Project Officer Offshore Energy

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 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. The Corporate Services Directorate (CSD) and three operational directorates: Industry, Synergies and Enablers (ISE); Capability, Armament & Planning (CAP); Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI).

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 of 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 Research, Technology & Innovation Directorate (RTI) promotes and supports defence research at EU level. Based on the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), developed together with the Member States, the Directorate coordinates and plans joint research activities and the study of technical solutions to meet future operational needs.

The RTI Directorate provides support to Member States and to the European Commission for the Preparatory Action for defence research, including its implementation, and the research dimension of the European Defence Fund. The RTI directorate also ensures the promotion of innovation in defence and the exploitation of synergies at EU level with civil research in dual-use technology fields.

The RTI Directorate comprises two Units and an RTI Coordination Team, with the following key tasks:

• The EU-funded Defence Research Unit: upstream, implementing and downstream support linked to defence research activities funded by the EU budget under delegation by the European Commission
  
• The Technology & Innovation Unit: facilitating the work of the Capability Technology Groups (CapTechs), the Energy & Environment Working Group; development and management of ad hoc research activities based on sectoral Strategic Research Agendas
  
• The RTI Coordination Team: coordination of the RTI Directorate’s contributions to EDA’s transversal activities (such as CDP, CARD, PESCO, and KSA); overview of the Agency’s research portfolio; provision of outlook for research activities and technology watch.

The Project Officer Offshore Energy will contribute to the effective implementation of the upcoming EDA action on improving offshore energy development in areas reserved or used for present or future defence activities and presenting conditions for co-existence. This activity is part of the EDA and European Commission joint action foreseen in the "EU Strategy to harness the potential of offshore renewable energy for a climate-neutral future" and will be funded by the Horizon Europe funding programme for research and innovation.

Under the supervision of the Director Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI), the Head of Unit Technology and Innovation, and the Project Officer Energy (Project Manager of the subject action), the jobholder will contribute to the following activities:

• work as part of the project management and administrative team;
  
• act as the Project Officer Offshore Energy and Deputy Project Manager;
  
• support and, when needed, replace the Project Officer Energy;
  
• manage, support and monitor the project implementation, including public procurement activities (subcontracting) envisaged in the grant agreement, financial, administrative and organisational matters;
  
• contribute to the drafting and reviewing the entire set of project documents such as deliverables, periodic reports, presentations, policy papers, including the drafting of relevant tender specifications for the selection of subcontractors;
  
• assess and evaluate wider EU policies and developments in the field of sustainable energy, particularly offshore energy and marine strategies, climate change and circular economy, and identify their implications on the defence and security sectors;
  
• collaborate and liaise with representatives and experts from the EU Member States, third countries, industry, research institutes, academia and relevant EU and other institutions dealing with sustainable energy and climate change;
  
• collaborate with and support the Project Officer Energy Administrative Support in following up and managing financial, administrative, organisational and logistical aspects of the project (including conferences, meetings, video conferences, reimbursements, etc.) and, when needed, replace the Project Officer Energy Administrative Support;
  
• gather, review, integrate and revise information from publicly available sources;
  
• manage database content by integrating and reviewing inputs from the Ministries of Defence (MODs) and other stakeholders;
  
• support database users in accessing information (i.e. EDA Collaboration Platform workspaces);
  
• support the management of the project’s web-page and the provision of inputs in the EDA’s Project and Portfolio Management platform;
  
• take on additional tasks as required in the interest of the service.

Considering that the subject action is conceptualised in the context of the third phase of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS III), the Project Officer Offshore Energy, in line with the instructions and guidance of the Project Officer Energy, will maintain synergies between the two projects and participate in the CF SEDSS-related meetings and perform actions related to content, administrative and organisational aspects.

Duties may also evolve subject to changes in the EDA’s structure and activities as well as decisions of EDA management.

To be considered eligible to take part in this selection procedure, on the closing date for the submission of applications candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria as specified below:

• 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;
  
• produce the appropriate character references as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties (extract from the “judicial record” or certificate of good conduct will be requested prior to recruitment);
  
• be physically fit to perform his/her duties;
  
• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1 oral and written) of one of the languages of the participating Member States and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level B2 oral and written) 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 (SECRET UE/EU SECRET), 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 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 or be a graduate of a national or international Defence College; or where justified in the interests of the service, professional training of an equivalent level;

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in the said Member States shall be taken into consideration. In the latter case, the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment reserves the right to request proof of such equivalence.

It should be noted that due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on the 31/01/2020, candidates from the United Kingdom who do not hold the nationality of another participating EU Member State, are not eligible.

Please note that degrees awarded by the United Kingdom up to 31/12/2020 are considered as valid.

To assess your foreign language skills, see: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language-levels-cefr

A. Essential

(1) Professional

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

• very good knowledge of the EU Institutions and EU policies, processes and regulations in the fields of sustainable energy, climate change and circular economy (i.e., EU energy-related policies and directives, European Green Deal, Strategic Compass, etc.);
• good understanding of defence collaboration environment and related defence technologies;
• familiarity with the communities and structures relating to energy (particularly offshore renewable energy sources, maritime spatial planning, etc.), climate change and circular economy approaches;
• knowledge and proven experience in managing EU funded grants and other initiatives (Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, FP7, CEF Energy, LIFE, CIP, IEE etc.), and particularly in terms of administrative and organisational aspects, drafting project proposals, deliverables and reports;
• knowledge and proven experience in research and technology environments;
• good knowledge of the EU procurement and grant lifecycle and processes;
• experience in statistics visualisation and using graphics and charts (knowledge of MS PowerPoint and Excel being minimum requirements);
• relevant experience in operating databases and software management, including in a SharePoint environment;
• excellent organisational and communicational skills;
• track record of delivering successful business outcomes (i.e. project deliverables) both individually and as part of a team;
• a very good to excellent knowledge of written and spoken English.

(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:

• strong sense of duty and responsibility;
  
• ability to work in a multicultural team;
  
• results-orientation and strong motivation;
  
• flexibility and innovativeness;
  
• good interpersonal, communication and influencing skills;
  
• ability to adapt to a quickly changing working environment;
  
• genuine commitment to the Agency’s objectives.

B. Desirable

The following will be considered an advantage:

• familiarity with the international defence environment (especially Common Security and Defence Policy) and the EU defence community, including government, industry, institutes and academia;
• knowledge of sustainable energy, climate change, circular economy, green public procurement and related challenges in the defence sector;
• familiarity with the energy-related activities of the European Commission and EDA such as the Energy and Environment Working Group and the CF SEDSS project;
• familiarity with the Horizon Europe or other EU’s related funding schemes;
• a track record of delivering successful business outcomes in data management.

The Project Officer Offshore Energy will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in the Agency’s interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence.

The Project Officer Offshore Energy will be appointed by the Chief Executive.

Recruitment will be as a member of the temporary staff of the Agency for a 30-month period. The successful candidate will be recruited as Temporary Agent, grade AD8.

Please note that recruitment is conditional to the funding of the project and the conclusion of a grant agreement with the European Commission. Renewal is possible within the limits set out in the EDA Staff Regulations and subject to decision/agreement on a potential extension of the project.

The start and end dates of the contract will depend on the launch date of the new project (planned for 1 May 2022).

The pay for this position consists of a basic salary of 7.257,53€ supplemented with various allowances, including as applicable expatriation or family allowances. The successful candidate will be graded on entry into service according to the length of his/her professional experience. Salaries are exempted from national tax, instead an Agency tax at source is paid.