ABOUT EUROPOL
This selection procedure is intended to establish a reserve list of successful candidates (indicative number is 3) to be used to fill available posts, including grant funded ones, in the ICT Department. Europol may retain the right to make use of the reserve list to select candidates for similar posts in other Departments, should business needs require so.
Organisational setting:
The post of Senior Agent – Solution Architect is located in the ICT Solution Architecture and Engineering Coordination Team, ICT Department, Capabilities Directorate (C14-AE).
The ICT Department has the responsibility for devising, delivering and operating critical ICT solutions and capabilities supporting the core mission and support processes of Europol. Over 130 internal staff members and a significant number of domain-specific consultants are responsible for developing, delivering and maintaining information management and communication technology capabilities that ensure enhanced criminal information exchange among Europol, Member States and third parties.
ICT Solution Architecture and Engineering Coordination Team is the design authority that coordinates the technically harmonized implementation of the ICT solutions landscape and its continuous innovation.
Purpose of the post:
The incumbent will be assigned to a team of solution architects and engineers and will work in close cooperation with relevant units of the Operations and Capabilities Directorates and under the guidance of the Europol Innovation Lab.
The Innovation Lab leads Europol’s involvement in EU Security Research programmes providing input to the preparation of the work programmes of the Security Research cluster of Horizon Europe, selection of relevant topics, monitoring and steering of projects of interests etc.
In addition, the Innovation Lab coordinates the implementation of several Horizon 2020 (H2020) projects (AIDA, GRACE and INFINITY) for which Europol is in charge of a number of deliverables.
The incumbent will be responsible for architecture tasks related to Europol’s part in the INFINITY H2020 project. The aim of the INFINITY project is to deliver the next generation of Virtual Reality and AI powered tools to help European Law Enforcement Agencies to improve their operational and technical capabilities.
The incumbent will be part of the H2020 project group delivering architecture expertise for the development of novel tools and models. S/he may also support other H2020 projects.
Reporting lines:
The incumbent reports to the Senior Specialist – Head of Team ICT Solution Architecture and Engineering Coordination (C14-AE).
Job environment:
This position may require participation in a 24/7 shift system, non-standard working hours including weekends and nights, and/or on-call duty.
BACKGROUND, MAIN PURPOSE AND TASKS OF THE POST
The incumbent carries out the following main functions and duties:
• 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;
• Produce, maintain, update, disseminate and expand the set of architecture standards, guidelines and reference architectures for the implementation and support of ICT solutions;
• 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 from time to time;
• 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;
• Assess business cases, project proposals, and project deliverables, to determine feasibility, impact on, and compliance with, the overall ICT architecture and landscape;
• Perform any other activities in the area of competence as assigned by line management.
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 Article 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 the area of Computer Science or Information Technology, attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 3 years or more.
OR
• Professional training of an equivalent level, and after having completed the training, at least the number of years of relevant professional experience as indicated below:
Duration of professional training Additional professional experience required for equivalency
More than 6 months and up to 1 year 3 years
More than 1 year and up to 2 years 2 years
More than 2 years 1 year
REQUIREMENTS – SELECTION CRITERIA
a. Professional experience: (assessed mainly during the Shortlisting phase):
Essential:
• Experience in architecture definition, specification and in providing architecture supervision and support to ICT delivery projects;
• Experience with architecture and engineering of micro services-based applications in containerized environments;
• Experience with solution architecture and software engineering of Java and/or .NET web-based enterprise solutions, including middleware and infrastructure;
• Experience with large scale data acquisition, transfer, loading and processing, including transformation of both structured and unstructured datasets, including streaming services;
Desirable:
• Experience working in a complex public sector environment or in a highly regulated environment with an articulated governance model;
• Experience with data modelling, metadata management and data integration patterns;
• Experience in the following domain areas:
o Cryptographic technologies;
o Anonymised and Pseudonymised matching, e.g. FIU-net;
o Virtualisation technologies and products;
o Information security;
o ICT networking;
b. Professional knowledge: (assessed during the Selection procedure – Written/Practical test and/or Interview):
Essential:
• Knowledge of the concepts, methods, techniques, and representative products in the following domain areas:
o Information architectures and standards, meta-data management, master data management, data modelling and design, data quality management;
o Data integration solutions, ETL solutions;
o Web services architecture and development standards, API design;
o Information security controls and principles;
• Knowledge of Architecture Modelling techniques: conceptualisation, modelling, and visualisation of architecture models and designs;
• Ability to produce well structured, quality documentation that appropriately addresses stakeholders’ needs;
• Knowledge in the following domains:
o Virtualisation technologies and products;
o Cloud native, web applications and three-tiers solution architectures.
c. General competencies:
Essential:
Communicating:
• Very good communication skills in English, both orally and in writing;
• Very good drafting skills and attention to detail.
Analysing & problem solving:
• Keen eye for detail with the ability to maintain standards of accuracy under pressure of tight deadlines;
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills including the ability to anticipate potential problems 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.
Prioritising and organising
• Good administrative and organisational skills.
Resilience
• Ability to work well under pressure, both independently and in a team;
• Very good interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively liaise with other departments, groups and teams as well as with external partners.
Living diversity
• Ability to work effectively in an international and multi-cultural environment.
SELECTION PROCEDURE
All applications for Contract Agent posts must be submitted through the online recruitment system accessible via Europol’s website.
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.
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 minimum pass-mark for being shortlisted, i.e. invited to participate in a post-related selection procedure, consisting of one or more written tests and competency-based interviews, is established as 60% of the total maximum score. The Selection Committee will shortlist the 6 highest scoring candidates (shortlisted). All candidates having a score equal to the 6th highest scoring candidate will be included to the list of invited candidates.
The AACC takes a decision on appointment based on 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 once, 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 Recruitment and Selection 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
The AACC shall classify contract staff in their function group taking into consideration their qualifications and professional experience at the time of entry into service.
FGIV:
The successful candidate will be engaged in Function Group FGIV, grade 13 (EUR 3,555.98), grade 14 (EUR 4,023.40) or grade 16 (EUR 5,150.62).
Grade Qualifications and professional experience
13 Less than 5 years
14 Between 5 years and 17 years
16 More than 17 years
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:
a) Staff member (single) in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): for grade 13: EUR 3,943.02; for grade 14: 4,428.51, for grade 16: 5,555.04
b) Staff member with two dependent children in their custody in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): for grade 13: EUR 5,568.48; for grade 14: 6,080.11, for grade 16: 7,295.30
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.
Probation period
Engagement for this post is subject to the successful completion of a probationary period of 9 months.
In case of successive contracts under Article 3a) of the CEOS, a candidate may be exempt from the requirement to serve another probationary period in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Management Board of Europol of 4 October 2019 governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed under the terms of Article 3a) thereof.
Europol reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment during or at the end of the probation period in accordance with Article 84 the CEOS.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Contract of employment
The successful candidate will be recruited as Contract Agent FG IV pursuant to Article 3(a) of the CEOS.
Contract linked to duties not funded by an EU grant
The initial contract will be concluded for a fixed period of 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week). The contract may be renewed, in principle, for a fixed period of 2 years. Any further renewal shall be for an indefinite duration.
Or
Contract linked to duties of limited duration in time, funded by an EU grant
The initial contract will be concluded for a fixed period of between 13 months and 4 years (full-time – 40 hours a week, unless otherwise specified), depending on the requirements and duration of the grant-funded post. The contract may be further renewed for another fixed period and, subsequently, for an indefinite duration, subject to the interest of the service and the availability of an EU grant. The end of such funding constitutes a valid ground for non-renewal or termination of the contract.
In case of successive contracts under Article 3a) of the CEOS, the duration of the contract offered will be set in accordance with the provisions of the Decision of the Management Board of Europol of 4 October 2019 governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed under the terms of Article 3a) thereof.
The place of employment will be The Hague, The Netherlands.
For further information on terms and conditions please consult the EUSR/CEOS available on Europol’s website.
Security screening and certificate of good conduct
Candidates who have been recruited to a post at Europol are required to furnish a valid certificate of good conduct before the start of their employment. The certificate of good conduct must be provided to Europol prior the signature of the employment contract. The certificate of good conduct must be issued by the relevant authorities of the country of nationality of the candidate and must not be older than three months at the time of submission to Europol. Europol reserves the right not to proceed with the signature of the contract based on the content of the certificate or if the candidate fails to provide the certificate to Europol. The certificate of good conduct does not substitute a valid security clearance required for all Europol staff at the level indicated in the vacancy notice. Failure to obtain the requisite security clearance before the expiration of the probationary period may be cause for termination of the employment contract. Candidates who currently hold a valid security clearance at the level indicated in the vacancy notice or above do not need to obtain a certificate of good conduct or a new security clearance and must provide a copy of the current security clearance certificate to Europol prior to the signature of the employment contract. Europol shall verify and confirm the continued validity of the security clearance. In case Europol determines that the security clearance is not valid, the candidate will be required to provide a valid certificate of good conduct prior to the signature of the employment contract. Europol may at any time terminate the employment contract if the result of the security screening is not positive and the necessary clearance level is not granted or extended.
The requested level of security clearance for this post is: CONFIDENTIAL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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.
Europol aims 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.
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 and contract 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: 30 April 2021, 23:59 Amsterdam Time Zone
Recruitment procedure: May/June 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/499