The Left in the European Parliament is looking for an Administrator - Team Coordinator (French- and German-speaking)

Post: Temporary agent - Administrator - Team Coordinator (grade AD.7) - DE/EN - 1 post

Based in: Brussels, but short missions to the other places of work and to other Member States.

Context

The LEFT Group in the European Parliament brings together MEPs from a range of European left and progressive parties - ecological, socialist, communist, and independent. In virtually all policy areas, it argues against the mainstream neoliberal prescriptions for the EU and focusses on presenting progressive policy alternatives. Staff must be comfortable in this environment and both capable of, and fully at ease with, supporting our MEPs in their policy objectives.

As staff of a political group, which has a different function to that of a public administration, the appointees must hold the trust and confidence of the appointing authority (the Group Chair and General Secretary), they are expected to generally reflect the values of the group, and to be capable of readily producing research and proposals which fit with the outlook of the group’s MEPs.

Although temporary -agent contracts are of indefinite duration, the work of the Group is generally organised in 5 -year legislative cycles. This means that, at the beginning of each legislative period, the staff organigram must be reorganised to reflect the changed composition and political priorities of the Group, which may mean that some contracts will not be continued.

This vacancy is expected to attract applications from staff (Temporary & Contract Agents and Officials) already within the Left, in other political groups and the European Parliament administration as well as from external candidates who meet the qualifying conditions.

Equal opportunities

The LEFT group is an equal-opportunities employer and encourages applications from qualified candidates who fulfil the conditions for admission, excluding all discrimination.

Candidate profile

The LEFT Group is looking for a Team Coordinator for its Communications unit. The successful candidate will have solid experience in Communications and substantial management skills.

S/He will be adaptable and able to accommodate the varying needs of a political group in terms of: the changing volume and intensity of the workload; the type of contribution required ranging from high-level advice to basic administrative support; and, a work schedule determined by the parliamentary and political calendar.

S/He will be committed to advancing the Group’s policy programme and political objectives, ready to propose options and strategies with those in mind while always recognising that ultimate decisions in these areas are the responsibility of the group's political leadership.

Duties

The successful candidate will coordinate and manage the day-to-day operations of the Communications unit.

Duties shall include:

• coordinate the work of the team to ensure its smooth running and good internal organisation of all activities, ensuring its functioning and the completion of all tasks

• to maintain the Group's presence in social media and to keep up the existing relations with media and specific journalists

• to be the unit's point of contact, ensuring the liaison internally and externally by providing response/reaction/follow up to issues that come up

General conditions for admission

Before appointment, the successful candidate will be required to prove compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 12(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union of the Staff Regulation regarding nationality, military service, appropriate character for the performance of the duties, physical fitness and linguistic knowledge.

This selection procedure is open to any candidate provided that they have:

• a level of education which corresponds to a complete cycle of university studies of at least four years attested by a diploma, or

• a complete cycle of university studies of three years sanctioned by a diploma followed by at least 1 year of relevant professional experience (Article 5(3)(c) of the Staff Regulations); the professional experience requested in (ii) will not count for the calculation of the years of relevant professional experience required in the next indent;

• at least 7 years of relevant professional experience in Communications following acquisition of the diploma mentioned in the first indent;

• for operational reasons, very good knowledge of German, English and French is required; knowledge of other EU languages will be considered an asset.

• a thorough knowledge of the institutional structure of the EU, including the role and activities of the EP and its political groups.

The role of Team coordinator is a position of responsibility within the Left structure which requires availability and flexibility, a methodological approach, discretion and adaptation to varying duties.

For these reasons, the successful candidate shall have:

• The 7 years of professional experience required above shall include some in the EP or similar institutions, and include at least 3 years in management position with responsibility for staff and output;

• very good knowledge of good communications practices

• knowledge of EU policy debates, working of EP bodies and plenary organisation

• knowledge and/or experience of the LEFT’s legislative work and the policy orientation of its MEPs and constituent member parties;

• sufficient empathy with the political outlook and objectives of the Group to be able to instinctively anticipate policy positions on new topics without the need for close supervision or direction;

Position to be filled

Post to be available from January 2025

Application Procedure

Applications should be sent by email in a single attached .pdf file, not later than 12h00 noon on 19 December 2024, to left.applications@europarl.europa.eu

Applications should have the SRN IRC number in the email subject line and include: a signed application/motivation letter, indicating the Reference Number of the position being applied for; a completed Left Europass CV (downloadable from www.left.eu / the Group) including a current email contact address; and photocopies of the documents necessary to demonstrate fulfilment of the experience and qualifications requirements prescribed for the post or claimed by the applicant.

Applications may be made in any of the official EU languages; however, the application dossier must include an English version of the application letter, the CV and an itemised list of numbered attachments.

Candidates who fail to fulfil any of these conditions will be automatically eliminated.

Selection procedure

The selection procedure shall be on the basis of qualifications and oral and written tests.

The selection board will draw up the list of candidates who meet the eligibility and application conditions.

It will then establish a list - normally between 3 and 5 per post - of those eligible candidates whose qualifications and experience best match the duties to be carried out and who will be called for tests.

Written tests will be in German and English.

The maximum time allowed will be 75 minutes and 30 % max of the marks will be available.

Some questions will require essay-style answers, others may be multiple-choice or general knowledge in format. More detail on this part will be provided with the invitation to interview.

Interviews with the selection board will be in English, with optional questions in other languages to test linguistic competence, lasting from 15-20 minutes; 70% of the marks will be available for this test which will also take account of the answers to the general knowledge part of the written test as well as the information in the applicant's application file.

Following these tests, the selection board will establish a list of suitable candidates to be placed on a reserve list. Future appointments would be made by the AECE of the group according to the needs of the Group. The reserve list shall remain valid until 30 June 2029.

Communication with the candidates about arrangements at each stage of the selection procedure will be via the Group’s website and by email. Applications will always be confirmed by return.

Enquiries, for information not on the website, should be by email only.

Protection of personal data

The Left Group ensures that applicants’ personal data are processed in line with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, particularly as regards their confidentiality and security.

Applicants may request, in writing, clarification of, or to appeal against, any decision of the selection board within three working days of notification of the decision by email or by publication on the Group’s website. Appeals and clarification requests should be addressed to left.applications@europarl.europa.eu; they will be acknowledged within two working days and receive a reply within 10 working days.

For further information, please consult the group website at www.left.eu, and follow The Group / Vacancies. All developments in the recruitment process will be posted at this address.