Expert - Climate and Agriculture

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Candidates applying must satisfy the following eligibility criteria on the closing date for the submission of applications:

a) Successful completion of university studies attested by a degree relevant to the field concerned of at least 3 years; OR where justified in the interests of the service, professional training of an equivalent level.

b) A minimum of 1 year of relevant professional experience after achieving the qualification set out above.

In addition, in order to be eligible a candidate must:

• Be a national of one of the member countries of the EEA (Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye);

• Enjoy full rights as a citizen;

• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by law concerning military service;

• Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the EEA member countries and a satisfactory knowledge of another of these languages (corresponding to level B.2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages CEFR);

• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved;

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

Candidates should assess carefully and check before submitting their application whether they fulfil all the conditions for admission laid down in the vacancy notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

(In your application, please provide examples from current or past work experience where these competencies have been applied)

Essential:

• At least three years of full-time professional experience at the intersection of climate change mitigation and agriculture, preferably within public administration, research institutions, international organisations or similar settings;

• Professional experience with EU and national agricultural and climate policy frameworks, providing detailed understanding of agricultural systems, their greenhouse gas emission sources and relevant mitigation options;

• Proven experience contributing to expert assessments, analyses, reports or methodologies relevant to agriculture, climate mitigation or related fields;

• Ability to communicate technical, analytical and policy-relevant information clearly, including drafting concise written outputs for different audiences; and

• Excellent command of written and spoken English language, at least at level C1 in all categories according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language.

Advantageous:

• Significant experience with farming stakeholder communities, developments around carbon farming and development of incentive mechanisms for lower-emission farming practices; and

• Proven experience working with agricultural or environmental datasets, indicators, modelling tools or methodological assessments.

In addition to the requirements above, candidates invited to the written test and interview stage, will also be assessed against the following behavioural competencies:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; 

• Very good analytical, interpretative and presentation skills; 

• Ability to work collaboratively and share expertise with others to deliver on common work goals; 

• Diversity awareness and sensitivity; 

• Service orientation and ability to understand stakeholder needs and requirements to ensure the delivery of quality results; 

• Creativity, enthusiasm and openness to innovation; 

• Flexibility and ability to work under pressure; 

• Ability to organise work, work independently and prioritise tasks; and

• Ability to seek out learning opportunities proactively. 

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:

The successful candidate will be offered a Temporary Agent contract in accordance with Article 2(f) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union. The selected candidate will be employed for an initial time period of four years, renewable.

Successful candidates who are recruited undergo an initial probation period of 9 months.

Should the successful candidate currently hold a Temporary Agent 2(f) contract and qualify for a transfer under the terms of the CEOS, the band width for this position which can be accommodated is in accordance with Annex I of the Staff Regulations.

For information on salary, please see information published under Temporary Agents.

The place of work will be Copenhagen, Denmark.

It is brought to the particular attention of candidates that the provisions of Articles 11 to 26 of the Staff Regulations, concerning the rights and obligations of officials, shall apply by analogy to Temporary Agents. These rules specify that:

“An official shall carry out his duties and conduct himself solely with the interests of the Union in mind. He shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government, authority, organization or person outside his institution. He shall carry out the duties assigned to him objectively, impartially and in keeping with his duty of loyalty to the Union.

An official shall not without the permission of the appointing authority accept from any government or from any other source outside the institution to which he belongs any honour, decoration, favour, gift or payment of any kind whatever, except for services rendered either before his appointment or during special leave for military or other national service and in respect of such service.

Before recruiting an official, the appointing authority shall examine whether the candidate has any personal interest such as to impair his independence or any other conflict of interest. To that end, the candidate, using a specific form, shall inform the appointing authority of any actual or potential conflict of interest. In such cases, the appointing authority shall take this into account in a duly reasoned opinion. If necessary, the appointing authority shall take the measures referred to in Article 11a(2).”

For further information on the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union see: Staff Regulations

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 Selection Committee is bound by the principle of confidentiality as enshrined in Article 6 of Annex III to the Staff Regulations. This 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 vacancy notice when deciding whether or not candidates are eligible. 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.

In a spirit of transparency, and in order to align our working methods with current practice in certain Member States, the administration has decided to proceed with the publication of names of Selection Committee members.

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, 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 under eligibility criteria. The applications of the candidates admitted to the selection procedure are reviewed to establish whether or not they show evidence of all requirements as specified under selection criteria.

The Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the written test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 10). Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 10^th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited may be increased accordingly to accommodate this.

The interview will be held in English and the candidate’s knowledge of other languages will also be assessed during the interview. Candidates invited for an interview will be asked to undergo a written test in English, in the area of expertise required for the post. The test and the interview will take place online.

At the end of the interviews the Selection Committee will submit the list of suitable candidates to the Appointing Authority who will decide on the establishment of a reserve list for the post advertised or similar posts that may become available and on the appointment of the successful candidate. For that matter, a follow-up recruitment interview conducted by the Appointing Authority with the suitable candidates may be organised, if deemed appropriate. Candidates shall note that inclusion on the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Recruitment will be based on availability of posts and budget.

For information regarding requests, complaints and appeals, please refer to the instructions in the ANNEX.

The reserve list for this post will be valid until 31 December 2027 and may be extended at the discretion of the Appointing Authority.

Prior to contract signature, the successful candidate will be asked:

• to provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents proving his/her eligibility, including a police certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record; 

• to undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.