26 January 2012
EMA/68231/2012
Administration
EMA/AST/332: Managed Services and Archives Officer,
Infrastructure Services, Administration
(AST3)
The European Medicines Agency is a decentralised body of the European Union with all its offices and headquarters in London. Its core responsibility is the protection and promotion of public health through the evaluation and supervision of medicines.
Infrastructure Services in its remit to support the operations of the Agency has appointed an outsourced specialist managed services provider for the delivery of services related to the mailroom, collection and delivery, portering and document production services, provision and management of
local Multi-function Devices (MFDs), the supply of stationery and IT consumables and confidential waste disposal.
The Agency requires regular and comprehensive reports on all aspects of the services. The Agency has agreed an SLA and associated KPIs which are monitored and reported on a periodic basis, including day-to-day management of the service delivery.
Additionally, the Agency has concluded a contract for offsite documents storage facilities and document management services. The Agency currently has in excess of 35,000 boxes of documents stored offsite in a secure environment. In addition to the storage of document boxes and their physical
retrieval on request, the contract also includes the digitisation of documents in storage, scan on demand and electronic retrieval and services relating to confidential destruction and the long term preservation of documents.
Under the supervision of the Section Head for Business Support Services the job holder will assist with all aspects of management of the Managed Services and Archives teams.
Candidates on the valid reserve list may also be considered for a different post within the same grade if the job specification and the nature of the role is similar.
This announcement is governed by the General terms and conditions for selection procedures for Temporary Agents.
Specific objectives:
The successful candidate is expected to carry out the following tasks:
• Effective contract management of the two contracts related to the service and any future contracts which may be awarded in this service area, at operational and management levels including the day-to-day management of the service; monitoring of SLAs,and KPIs; review of the contracts ensuring that SLAs, KPIs, exit plans and BC plans are updated, current and effective; the renewal and amendment of contracts as appropriate;
• Ensuring that the service delivery of the contracts meet the needs of the Agency as defined at the time and that the services are continuously developed and improved in accordance with the Agency’s changing needs and best practice;
• Develop and manage the offsite archives service in line with the Agency’s document management policy in respect to retention and retrospective conversion;
• Implement a review of the mailroom procedures;
• To liaise with key service users within the Agency and externally in order to explore and propose process improvements and innovations for the Agency’s management to consider which could be in the interest of the Agency;
• Prepare tender documents and run tender procedures for the services when they become due for renewal and other related services as may be identified over time;
• Carry out benchmarking exercises with respect to the services delivered;
• Oversee the ordering of supplies and services, the authorisation of invoices for payment and liaise with the sector’s budget team in respect to budgets and finance ensuring the established controls are met and that the procedures are in line with the Agency’s financial regulations and ex-post
audits;
• Assist and provide the necessary input to the Agency’s programme to relocate to new premises in 2014 (Project 2014) with respect to the services relating to reprographics, mailroom and archives;
• Act as the reporting officer for staff where applicable.
Elements that will be taken into account in determining candidates to be
invited for interview:
• Very good knowledge of the workings and management of the relevant services –offsite document storage archive facilities, mailroom and reprographics;
• Capacity and experience of organising and managing the provision of an offsite document management service and the related storage and movement of archive boxes;
• Capacity and experience of document retrospective conversion;
• Capacity and experience of managing outsourced services, preparing analyses and experience of benchmarking exercises;
• Capacity and experience of managing mailrooms;
• Capacity of preparing tender documents and carrying out tender procedures for the relevant services;
• Experience in the preparation of contracts and an ability to draft service level agreements and similar documents;
• Ability to draft reports;
• Appropriate supervisory skills;
• Good analytical capabilities and problem-solving skills;
• High degree of organisational skills and ability to work in a team and under pressure;
• Excellent spoken and written English.
Essential requirements for admission to the selection procedure:
1. A post-secondary education diploma, plus three years’ professional experience or
2. A secondary education certificate giving access to post-secondary education plus three years’ professional experience (which is the equivalent of the educational requirement in the first
indent), plus a further three years’ experience making a total of six years’ professional experience.
3. A good command of English and a thorough knowledge of another official language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of duties. (For any promotion in the future, knowledge of a third EU language would be required)
For essential requirements 1. and 2. above it will be necessary to provide
proof of each one prior to the interview stage.
Deadline for submission of application forms is 24 March 2012 at midnight.
General Conditions
Selected candidates will be included on a reserve list and, depending on the budgetary situation, may be offered a five-year renewable Temporary Agent contract in accordance with the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Union (Official Journal of the European Communities No L 56 of 4 March 1968).1
The place of employment shall be London.
Candidates must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union, or of Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, on condition that they have full rights as a citizen.
Candidates must have fulfilled any obligations imposed on them by laws concerning military service and meet the character requirements for the duties involved.
For each selection procedure candidates must follow the application procedure as instructed below.
All material to be placed on candidates' files must be submitted afresh: reference may not be made to earlier applications. No material contained in candidates' files will be returned. All the questions on the form must be completed in full.
Applications have to be submitted electronically using the form available on the Agency website.
Please note that due to the large numbers of applications we receive, when reaching the deadline for submission of applications, the system may have problems to process the large amounts of data. We therefore advise applicants to send in their application well ahead of the deadline.
Application Procedure
There are two stages in the application procedure:
1. Online registration
2. Submission of a full application
Stage 1 Online registration
At the first stage candidates must submit their application electronically using the application form available in English on the Agency website. Translations of the application form are available for reference purposes in the other official languages. All parts of the form must be completed in full.
Eligibility check before submission of the application form
Candidates should assess carefully and check before submitting their application form whether they fulfill all the conditions for admission laid down in the publication notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience.
1 http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/toc100_en.pdf
Stage 2 Submission of a full application (only for candidates invited to
interview)
At the second stage, should the candidate be invited for interview, in order for the application to be considered complete candidates must bring with them on the day of the interview photocopies of all the supporting documents (diplomas, certificates, professional references etc) needed
to prove that they satisfy all conditions for admission. All documentary evidence of professional experience must indicate start and end dates for previous positions and the start date and continuity for the current position held. On the day of the interview the candidate must sign his/her application form and by signing the form the candidate certifies on his/her honour that the information provided is complete and accurate.
The address indicated on the form will be used as the location for travel for candidates invited to interview.
Your application will not be accepted unless all the documentary evidence is provided and the application form has been signed on the day of the interview, if so invited. Candidates who have not submitted all the documents specified by the date of the interview will be disqualified.
Eligibility check for candidates invited to the interview
Education, certificates and diplomas
Candidates must provide photocopies of certificates or diplomas to show that they have completed studies of the level required by the notice of the selection procedure. The first degree/diploma obtained by the candidate giving access to the recruitment category and being relevant to the notice in the selection procedure is counted for admission to the selection procedure.
In the case of specialist or further training, candidates must specify whether the course was full-time or part-time, which subjects were covered and the official length of the course.
Only diplomas issued by EU Member State authorities and diplomas recognised as equivalent by the relevant EU Member State bodies are accepted. If the main studies took place outside the European Union, the candidate’s qualification must have been recognised by a body delegated officially for the purpose by one of the European Union Member States (such as a national Ministry of Education) and a document attesting so must be submitted with the application by the closing date. This will enable the Selection Committee to accurately assess the level of the qualifications.
Experience
Professional experience connected with the Agency’s areas of activities shall be taken into account and is counted only from the time the candidate obtained the certificate or diploma required for admission to the selection procedure. Where additional periods of training and study are accompanied by periods of professional activity, only the latter shall be considered as professional experience.
Candidates must provide supporting documents confirming the length and nature of their experience.
If, for reasons of confidentiality, a candidate is unable to provide the necessary statement for their current employment, he/she must provide photocopies of the contract, the letter of recruitment and
/or the first pay slip and the candidate must in any event provide a copy of the latest pay slip.
Free-lance or self-employed candidates must provide either a practicing certificate (or equivalent), or a copy of the entry in the relevant trade register, or any other official document (for example a tax document) showing clearly the length of the relevant professional experience.
Linguistic requirements
Evidence must be produced of a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and of a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union. The official languages are: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish.
Promotion: Recruited candidates shall be required to demonstrate before their first promotion the ability to work in a third official European Union language.
Equal opportunities
The Agency applies a policy of equal opportunities and accepts applications without distinction on grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic characteristics, language, religious, political or other convictions or opinions, belonging to a national minority, financial situation, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.
Selection Procedure
A Selection Committee is set up for the selection procedure. It consists of members designated by the Appointing Authority and the Staff Committee. The principle of confidentiality is enshrined in Article 6 of Annex III to the Staff Regulations, which states that the proceedings of the Selection Committee must be secret. It works in two ways: first, it imposes obligations to ensure equal treatment for candidates; and second, it seeks to protect the Selection Committee to ensure that its decisions are
totally impartial.
The Selection Committee adheres strictly to the conditions of admission laid down in the publication notice when deciding whether or not candidates are to be admitted. Candidates admitted to a previous selection procedure will not automatically be eligible. Candidates are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the Selection Committee, either directly or indirectly. Any infringement of this rule will lead to disqualification from the selection procedure.
Should the Selection Committee discover at any stage in the procedure that the candidate does not meet one or more of the general or special conditions for admission to the selection procedure or that
the information on the application form does not correspond with the supporting documents, the candidate will be disqualified.
The Selection Committee decides on those candidates who are admitted to the selection procedure in accordance with the requirements as specified in the publication notice. The applications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure are reviewed and the Selection Committee decides on
those candidates who are invited to attend the interview. The Selection Committee decides on the need for interviewees to undergo one or more written tests related to the nature of the duties in order
to facilitate the selection process. The Selection Committee may decide to make the test eliminatory and only the candidates that passed the test will be invited for the interview. Following the interviews, which are conducted by the Selection Committee, the Selection Committee decides which candidates
will be placed on the list reserve list.
Length of the Selection Procedure
The selection procedure can take up to 12 months from the date on which the position is first advertised to the reserve list of successful candidates being drawn.
Reserve list and Recruitment
Each candidate will be informed by letter whether or not he/she has been placed on the reserve list.
Candidates should note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee appointment. The recruitment procedure is as follows: as and when funds become available, candidates on the reserve list will be considered and the reserve list will be drawn on to fill vacancies. Candidates on the valid reserve list may also be considered for a different post within the same grade if the job specification and the nature of the role is similar. If a letter of intention is issued, the candidate must undergo a
compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved and the candidate must provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents. Reserve lists remain valid until the end of the year following the year in which the list has been drawn up and may be extended.
It should be noted that the retirement age for staff is:
• either automatically at the age of 65 years;
• or, at the staff member’s own request, at the age of 63 years or where the staff member is between 55 and 63 years of age and satisfies, as specified in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, the requirements for immediate payment of a pension;
Conflict of interest
EMA staff members are not permitted to hold or seek to acquire during their employment at the Agency direct financial interests in a pharmaceutical company or own a current patent for a medicinal product. All such direct interests must be disposed of prior to the start of employment. Upon starting employment, EMA staff will be required to make a public declaration of interests.
Probation period
Successful candidates who are recruited undergo an initial probation period of 6 months.
Pay and welfare benefits
The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with various allowances, including family allowances.
Basic Salary: there is a basic salary scale for each grade, divided into a number of steps. Staff members progress automatically to the next step every two years until they reach the top of the scale for that grade.
Allowances: In addition to their basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, in particular an expatriation or foreign residence allowance, and family allowances, including household allowance, dependent child allowance, pre-school allowance and an education allowance.
Under certain circumstances, in particular where staff members are obliged to change their place of residence in order to take up employment, the Agency may also reimburse various expenses incurred on recruitment, notably removal expenses.
Community Tax
The salaries of staff members are subject to a Community tax deducted at source. They are exempt from national tax on salary and are members of the Community social security and pension schemes.
Remuneration
Please refer to the Agency recruitment policy information document available on the Agency website.
Data Protection
The purpose of processing of the data you submit is to manage your application(s) in view of a possible pre-selection and recruitment at the Agency.
The Agency does not make public the names of successful candidates on reserve lists. However, it is possible that, for the purposes of recruitment and related planning purposes, members of the Agency
management team may have access to reserve lists and in specific cases, to the application form of a candidate (without supporting documents, which are kept in confidence by the personnel department).
Application files are kept for five years from the establishment date of the reserve list after which time they are destroyed.
The personal information we request from you will be processed in line with Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies and on the
free movement of such data.
Appeal Procedures
A candidate who feels that a mistake has been made regarding eligibility may ask to have his/her application reconsidered by sending, within 20 calendar days of the date postmarked on the letter of
notification, a request for review, quoting the number of the selection procedure concerned to the Chairman of the Selection Committee at the following address: European Medicines Agency, 7
Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HB, United Kingdom.
The Selection Committee will reconsider the application and notify the candidate of its decision within 45 calendar days of receipt of the letter.
If a candidate considers that he/she has been adversely affected by a particular decision, he/she can lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities, at the following address:
Executive Director
European Medicines Agency
7 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HB
The complaint must be lodged within 3 months. The time limit for initiating this type of procedure (see Staff Regulations as modified by Council Regulation No 723/2004 of 22 March 2004 published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 124 of 27 April 2004 – http://europa.eu./eur-lex) starts to run from the time the candidate is notified of the act adversely affecting him/her.
You can submit a judicial appeal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (ex Art. 236 TEC) and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities to the:
European Union Civil Service Tribunal
Boulevard Konrad Adenauer
Luxembourg 2925
Please note that the appointing authority does not have the power to amend the decisions of a Selection Committee. The Civil Service Tribunal has consistently held that the wide discretion enjoyed by Selection Committees is not subject to review by the Civil Service Tribunal unless rules which
govern the proceedings of Selection Committees have clearly been infringed.
For details of how to submit an appeal, please consult the website of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal: http://curia.europa.eu/en/instit/txtdocfr/index_tfp.htm.
It is also possible to complain to the European Ombudsman pursuant to Article 195(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Decision of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the Staff Regulations and the general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties, published in Official Journal of the European
Union L 113 of 4 May 1994:
European Ombudsman
1 Avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
67001 Strasbourg Cedex
France
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu
Please note that complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the period laid down in Articles 90(2) and 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging, respectively, a complaint or an appeal with the European Union Civil Service Tribunal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (ex Art. 236 TEC). Please note also that, under Article 2(4) of the general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties, any complaint lodged with the Ombudsman must be preceded by the appropriate administrative approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned.
