Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU)

Publication of a vacancy for the function of Executive Director of the SNS Joint Undertaking

(Temporary Agent – Grade AD 14)

COM/2022/20078

(2022/C 206 A/02)

 

We are

The Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) is one of the European partnerships under Horizon Europe established by the Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 (1), hereafter referred to as ‘Regulation establishing the JU’. It builds on two pillars: research and innovation under the Horizon Europe programme on technologies and systems for Smart Networks and Services towards 6G, and coordination of 5G deployment actions funded by European or national funding programmes. The partnership is key to ensure European technological capacities in these areas, in line with the EU industrial strategy and the 5G cyber-security toolbox. In this context, it aims to enable European players to develop technology capacities for 6G systems as a basis for future digital services towards 2030. The European Commission is responsible for the establishment and initial operation of the SNS JU until it becomes autonomous, i.e. the JU office is fully functional and all necessary support services are in place, which is expected for the beginning of 2023.

The SNS JU is planned initially to have a complement of 16 staff in addition to the Executive Director.

We propose

The Executive Director is the chief executive responsible for the management of the Joint Undertaking.

S/he is the legal representative of the JU and takes overall responsibility for its operations including budget implementation, as well as ensuring the coordination between the different bodies and services of the SNS JU, which include the JU office itself, the Governing Board, the States’ Representatives Group and the Stakeholder Group. As such, s/he will play a key role in the implementation of the objectives of the SNS JU, which are critical for Europe’s competitiveness in the field.

S/he will perform his/her tasks with independence and will be accountable to the Governing Board, which is composed of representatives of the Commission and of the private sector.

S/he will both ensure the oversight of the strategic agenda of the SNS JU as agreed with the Governing Board and assume day-to-day decision-making. The latter includes, in particular, to organize, direct and supervise the operations and the staff of the SNS JU in line with the Regulation establishing the JU. S/he will establish contacts and work closely with representatives of all the relevant stakeholders and members of the SNS JU (the Commission and the Private Member(s) as well as the advisory bodies of the SNS JU).

In accordance with Article 19 of the Regulation establishing the JU, the Executive Director’s responsibilities will, inter alia, include:

—	Ensure sustainable and efficient management of the joint undertaking and efficient implementation of the SNS JU Work Programme;

—	Prepare and submit for adoption to the Governing Board the draft SNS JU Work Programme including the draft annual budget and the draft staff establishment plan and other high level documents such as the annual accounts and the consolidated annual activity report;

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Ensure the implementation of the SNS JU Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda including preparation of the R&I work programmes, coordination of its adoption procedure in close cooperation with the advisory bodies of the JU, launch of calls for proposals, conducting proposal evaluations, signing individual grant agreements and decisions on behalf of the joint undertaking, and conducting project monitoring;

—	Monitor the financial and in-kind contributions of the members other than the Union and contributing partners, report to the Governing Board regularly on the progress in achieving the targets and propose remedial or corrective measures, where necessary;

—	Coordinate the regular updates of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) as well as relevant Strategic Deployment Agendas in tight cooperation with the private members, the advisory bodies of the SNS JU and relevant stakeholders;

—	Establish a formal and regular collaboration with the European partnerships identified in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda and in accordance with the strategic orientation provided by the Governing Board;

—	Inform regularly the other bodies of the joint undertaking on all matters relevant to their role and interact with the relevant configuration of the Horizon Europe Programme Committee as required;

—	Ensure the monitoring and assessment of the progress of the SNS JU objectives based on relevant impact indicators;

—	Implement the communications strategy of the SNS JU;

—	Sign procurement contracts on behalf of the SNS JU;

—	Establish and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system and report any significant change to it to the Governing Board.

We look for (selection criteria)

Candidates should fulfil the following selection criteria:

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Management skills: — Ability to lead and motivate the team including administrative, financial and technical staff, in a European, multicultural and multilingual environment; — Experience in the management of significant financial resources in a national, European and/or international environment and involving funding from public sources; — Experience in managing research, technology development, innovation or infrastructure programmes in a European or international environment, in the area of SNS or a related area.

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Specialist skills and experience: — Understanding of technology, applications as well as the industrial landscape relevant for the area of the SNS JU, including strategic, regulatory and policy matters, at national, European and international level; — Experience in the implementation and management of Quality Assurance and Control systems as well as risk management methodologies; — Understanding of the EU Institutions, their functioning and interaction as well as EU policies.

—	Personal qualities: — Ability to communicate fluently and effectively to the internal and external stakeholders, including the public and to build effective working relations with all relevant stakeholders and to represent the SNS JU in international fora; — Excellent skills in negotiations.

Candidates must (eligibility requirements)

Candidates will only be considered for the selection phase on the basis of the following formal requirements to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

—	Nationality: candidates must be a citizen of one of the Member States of the European Union.

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University degree or diploma: candidates must have: — either a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is 4 years or more; — or a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma and appropriate professional experience of at least 1 year when the normal period of university education is at least 3 years (this one year’s professional experience cannot be included in the postgraduate professional experience required below).

—	Professional experience: candidates must have at least 15 years postgraduate professional experience (2) at a level to which the qualifications referred to above give admission. At least 5 years of that professional experience must be in the area of the activities of the Joint Undertaking.

—	Management experience: at least 5 years of the post-graduate professional experience must have been gained in a high–level management function (3) in a field relevant for this position.

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Languages: candidates must have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union (4) and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these official languages. Selection panels will verify during the interview(s) whether candidates comply with the requirement of a satisfactory knowledge of another official EU language. This may include (part of) the interview being conducted in this other language.

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Age limit: candidates must be able to complete, at the deadline for application, the full mandate of four years before reaching the retirement age. For temporary staff of the European Union, the retirement age is defined as being the end of the month in which the person reaches the age of 66 years (see Article 47 of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Union (5)).

Selection and appointment

The selection and appointment of the Executive Director of the SNS JU will follow the conditions laid down in the Regulation establishing the JU, in particular, those laid down in Article 18 (‘Appointment, dismissal and extension of the term of office of the Executive Director’).

The Executive Director shall be appointed by the Governing Board on the basis of merit and skills, from the list of candidates proposed by the Commission. The open and transparent selection procedure will respect the principle of gender balance.

To establish this shortlist, the European Commission organises a selection in accordance with its selection and recruitment procedures (see the Document on Senior Officials Policy (6)).

As part of this selection procedure, the European Commission sets up a pre-selection panel. This panel analyses all applications, proceeds with a first eligibility verification and identifies candidates having the best profile in view of the selection criteria mentioned above, and who may be invited for an interview with the pre-selection panel. This pre-selection panel will include a representative appointed by the member other than the Union of the joint undertaking as well as one observer appointed by the Governing Board.

Following these interviews, the pre-selection panel draws up its conclusions and proposes a list of candidates for further interviews with the European Commission’s Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). The CCA, taking into consideration the conclusions of the pre-selection panel, will decide on the candidates to be invited for an interview.

Candidates who are called for an interview with the CCA participate in a full-day management assessment centre run by external recruitment consultants. Taking account of the results of the interview and the report of the assessment centre, the CCA establishes a shortlist of candidates it considers suitable to exercise the function of Executive Director of the Joint Undertaking.

Candidates on the CCA shortlist will be interviewed by the Member(s) of the Commission responsible for the Directorate-General in charge of the relations with the Joint Undertaking (7).

Following these interviews, the European Commission adopts a shortlist of the most suitable candidates, which will be communicated to the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking. The latter may decide to interview the candidates before appointing the Executive Director from among the candidates on the Commission shortlist. Inclusion on this shortlist does not guarantee appointment.

Candidates may be required to undergo further interviews and/or tests in addition to those indicated above. They could also be required to deliver a statement before the relevant committee(s) of the European Parliament.

Equal opportunities

The European Commission and the Joint Undertaking apply a policy of equal opportunities and non-discrimination in accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations (8).

Conditions of employment

The salaries and conditions of employment are laid down in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.

The successful candidate will be engaged by the Joint Undertaking as a Temporary Agent at grade AD 14. S/he will be classified depending on the length of her/his previous professional experience in step 1 or step 2 within that grade.

S/he will be appointed for an initial mandate of four years, with the possibility to extend it once, for a period of not more than three years.

Applicants should note the requirement under the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants for all new staff to complete successfully a nine-month probationary period.

The place of employment is Brussels, Belgium, where the Joint Undertaking is based.

Independence and declaration of interests

Before taking up her/his duties, the Executive Director will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to declare any interests, which might be considered prejudicial to her/his independence.

Application procedure

Before submitting your application, you should carefully check whether you meet all eligibility requirements (‘Candidates must’), particularly concerning the types of diploma, high-level professional experience as well as linguistic capacity required. Failure to meet any of the eligibility requirements means an automatic exclusion from the selection procedure.

If you want to apply, you must register via the internet on the following website and follow the instructions concerning the various stages of the procedure:

https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/human-resources/seniormanagementvacancies/

You must have a valid email address. This will be used to confirm your registration as well as to remain in contact with you during the different stages of the procedure. Therefore, please keep the European Commission informed about any change in your email address.

To complete your application, you need to upload a CV in PDF format, preferably using the Europass CV format (9), and to fill out, online, a letter of motivation (maximum 8 000 characters). Your CV and your letter of motivation may be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union.

Once you have finished your online registration, you will receive an electronic mail confirming that your application has been registered. If you do not receive a confirmation mail, your application has not been registered!

Please note that it is not possible to monitor the progress of your application on-line. You will be contacted directly by the European Commission regarding the status of your application.

If you require more information and/or encounter technical problems, please send an email to: HR-MANAGEMENT-ONLINE@ec.europa.eu

Closing date

The closing date for registration is 18 July 2022, 12.00 noon Brussels time, following which registration is no longer possible.

It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with your internet connection could lead to the online registration being terminated before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline for the submission of registrations has passed, you will no longer be able to introduce any data. Late registrations are not accepted.

Important information for candidates

Candidates are reminded that the work of the different selection panels is confidential. It is forbidden for candidates to make direct or indirect contact with their individual members or for anybody to do so on their behalf. All queries must be addressed to the secretariat of the relevant panel.

Protection of personal data

The Commission will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

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(1)  Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe and repealing Regulations (EC) No 2019/2007, (EU) No 557/2014, (EU) No 558/2014, (EU) No 559/2014, (EU) No 560/2014, (EU) No 561/2014 and (EU) No 642/2014 (OJ L 427, 30.11.2021, p. 17).

(2)  Professional experience is only taken into consideration if it represents an actual work relationship defined as real, genuine work, on a paid basis and as employee (any type of contract) or provider of a service. Professional activities pursued part-time shall be calculated pro rata, on the basis of the certified percentage of full-time hours worked. Maternity leave/parental leave/leave for adoption is taken into consideration if it is in the framework of a work contract. PhDs are assimilated to professional experience, even when unpaid, but for a duration of three years maximum, provided that the PhD has been successfully completed. A given period may be counted only once.

(3)  In their curriculum vitae, candidates should clearly indicate for all years during which management experience has been acquired: (1) title and role of management positions held; (2) numbers of staff overseen in these positions; (3) the size of budgets managed; (4) numbers of hierarchical layers above and below; and (5) number of peers.

(4)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01958R0001-20130701

(5)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031-20140701

(6)  https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/compilation-of-the-senior-official-policy-at-the-european-commission_en.pdf (only exists in English).

(7)  Unless the Member of the Commission concerned, in line with the Commission Decision of 5 December 2007 (PV(2007) 1811) and 30 September 2020 (PV(2020) 2351), has delegated this task.

(8)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A01962R0031-20140701

(9)  You can find information on how to create your Europass CV online at: https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv

(10)  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, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).