Information Management Specialist – European Defence Agency (EDA)

BACKGROUND

The European Defence Agency was established on 12 July 2004, and is governed by Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency.

The Agency has its headquarters in Brussels.

The main task of the EDA is to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the Union’s defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) as it currently stands and as it develops in the future.

The Agency is structured into four directorates. Three operational directorates: Cooperation Planning & Support; Capability, Armaments & Technology; and European Synergies & Innovation and the Corporate Services Directorate

THE AGENCY’S WAY OF WORKING

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

THE CORPORATE SERVICES DIRECTORATE

The Corporate Services Directorate manages the human resources, finance, legal, procurement and contract activities, as well as information technology, infrastructure and security, and corporate projects to ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of EDA.

DUTIES

Under the direction of the Head of the IT Unit, the Information Management specialist will establish the grounds for information management at EDA. The work will be primarily focused on the processing of information in the context of grant management in full compliance with the requirements for sound financial management but will naturally develop into a wider context with larger scope. The jobholder will be responsible for the following activities:

• oversee and coordinate the setup and routine use of the IT tools for grant management provided by the EC (Participant Portal, Work Programme and Call Management, Proposal Submission and Evaluation etc.);
• act as a power user, provide business applications-related support, guidance and training to end users;
• setup, manage and further develop the relationships between these tools and the software used internally by the EDA and the IT tools provided to the Member States (MyEDA portal and all related applications), in particular the EDA financial system and project portfolio management system;
• liaise with software developers and analysts on one side and with end users on the other side, transfer the knowledge from the developers to the users and their feedback to the developers;
• contribute to the improvements in usability of software and alignment between software and business processes;
• define and maintain taxonomies;
• ensure consistency and quality of data in business applications, coordinate data entry and maintenance;
• develop policies, procedures and user guides for document and information management, effective and efficient data storage, retention and archiving to meet business objectives, the organisation’s security policy and regulatory requirements;
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

Duties may evolve according to development of the EDA’s structure and activities, and the decisions of EDA management.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

a. Conditions for eligibility:

(1) General

• be a national of a Member State participating in the Agency;
• be entitled to his/her full rights as a citizen;
• have fulfilled any obligations imposed on him/her by the laws concerning military service;
• produces the appropriate character references as to his/her suitability for the performance of his duties;
• be physically fit to perform his/her duties;
• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the participating Member States, and an satisfactory knowledge of another of these languages to the extent necessary to discharge his/her duties.
• have no personal interest (financial, family relationship, or other) which could be in conflict with disinterested discharge of his/her duties within the Agency;
• hold, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (national or EU PSC at SECRET UE/EU SECRET level). Personnel Security Clearance Certificate’ (PSCC) means a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, and which shows the level of EUCI to which that individual may be granted access (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself. Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSCC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual candidate.);
• have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma or be a graduate of a national or international Defence College.

 b. Essential selection criteria:

(1) Professional

The candidate will be required to demonstrate that he/she has:

• at least 3 years of professional experience matching the above description of duties;
• understanding of the EDA’s main tasks and functions;
• excellent level of computer literacy including basic troubleshooting skills;
• excellent communication and presentation skills;
• capacity to prepare and provide training to colleagues;
• excellent knowledge of English, both written and spoken.

(2) Personal

All staff must be able to fit into the Agency’s way of working (see para. 2). Other attributes important for this post include:

• ability to work in a team and independently in his/her area of responsibility;
• ability to work effectively in a multinational environment;
• results-orientation and strong motivation;
• flexibility and innovativeness;
• genuine commitment to the Agency’s objectives.

 c. Desirable:

The following will be considered an advantage:

• Previous experience with EU grant management;
• Practical knowledge or recent trainings in the use of EC tools for grant management (CPS, CAP, EMMI, EMPP, SYGMA, COMPASS, …);
• Experience in the areas of software usability, requirements gathering and testing;
• Experience in business process modelling;
• Diploma in communications.

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Closing date for applications: 29 May 2017

Read more and apply here.