Information Assistant/Communication and Country Cooperation - Montesquieu Institute

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Vacancy for the post

Information Assistant/Communication and Country Cooperation Unit (CCU)

(ECDC/CA/III/2010/CCU-IA)

Applications are invited for the above Contract Agent post at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The Centre is located in Stockholm, Sweden. The legal base for the Centre is Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

General description of the tasks and role of the ECDC

The mission of the Centre is to identify, assess and communicate current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases. Within this broad mission statement, the main technical tasks of the Centre fall into the following four categories:

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  Scientific opinions, bringing together technical expertise in specific fields through its various EU-wide networks and via ad hoc scientific panels;

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  Technical assistance and communication about its activities and results, and disseminating information tailored to meet the needs of its different audiences;

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  Epidemiological surveillance and networking of laboratories, i.e. the development of epidemiological surveillance at European level and the maintenance of networks of reference laboratories;

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  Early Warning and Response, based on `round the clock' availability of specialists in communicable diseases.

See also the Centre home page at http://ecdc.europa.eu

Working in the Centre

The work in the Centre is characterised by a high level of professionalism and efficiency. We believe each and every staff member's contribution is important in making the Centre a good place to work with a strong team spirit. We can offer an opportunity of being an important part of a young and dynamic European Agency.

The Director's Cabinet supports the Director in overseeing the strategic development of the Centre and ensuring coordination. There are four technical Units in the Centre: Scientific Advice, Surveillance, Preparedness and Response and Health Communication. The work on specific diseases or specific health issues is carried out in disease specific programmes, which include experts from all four units. The operational activities of ECDC are facilitated by the Administration Unit.

The Communication and Country Cooperation Unit (CCU)

The Communication and Country Cooperation unit is bridging the areas of public health and communication as well as coordinating all ECDC country work. It is responsible for communicating the scientific and technical outputs of ECDC to health professionals and to the general public throughout Europe, as well as supporting the Member States on health communication activities. Within the unit there are four sections working with 1) scientific communication (including the scientific journal Eurosurveillance), 2) public communication and media, 3) web services (web portal, extranet, intranet and document management system) 4) country cooperation. In the unit there is also a Knowledge and Resource Centre on Health Communication (KRC). By the end of 2010, the unit will have some 55 staff members with various professional backgrounds.

The Communication and Country Cooperation Unit's public communication and media activities include organising press events, developing communication toolkits, campaigns, film clips and written materials aimed at policy makers, the public, and media, running information stands and welcoming visitor groups.

Job description

Reporting to the Head of the Public Communication and Media Section, the Information Assistant will:

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  Contribute to the filming of audiovisual packages, including video clips, with active use of camera filming, sound recording and lighting techniques;

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  Contribute to the editing of audiovisual packages, including video clips, with active use of editing software, animation graphic software and encoding software;

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  Contribute to the streaming of live events using actively streaming software;

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  Assist with press work and the planning and organisation of press events;

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  Assist with the monitoring of the media (including Internet);

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  Assist in the writing and production of information materials (leaflets, brochures) aimed at the general public;

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  Contribute to disease specific programmes in ECDC, including contributing to the development of communication toolkits on specific diseases if needed;

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  Assist in other communication activities as needed, especially during public health events.

Qualifications and experiences required

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  Formal requirements

In order to be an eligible candidate you need to have a set of formal requirements. These requirements are:

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  A post-secondary education diploma, or a secondary education diploma giving access to higher education plus 3 years appropriate professional experience;

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  Thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Communities and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Communities to the extent necessary for the performance of his/her duties;

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  Nationality of one of the EU Member States or of Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein;

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  To be entitled to his or her full rights as a citizen;

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  To have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;

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  Meet the character requirements for the duties involved; and

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  Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

B. Selection criteria

To qualify for this post we have identified essential criteria in regard of professional experience and personal characteristics/interpersonal skills. These are:

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  At least 3 years professional experience (following the award of the diploma) in positions relevant to the aforementioned duties;

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  Proven track record of working as a cameraman and editor;

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  Good understanding of how to work with the media and public audiences;

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  Good record of working with the media or working as a public information officer;

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  Experience of webcasts and podcasts;

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  Good aptitude for planning and organising events;

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  Very good written and oral communication skills;

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  Very good command of English, both spoken and written, and an additional EU official language;

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  Ability to work under pressure, manage responsibilities and meet deadlines;

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  Strong inter-personal skills and ability to work well in a team;

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  Capacity to quickly grasp any additional duties.

We have also identified experiences and skills that are advantageous for this post. These are:

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  Excellent knowledge of camera filming, sound recording and lighting techniques;

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  Very good knowledge of Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effect, Adobe Photoshop, streaming and encoding software or similar alternatives;

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  Good knowledge of the audiovisual sector and experience of audiovisual production;

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  Knowledge of webposting and/or using a content management system

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  Experience of working in the area of public health;

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  Experience of working in an international environment;

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  Good command of Swedish;

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  Good understanding of media (and Internet) monitoring techniques;

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  Knowledge of EU procurement rules.

Depending on the number of applications received, the selection committee may apply stricter requirements within the aforementioned selection criteria.

Appointment and conditions of employment

The jobholder will be appointed on the basis of a shortlist proposed by the Selection Committee to the Director. This vacancy notice is the basis for the establishment of the Selection Committee's proposal. Candidates may be requested to undergo written tests. Candidates should note that the proposal may be made public and that inclusion in the shortlist does not guarantee recruitment. The shortlist of candidates will be established following an open selection process.

The successful candidate will be recruited as a contract agent, pursuant to article 3a) of the new Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, for a period of five years. The contract may be renewed. The appointment will be in Function Group III. Applicants should note the requirement under the EU staff regulations for all new staff to successfully complete a probationary period.

Applicants should note the requirement under the EU staff regulations for all new staff to complete successfully a probationary period.

For any further information on contractual and working conditions, please refer to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities, which are available at the following link:

http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/aboutus/jobs/Documents/2007_StaffRegulations.pdf

The place of employment will be Stockholm, where the Centre has its activities.

Successful candidate appointed by the Director will be required to be available at the shortest notice possible.

Reserve list

A reserve list will be drawn up by ECDC. The list may be used as a reserve for recruitment, should similar vacancies arise. It will be valid until 31 December 2011 and may be extended.

Declaration of commitment to serve the public interest independently

The jobholder will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the public interest and to make a declaration in relation to the interests that might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence.

Equal opportunities

ECDC applies equal opportunities and accepts applications without distinction on the grounds of age, race political, philosophical or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.

Application procedure

For applications to be valid, you must submit all of the following documents by e-mail:

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  A detailed Curriculum Vitae in European format (available on http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu )- any other formats will render your application ineligible. When a position has been part-time, please indicate the exact percentage of time worked, since the formal requirements for professional experience, will be calculated on this basis ;

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  A letter of motivation;

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  The eligibility and selection criteria grid completed (see below).

You will be requested at a later stage to supply documentary evidence in original in support of the statements that you make for this application. Please note that only diplomas and certificates that have been awarded in the EU Members States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. As a candidate you are to be informed that in a later part of the recruitment process a mandatory medical analyses and physical check-up is done with selected medical service.

Applications preferably in the working language of the Centre, which is English, should be sent by e-mail in Word or PDF format to Recruitment@ecdc.europa.eu clearly indicating the vacancy reference (ECDC/CA/III/2010/CCU-IA) and your family name in the Subject line. The application will be rejected if the dossier is incomplete.

Closing date for the submission of applications is 16 August 2010, at 24:00 CET.

Due to the large volume of applications only applicants selected for interviews will be notified.

Important information for applicants

Applicants are reminded that the work of the selection committees is confidential. It is forbidden for applicants to make direct or indirect contact with members of these committees or for anybody to do so on their behalf.

When making appointment decisions, the Appointing Authority considers geographical and gender balance.

Protection of personal data

Please note that the personal information ECDC requests from applicants 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 Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.  The purpose of processing of your personal data is to support the selection procedures at ECDC. This processing may involve distribution of this data to other Community institutions. For further information or exercise of your rights (such as the right to access or the right to correct my data), contact can be taken with the Human Resources section.

Eligibility and selection criteria grid

Information assistant/Communication and Country Cooperation Unit

(ECDC/CA/III/2010/CCU-IA)

Last name (in capitals):

First name:

Gender: Male:

Female:

A. Eligibility criteria

(1)	I have a post-secondary education diploma, or a secondary education diploma giving access to higher education plus 3 years appropriate professional experience:	Yes	No
(2)	I have a thorough knowledge of at least two official languages of the European Union.	Yes	No
(3)	I am a national of a Member State of the European Union or Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway.	Yes	No
(4)	I am entitled to my full rights as citizen.	Yes	No
(5)	I have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service.	Yes	No
(6)	I have the appropriate character references who can inform about my work performance.	Yes	No
(7)	I am physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.	Yes	No

B. Selection criteria

(1 = slight; 2 = good; 3 = very good; 4 = excellent)

(8)	I have at least 3 years professional experience (following the award of the diploma) in positions relevant to the aforementioned duties:	Yes	No
	Number of years of relevant professional experience following the award of my diploma:	Specify:
(9)	My experience with the media or working as a public information officer is:	1 2 3 4
(10)	My understanding of how to connect with the media and public audiences is:	1 2 3 4
(11)	My aptitude for planning and organising events is:	1 2 3 4
(12)	My command of English, oral and written, is:	1 2 3 4
(13)	My command of an additional EU language is:	1 2 3 4
(14)	My ability to work under pressure, manage responsibilities and meet deadlines is:	1 2 3 4
(15)	My capacity to quickly grasp any additional duties:	1 2 3 4
(16)	My inter-personal skills and ability to work well in a team are:	1 2 3 4
(17)	My communication skills are:	1 2 3 4
(18)	My ability to work in a team is:	1 2 3 4
(19)	My experience of working in the area of public health is:	1 2 3 4
(20)	My experience of working in an international environment is:	1 2 3 4
(21)	My command of Swedish is:	1 2 3 4
(22)	My understanding of media (and Internet) monitoring techniques is:	1 2 3 4
(23)	My knowledge of audiovisual sector and experience of audiovisual production is:	1 2 3 4
(24)	My knowledge of EU procurement rules is:	1 2 3 4

Official Journal No. L 142 of 30 April 2004, page 1

^{Only diplomas and certificates that have been awarded in EU member states or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by authorities in the said Member states shall be taken into consideration.}

^{Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide a certificate from the police file to the effect of non-existing criminal record.}

Before being engaged, a member of the contract staff shall be medically examined by the Centre's medical office in order that the institution may be satisfied that he fulfils the requirements of Article 12 (2)(d).

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