve strategic and annual objectives, within the existing resource constraints;
• Be responsible for sound allocation of resources to create most value for the organisation or stakeholders and / or to achieve the highest possible impact.
• Develop and foster strong communication and strategic relations with a range of internal and external stakeholders;
• Represent the Agency in conferences and meetings with external stakeholders at European and International level in relation to division and Agency matters.

Specific tasks and responsibilities

• Set  the strategic direction for the Veterinary Medicines Division in relation to activities around protection of animal and public health arising from the use of veterinary medicines.
• Ensure the effective and efficient operation of the Division in particular regarding procedures related to the authorisation, supervision and maintenance of veterinary medicinal products by the EMA;
• Promote One Health and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) topics, fostering innovation and availability of Veterinary medicines, and stimulating the use of Digital technologies;
• Foster effective cooperation with European institutions and bodies, in cooperation with other Agency’s entities, in the area of veterinary medicines to promote the best interests of the EMA and contribute to the protection of human and animal health at a European level, for example with the European Commission, the Veterinary Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA-V), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC);
• In cooperation with other Agency’s entities, ensure effective input from the Division and relevant scientific committees and working groups into European and international activities relating to veterinary medicinal products, such as Codex Alimentarius, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products( VICH), as well as cooperation with international regulatory authorities and communication with other stakeholders.

Apply if you fulfil these eligibility criteria:

General conditions:

1. Full rights as a citizen of a European Union Member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway;
2. Thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2);
3. Fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service.

Specific conditions:

1. Possess a university degree in veterinary medicines or biomedical science of minimum four years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice and 15 years from the time when a university degree was awarded on completion of a minimum of four years of study.

or

2.  Possess a university degree in veterinary medicines or biomedical science of three years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice and 16 years from the time when a university degree was awarded on completion of a minimum of four years of study.

For general condition 1 and for specific conditions 1 and 2 you will be required to provide evidence in the application form and a proof at the interview stage. Failing to present these documents may result in the disqualification from the selection procedure.

Only eligible candidates  will be assessed by the Pre-selection Committee in accordance with the Assessment Criteria below.

Apply if you fulfil these eligibility criteria (applicable only to AD11 and above)

To be considered you will:

• be an established member of temporary staff as referred to in Article 2(f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants. As regards inter-agency publication, Article 9 of the GIPs on temporary staff 2(f) shall apply;
• be in grade AD12, AD13 or AD14, or in the case of an EMA temporary agent to be in grade AD11 and have a seniority of at least two years in that grade;
• have at least two years of experience in a middle management function in the EU Institutions/Agencies;
• possess the qualifications specified in the vacancy notice;

You will also need:

Experience

• Management experience of at least 7 years, of which at least 5 years experience in leading and managing large teams in a European and/or multinational/international organisation/private sector, in particular providing strategic direction and motivating a team with particular emphasis on the promotion of teamwork, maximisation of efficiency and management of staff performance;
• Experience in working in a multinational/European environment;
• Familiarity with one or other relevant business area related to financial and budgeting management, organisational performance systems, integrated planning, human resources management systems, communication and organisational change management;
• Proven experience in effectively managing negotiations with multiple stakeholders at a strategic level.

Skills & Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge in the field of veterinary or biomedical science, with particular emphasis on the development and use of veterinary medicinal products;
• Knowledge of EU policies and pharmaceutical legislation, including horizontal legislation;
• Knowledge of the European Medicines Regulatory Network;

Competencies you need to have:

Role specific competencies:

Continuous improvement     Advanced
Managing change and transition     Advanced

Core Managerial Competencies: 

Decision-making      Advanced
Coaching and developing     Advanced
Collaborative team leadership      Advanced
Inspiring and engaging                Advanced
Relating and networking              Advanced
Talent management                    Advanced
Visionary thinking and strategic planning       Advanced

Core Competencies:

Ethics and integrity    Intermediate
Team collaboration    Expert
Customer centricity    Advanced
Results orientation    Expert
Communication    Advanced
Cross-cultural sensitivity    Expert
Continuous learning and self-development    Intermediate
For more information about definitions of competencies and associated proficiency levels, please refer to the EMA Competency Framework.