Head of the Health Impact Section - Montesquieu Institute

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Vacancy for the post

Head of the Health Impact Section

in the Office of the Chief Scientist

(ECDC/TA/AD/2012/OCS-HHIS)

Applications are invited for the above Temporary 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:

• a. 

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

• b. 

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

• c. 

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

• d. 

  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 dynamically developing European Agency.

The Centre is organised in the Director's Office and four units: the Office of the Chief Scientist, the Surveillance and Response Support Unit, the Public Health Capacity and Communication Unit and the Resource Management and Coordination Unit. ECDC strives to be a quality-driven, service-minded organisation that acts as one team. We expect all staff to live these values.

Description of the Office of the Chief Scientist

With high-level expertise in the main specific disease areas as well as in some important generic determinants of infectious diseases, the Office of the Chief Scientist drives the scientific agenda of the ECDC, and oversees the quality of the scientific output of the Centre.

The Office works in three sections:

• - 

  Disease Programmes: Comprising the Heads of the seven Disease Programmes: antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections; emerging and vector borne diseases; food- and waterborne diseases; HIV, sexually transmitted infections and hepatitis; influenza; tuberculosis; vaccine-preventable diseases. Leading the specific activities and projects linked to individual diseases or disease areas.

• - 

  Health Impact: Developing over-arching projects, such as environmental determinants - including climate change - of infections, as well as assessing the burden of infectious disease in the EU.

• - 

  Scientific Advice Coordination: Managing the Centre's process of handling requests for scientific advice, and developing evidence-based methods for public health.

Job description

The jobholder will report to the Chief Scientist of ECDC. He/She will lead the Health Impact Section, which currently includes six experts.

He/She will be responsible in particular for the following areas of work:

• - 

  Provide an overall strategy for the Section in accordance with the Office of the Chief Scientist's and the Centre's strategy, and ensure the development of appropriate implementation procedures for supporting the Section's well-functioning;

• - 

  Line-manage the staff in the Section, including annual appraisal of performance, setting annual objectives and individual development plans, and the day-to-day management of the Section, including team building and consolidation of various project teams;

• - 

  Perform and produce systematic reviews, risk assessments, guidance documents (including indicators) with groups of experts, either directly or with institutions and experts contracted by ECDC for these tasks;

• - 

  Plan and supervise the work within the Section including work and budget planning and execution, as part of the Office of the Chief Scientist's planning;

• - 

  Under the supervision of the Chief Scientist coordinate the work of the Section with the work of the whole Office of the Chief Scientist;

• - 

  Ensure a high scientific quality of all outputs of the Section.

Qualifications and experiences required

• A. 

  Formal requirements

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

• - 

  A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four 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 one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years;

• - 

  At least 9 years of professional experience (following the award of the diploma);

• - 

  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;

• - 

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

• - 

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

• - 

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

• - 

  Meet the character requirements for the duties involved; and

• - 

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

B. Selection criteria

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

• - 

  At least 5 years of professional experience (following the award of the diploma) acquired in expert positions related to the duties outlined in the job description;

• - 

  Medical doctor with experience in the field of infectious diseases, or other academic education compatible with the position;

• - 

  Proven experience of managing staff and budgets;

• - 

  Experience in project management;

• - 

  Proven scientific experience of a wide range of infectious diseases;

• - 

  Specifically, proven scientific knowledge of one or more diseases transmitted via blood, tissues, cells, etc., such as hepatitis and HIV;

• - 

  Proven experience in providing evidence-based guidelines and/or systematic reviews on prevention/treatment of infectious diseases;

• - 

  Proven skills in communicating scientific information to authorities and scientists as well as to a wider audience;

• - 

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

• - 

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

• - 

  Ability to work under pressure and manage responsibilities;

• - 

  Service minded;

• - 

  Quality driven.

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

• - 

  Scientific experience from generic studies of infectious disease from a public health perspective, such as risk factors, impact, determinants, etc.;

• - 

  A degree in epidemiology or public health or certificate from a field epidemiology training programme (or equivalent).

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 Temporary Agent, pursuant to article 2a) of the 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 AD 8.

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 2013 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:

• - 

  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 ;

• - 

  A letter of motivation;

• - 

  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. As a candidate you are to be informed that in a later part of the recruitment process a mandatory medical analysis 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/TA/AD/2012/OCS-HHIS) 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 27 February 2012 at 24:00 CET.

Candidates are advised that interview dates for this position are foreseen week commencing 26 March 2012.

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

Head of the Health Impact Section in the Office of the Chief Scientist

(ECDC/TA/AD/2012/OCS-HHIS)

Last Name (in capitals):

First name:

Gender: Male:

Female:

A. Formal Requirements

(1)	I have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a diploma when the normal period of university education is four 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 one year when the normal period of university education is at least three years:	Yes	No
(2)	I have at least 9 years of professional experience (following award of the diploma):	Yes	No
(3)	I have a thorough knowledge of at least two official languages of the European Union:	Yes	No
(4)	I am a national of a Member State of the European Union or Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway:	Yes	No
(5)	I am entitled to my full rights as citizen:	Yes	No
(6)	I have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws concerning military service:	Yes	No
(7)	I meet the character requirements for the duties involved:	Yes	No
(8)	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)

(9)	I have at least 5 years of professional experience (following the award of the diploma) acquired in expert positions related to the duties outlined in the job description:	Yes	No
		Number of years of experience acquired:	Specify:
(10)	I am a medical doctor with experience in the field of infectious diseases, or I have other academic education compatible with the position:	Yes	No
(11)	My experience of managing staff and budgets is:	1 2 3 4
(12)	My experience in project management is:	1 2 3 4
(13)	My scientific experience of a wide range of infectious diseases is:	1 2 3 4
(14)	My scientific knowledge of one or more diseases transmitted via blood, tissues, cells, etc., such as hepatitis and HIV is:	1 2 3 4
(15)	My experience in providing evidence-based guidelines and/or systematic reviews on prevention/treatment of infectious diseases is:	1 2 3 4
(16)	My skills in communicating scientific information to authorities and scientists as well as to a wider audience are:	1 2 3 4
(17)	My command of English, both spoken and written is:	1 2 3 4
(18)	My command of an additional EU official language is:	1 2 3 4
(19)	My inter-personal skills and ability to work well in a team are:	1 2 3 4
(20)	My ability to work under pressure and manage responsibilities is:	1 2 3 4
(21)	I am service minded:	Yes	No
(22)	I am quality driven:	Yes	No
(23)	I have scientific experience from generic studies of infectious disease from a public health perspective, such as risk factors, impact, determinants, etc.	Yes	No
(24)	I have a degree in epidemiology or public health or certificate from a field epidemiology training programme (or equivalent):	Yes	No

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

Compulsory military service is always taken into consideration.

In addition, in order to be eligible for a promotion through an annual promotion exercise the staff members have to have a working knowledge of a third EU language, as described in the applicable Staff Regulations and Implementing Rules.

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.

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