ABOUT EUROPOL
This selection procedure is intended to establish a reserve list of successful candidates (indicative number is 3). Europol may retain the right to make use of the reserve list to select candidates for similar posts, should business needs require so.
Europol is a well-established and recognized organisation that became an EU agency in 2010. It is constantly looking for creative, self-reliant and energetic employees, who are up to the challenges involved in international crime-fighting, to work in its state-of-the-art headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Europol employs more than 1,000 personnel, including around 160 analysts, to identify and track the most dangerous criminal and terrorist networks in Europe. Our people come from a variety of professional backgrounds such as law enforcement, finance, legal, information technologies, human resources, communication, etc.
Working in close-knit teams, our specialists use their expertise and our cutting-edge technology to support investigations into serious organised crime and terrorism within and outside the EU.
A solid track record
Europol has:
• disrupted many criminal and terrorist networks;
• contributed to the arrest of thousands of dangerous criminals;
• helped recover millions of euros of crime proceeds;
• helped hundreds of victims of trafficking and abuse, including children.
The working environment at Europol has a lot to offer. It is:
• highly collaborative;
• intellectually stimulating;
• multilingual;
• multidisciplinary;
• international.
Prospective candidates should be prepared to work in a dynamic and fast-moving environment that requires a high level of flexibility, and should have the ability to perform well within a team.
Equal opportunity
Europol is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications without distinction on the basis of gender, colour, racial, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, nationality, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.
We aim to create and maintain a healthy and attractive work environment that supports our colleagues in their career planning and in achieving a healthy work-life balance.
Employment at Europol is open to nationals of EU Member States. There is no nationality quota system in operation, but Europol is striving for a broad range of nationalities in order to keep a well-balanced geographical distribution among its staff members.
BACKGROUND, MAIN PURPOSE AND TASKS OF THE POST
The ICT Department is in the forefront of technology innovation with the responsibility for devising, delivering and operating modern ICT capabilities supporting the core mission and support processes of Europol. Over 150 internal staff members and a significant number of domain-specific consultants are responsible for devising, developing, delivering and operating information management and communication technology capabilities that ensure enhanced criminal information analysis exchange among Europol, Member States and third parties.
The selected candidate will work in a team of solution architects and engineers, each one predominantly focused in the specific architecture domain area for which they are most competent, but all closely cooperating as a team, coordinated by a Senior Specialist who reports to the Head of ICT Unit.
The selected candidate will cooperate closely with other software, security engineering and operations teams, providing hands-on architecture guidance and contributing to solution engineering, technical product management and system administration in the area of competence.
The successful applicant will have to carry out the following generic duties:
• Liaise with and monitor the market to keep abreast of the technology curve in fast evolving domains, with a special focus on data and information architectures;
• Translate business requirements into innovative solutions architecture and designs, producing baseline and target solution architecture documentation, and their respective roadmaps aligned with the business strategy on one side and with the overall ICT evolution on the other side;
• Liaise with key stakeholders to support planning and execution of ICT changes and development initiatives;
• Assume quality assurance roles in ICT development projects;
• As needed, act as Technical Product Manager of selected systems and platforms, taking responsibility for the ICT product throughout its life cycle;
• Monitor and/or participate to selected EU, law enforcement, or other relevant forums, and sponsor internal adoption of interfaces and standards supporting the delivery and support of decentralised solutions.
Related to his or her specific area of competence, (s)he will:
• Produce, maintain, update, disseminate and expand the set of architecture standards, guidelines and reference architectures for the implementation and support of ICT solutions, with a special focus on data and information processing systems;
• Identify and specify ICT architecture components required to enable the delivery of the designed solutions, providing guidance and review for their implementation and configuration, with as much detail as needed;
• Participate in solution engineering and system administration activities, in cooperation with software, infrastructure and operations teams;
• Drive the evaluation and selection of the technical products that are required to implement ICT solutions, with a special focus on data and information processing systems;
• Assess business cases, project proposals, and project deliverables, to determine feasibility, impact on, and compliance with, the overall ICT architecture and landscape.
REQUIREMENTS – ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
a. Candidates must
• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union and enjoy full rights as a citizen
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
• Produce appropriate character references as to his or her suitability for the performance of the duties
• Be physically fit to perform the duties pertaining to the position (prior to appointment the successful candidate will be medically examined by one of the institution’s medical officers in order that the institution may be satisfied that the candidate fulfils the requirements of Art 12(2)(d) CEOS)
• Produce evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties
b. Candidates must have
• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies, preferably in Computer Science or Information Technology, attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is at least 4 years
OR
• A level of education, which corresponds to completed university studies, preferably in Computer Science or Information Technology, attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is 3 years
OR
• Professional training of an equivalent level in a relevant area (e.g. Police Officer’s School) and after having completed the training, at least the number of years of relevant professional experience indicated in the table below:
Duration of professional training Additional professional experience required for equivalency
More than 6 months and up to 1 year 4 years
More than 1 year and up to 2 years 3 years
More than 2 years and up to 3 years 2 years
More than 3 years 1 years
• In addition to the above at least 6 years of professional work experience gained after the award of the diploma
REQUIREMENTS – SELECTION CRITERIA
a. Professional experience (assessed mainly during the shortlisting):
Essential:
• Professional experience in architecture definition, specification and in providing architecture supervision and support to ICT delivery projects
• Professional experience with architecture and engineering of large scale data warehouse, business intelligence and analytics solutions
• Professional experience with large scale data acquisition, transfer, loading and processing, including transformation of both structured and unstructured datasets, including streaming services
• Professional experience with self-service and/or automated data transformation and normalisation solutions
• Professional experience with data modelling, metadata management and data integration patterns
Desirable:
• Experience with the architecture modelling standards and frameworks (TOGAF, Archimate, etc.)
• Experience with solution architecture and engineering of large scale web-based enterprise solutions, integration patterns and methods and cloud native architectures
• Experience with machine learning/deep learning solutions and technologies
REQUIREMENTS – SELECTION CRITERIA
b. Professional knowledge (assessed during the Selection procedure – Written/Practical test and/or Interview):
Essential:
• Knowledge of large scale data acquisition, ingestion, transfer, (self service and automated) transformation, normalisation, dashboarding, data visualization methods and toolsets, including streaming data sources
• Knowledge of data lake, data warehousing, data virtualisation technologies, methods and tools
• Knowledge of architecture modelling and design techniques, including master/metadata management and data quality methods and approaches
• Knowledge of Data Science concepts, methods and toolsets
• Knowledge in the domain of Information Security
Desirable:
• Knowledge of the architecture modelling standards and frameworks (TOGAF, Archimate, etc.) – certificate or hands-on experience
• Knowledge of solution architecture and engineering of large scale web-based enterprise solutions, integration patterns and methods, microservices architectures and cloud native architectures – certificate or hands-on experience
• Knowledge of machine learning/deep learning solutions and technologies – certificate or hands-on experience
c. General competencies (assessed during the Selection procedure – Written/Practical test and/or Interview):
Communicating:
• Excellent communication skills in English, both orally and in writing
• Excellent presentation skills
• Ability to draft clear and concise documents on complex matters for various audiences
Analysing & problem solving:
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills including the ability to anticipate potential problems, to determine and implement solutions
• Competent user of Microsoft Office applications (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and the internet
Delivering quality and results:
• High degree of commitment and flexibility
• High level of customer and service-orientation
• Ability to display initiative, flexibility and a drive for improvement
Prioritising and organising:
• Ability to manage projects and familiarity with project management terminology and methodology
• Excellent organizational skills including the ability to plan work load, establish clear priorities and exercise initiative
Resilience:
• Excellent ability to work well under pressure, both independently and in a team
• Ability to remain effective under a heavy workload and demonstrate resistance to stress
Living diversity:
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with co-workers in an international and multi-disciplinary work environment
Advising:
• Strong ability to synthesise various data into a coherent and relevant whole, transforming it into a valuable and correct conclusion
• Building constructive relationships with clients, adequately identifying and managing their needs and expectations, and giving well-grounded advice
d. Additional condition:
Fulfil the condition stipulated in Article 5 of the Decision of the Executive Director on the Duration of contracts of employment for Temporary Agents, on the start date of the possible contract of employment, which may be offered.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
The Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of Employment (AACC) sets up a Selection Committee, which consists of at least three members, consisting of one chair and at least one member from the Administration of Europol and one member designated by the Staff Committee.
In specific cases, in particular for selection procedures of experts, additional members may be designated from Europol, from outside Europol or from outside the Union institutions.
The Selection Committee determines candidates’ suitability for the position by assessing their skills, experience and qualifications against the established job profile and makes an initial selection from the applications received.
The Selection Committee will invite the 5 highest scoring candidates (shortlisted). All candidates having a score equal to the 5th highest scoring candidate will be included to the list of invited candidates.
Shortlisted applicants are invited to participate in a post-related selection procedure, generally consisting of written and/or practical tests and competency-based interviews.
The AACC takes a decision of appointment on the basis of advice from the Selection Committee, and will inform the Selection Committee accordingly. The AACC has also the possibility to establish a reserve list of successful candidates, which is, in principle, valid for 12 months. The validity of the reserve list may be extended, in principle, for 12 months. All candidates who attend the selection procedure will be informed of the outcome.
Candidates who attended a selection procedure may request feedback on their performance in the written test and interview within three months after the selection procedure. Europol will not be in a position to respond to feedback inquiries received outside this time frame.
The Selection Committee’s work and deliberations are confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with the members of the Selection Committee or for anyone to do so on their behalf. All enquiries or requests for information or documentation in relation to the competition should be addressed to the Europol Recruitment Team.
Detailed information on the selection procedure, including the appeal procedure, is available in the Europol Recruitment Guidelines, which can be found on Europol’s website.
SALARY
Scale: AD7
The gross basic monthly salary is EUR 6.294,84 (step 1) or EUR 6.559,36 (step 2).
The step in grade is determined on the basis of professional experience gained after the education required for the position and in line with applicable implementing rules.
Staff pay EU tax at source but salaries are exempt from national taxes. Compulsory deductions are made for medical insurance, pension and unemployment insurance.
Subject to the applicable conditions being met, as defined in the EU Staff Regulations (EUSR)/CEOS and further specified in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, allowances such as expatriation allowance (16% of basic gross salary) or foreign residence allowance (4% of basic gross salary), household allowance, dependent child and / or education allowance may be granted.
Staff enjoy worldwide insurance coverage by the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) and are insured against sickness, the risk of occupational disease and accident.
Europol offers flexible working arrangements, a comprehensive provision for annual leave as well as parental leave supporting a healthy work-life balance.
Indicative net salary sample calculation AD7/1:
a) Staff member (single) in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 6.654,00
b) Staff member with two dependent children in their custody in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 8.512,05
The above information is indicative and for information purposes only. It is merely meant to give an indication of your possible net salary in light of the currently applicable amounts of the related allowances and the level of taxation. It has no legal value and no rights can be derived from it.
The information is based on figures applicable as of July 2020.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Probation period
Engagement for this position is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of 9 months. Within this period the successful candidate will have to undergo a post-related security screening.
Europol reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment during or at the end of the probation period in accordance with Article 14 of CEOS.
Security screening and certificate of good conduct
All candidates who have successfully passed a selection procedure are required to apply for a national “certificate of good conduct” at the time an offer of employment is made. The “certificate of good conduct” must be provided to Europol prior the signature of the employment contract. In case of unfavourable entries in the “Certificate of good conduct” Europol reserves the right not to award an employment contract.
However, the national certificate of good conduct does not substitute a valid full Personal Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) that must be obtained for all Europol staff at the level indicated in this Vacancy Notice. A PSCC is a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared. It contains: the level of clearance; the date of issuance and the date of expiry. Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of employment contract.
The requested level of Security Clearance for this post is: CONFIDENTIAL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL.
Contract of employment
The successful candidate will be recruited in the type of post Administrator and function group AD, grade 7 pursuant to Article 2(f) CEOS and Annex I EUSR.
The initial contract will be concluded for a period of 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week). The contract may be renewed, in principle, for a period of 2 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite duration.
If the successful candidate is already a member of temporary staff 2(f) in the relevant function group, he/she will be offered the opportunity of contract continuity, subject to establishment plan availabilities.
In exceptional cases, where justified in the interest of the service, the AACC may recruit a candidate, successful in a selection procedure for temporary staff under Article 2(f) of the CEOS, as contract staff under Article 3(a) of the CEOS, if such selection procedure is considered to be appropriate to the duties to be performed.
The place of employment will be The Hague, The Netherlands.
For further information on terms and conditions please consult the EU Staff Regulations which are available on Europol’s website.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Privacy statement
Europol respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. Your data will be processed in accordance 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 applicable to Europol under Article 46 of the Europol Regulation.
For additional information, please consult the applicable privacy statement available on our website.
Statutory obligations upon leaving the service
Pursuant to Article 16 of the EU Staff Regulations, EU officials and, by analogy, temporary agents continue to be bound by the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits’ after leaving the service. Those staff members intending to engage in an occupational activity within two years of leaving the service shall inform their institution, so that it may take an appropriate decision in that respect. In cases where the intended activity is related to the work carried out by the staff member during the last three years of service and could lead to a conflict with the legitimate interests of the institution, the decision to be taken may include forbidding the staff member from undertaking it or giving its approval subject to any conditions it thinks fit.
Main dates
Deadline for application: 17 March 2021, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone
Recruitment procedure: April 2021
Application process and selection procedure
Please refer to the EUROPOL RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES available on Europol’s website for further details on the application process and the selection procedure.
Contact details
For further details on the application process please call +31 (0) 70 353 1146 or +31 (0) 70 353 1154.
Source URL: https://www.europol.europa.eu/careers-procurement/vacancies/vacancy/489