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Job grade: AD08
Internal/interagency job grade: AD06 and above
Type of position: Temporary agent
Selection procedure reference: EMA/AD/1326
Deadline for applications: 14/04/2020

About this role

The Agency is looking to recruit a head of office to establish strategic programme management for all activities related to the portfolio of information management initiatives involving EMA and/or stakeholders from across the European medicines regulatory network in support of the evaluation and supervision of human and veterinary medicines. The incumbent will lead a multifunctional team to align key business initiatives and technology roadmaps with the acquisition strategy and budget plan and act as the single voice to internal and external stakeholders, such as the portfolio, finance and procurement offices and the Telematics governance bodies.

Overseeing a multidisciplinary team, the head of office role is wide-ranging and incorporates stakeholder relations, communications, short- and long-term planning, acquisition strategy and budget planning.

Ultimately, the head of office will be accountable for:

• Establishing the information management action plan and the supporting annual acquisition and budget plans to enable seamless communication with stakeholders and the portfolio, finance and procurement offices;
• A well-functioning programme management office that effectively enables the Information Management Division to successfully execute strategic business and technology initiatives through timely availability of budget and contract vehicles;
• Developing and maintaining the information management and Telematics strategy and measuring progress against strategic goals through an annual status report;
• The management of the Telematics governance framework, which ensures that pan-European IT needs are appropriately reflected in EMA's information management strategic plan;
• The collaboration with staff in all Agency divisions, with Members States and other EMA stakeholder groups, including pharmaceutical industry, to ensure that relationships are optimised to support the delivery of the regulatory network's strategies.

Job description

In this role and in the context of the office's mission and objectives, you will:

• Manage the 18-month information management action plan and define a multi-year strategic roadmap that provides delivery transparency and financial predictability to senior management;
• Establish the annual information management acquisition and budget plan; build strategic relationships with the Portfolio, Finance and Procurement Offices and establish clear lines of communications; ensure the availability of framework contracts to support business and technical requirements; align contracts with strategic business initiatives;
• Provide centralised management of cross-programme dependencies and define a framework for managing new demands or changes to the existing investment portfolio;
• Provide management reports, communicate programme status, identify opportunities, monitor compliance and develop resource plans to inform future decisions by executive leadership;
• Facilitate the Telematics governance process, manage a set of diverse stakeholders from the national competent authorities through the appropriate management of governance bodies, including the EU Telematics Management Board, comprised of Heads of Agencies and IT Directors, and the EU Telematics IT Directors Group, comprised of the IT Directors of the national competent authorities of the Member States of the the European Economic Area (EEA);
• Oversee the organisation and content of governance body meetings ensuring that portfolio projects are appropriately represented, and actions and decisions are followed up with the relevant partner and stakeholder groups;
• Support the development and delivery of the multiannual Telematics strategy by ensuring support for consultation and editing of relevant strategic documents and subsequent tracking of deliverables and inclusion of topics in relevant agendas of governing bodies;
• Lead, coordinate and manage the team and individuals; set and monitor Office and individual objectives and performance indicators; plan, organise, manage, and monitor activities of the team and of individuals; coach, mentor and develop team members and manage their performance.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for consideration for this position, you are required to:

• Enjoy full rights as a citizen of an EU Member State or Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway;
• Possess a university degree of a minimum of four years that must have been obtained by the closing date of this vacancy notice

or

possess a university degree of three years and relevant professional experience of at least one year obtained after the university degree;

• In addition to the above, have at least 9 years' relevant professional experience in the field of the above-mentioned areas and duties after obtaining the relevant degree, that must have been obtained by the closing date, including relevant competence and experience;
• A thorough knowledge of English (at least level C1) and a satisfactory knowledge of another official language of the European Union (at least level B2);
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service.

For criteria 1, 2, and 3 above it will be necessary to provide proof at the interview stage.

Only eligible candidates will be assessed by the selection committee in accordance with the assessment criteria below.

Essential Criteria

• Proven track record of at least 2 years in managing or leading small teams to undertake activities or deliver initiatives or projects with concrete deliverables requiring setting objective, monitoring, motivating and developing people;
• Proven track records in managing diverse groups of internal and external stakeholders and collaborating across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals;
• Experience in managing an enterprise-wide IT program to include providing oversight of multiple IT projects, integrating dependent schedules and deliverables, and related activities;
• Experience in developing an integrated acquisition management plan, preparing the budget for program areas and monitoring expenditures to ensure cost-effectiveness, and contractor performance.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques for contracting or procurement, and contract negotiation and administration;
• Knowledge of the principles and methods of cost-benefit analysis, including the time value of money, present value concepts, and quantifying tangible and intangible benefits;
• Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies;
• A combination of a technical and a business degree (MBA, Accounting, Computer Science, Information Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering and other scientific university degrees);
• Previous line management experience.

Behavioural competencies

• Analysis and problem solving - Able to tackle difficult problems/tasks. Evidence-based approach, gathers information from a wide range of sources and viewpoints, analyses and evaluates it and reaches sound conclusions. Proposes constructive solutions, explaining options and choices clearly;
• Communicating - Presents a professional image of self, team and Agency. Conveys information clearly and concisely, adjusting style according to purpose and audience. Able to persuade and challenge diplomatically. Combines logic and reason with interpersonal sensitivity to persuade others;
• Leadership - Communicates compelling and inspiring vision to develop a sense of ownership and engagement amongst team members. Optimistically talks about possibilities and opportunities. Creates environment in which people want to do their best and grow. Can inspire services/offices through demonstrated action, leading by example. Invites input from each person and shares visibility. Demonstrates energy and enthusiasm. Focuses on the success of the individual and team as well as on business outputs. Able to bring others with them;
• Team Management - Fosters team spirit while engaging individual team members by making use of their strengths. Actively encourages team communication to understand needs and expectations. Holds courageous conversations with team members. Uses appropriate facilitation skills to conduct team meetings. Allows experienced people to be responsible for their work and supports inexperienced colleagues. Promotes camaraderie among the team. Willing to share team resources to support the Agency's overall success;
• Delivering Quality and Results - Manages own and team's time effectively, responding flexibly meeting objectives and quality standards. Demonstrates the financial and resource management expertise necessary to achieve results. Professional, focused on delivering quickly and effectively. Takes well-judged risks within own delegated authority. Takes responsibility for the output of the team and reorganising work to deal with changing priorities, risks and opportunities;
• Prioritizing and Organizing - Organises own work and that of the team effectively to meet demanding objectives. Uses basic project management techniques to monitor delivery. Aware of resource implications and need to keep internal/external customers and stakeholders informed. Strong focus on developing and maintaining efficiency in own and team working practices;
• Working with Others - Self-aware: shows consideration for others' needs and motivations, values diversity and inclusion; works effectively and supportively on shared objectives with colleagues and contacts in both the immediate and wider teams to get things done;
• Strategic Thinking - Thinks strategically and plans accordingly; is able to translate the Agency's mission into relevant division/department/service or office objectives. Provides clear direction helping staff to focus on the right things.

Interested in this position?

We are happy to get in touch with you! You can send your application by using the "Apply" button.

Selection Process

The Agency establishes a selection committee for each vacancy notice whose members are of the same or higher grade than the advertised position.

The selection committee only considers eligible candidates (for more information, see the eligibility criteria). It assesses their suitability and qualifications against the assessment criteria in a number of stages. The selection committee decides before the start of the selection procedure which of the assessment criteria it will use to assess candidates at each stage of the process. Certain criteria will only be used to assess shortlisted candidates during interviews (and/or tests).

Shortlisting

As part of the online application, all candidates must answer a pre-defined set of questions, based on the essential and desirable assessment criteria, as well as behavioural competencies included in this vacancy notice. The aim of this is to enable the selection committee to carry out an objective assessment of all candidates in a structured way.

The selection committee assesses applications at this stage of the process using solely the information provided in candidates' responses to these questions. Applicants are, therefore, advised to include all relevant qualifications and experiences in their responses to these questions, even if these are already mentioned in other sections of the application form.

The selection committee normally makes its decision using a scoring system (on a scale of one to ten, with appropriate weighting applied to more important questions) and by setting either a minimum pass rate or a maximum number of candidates to shortlist.

Assessments

The next stages of selection process include preliminary assessments (for example a virtual interview and/or a remote test) and/or a final assessment interview and/or test at EMA's premises. Please note that due to current travel restrictions, assessment may be administrated remotely. All assessments are based on the assessment criteria listed in this vacancy notice.

At this stage, the selection committee looks at applications in full, including on educational background and work experience.

Candidates will participate in cognitive and personality assessments as part of the selection process.

Following the assessment stages, the selection committee recommends the most suitable candidate(s) to be appointed to the vacant position to EMA's Executive Director. The recommended candidate(s) may be invited for another formal or informal interview or they may receive a pre-offer letter directly.

Other qualified and suitable candidates may be placed on a reserve list. This reserve list will be valid for 1 full calendar year (the validity period may be extended). When a vacancy becomes available, candidates on the reserve list may be contacted for an additional interview. EMA may use the reserve list to recruit for a similar post if one becomes available.

Each interviewed candidate will be notified in writing whether he or she has been placed on the reserve list, and for how long the reserve list will be valid. Candidates should note that the placement on the reserve list does not guarantee an employment offer.

More information about selection and recruitment at EMA is available at Careers at EMA Guidance on selection and recruitment.

Conditions of employment

In principle, the Agency offers a five-year renewable contract.

The monthly basic salary will be equivalent to € 7,769.78 (including duty station weighting* for the Netherlands, and subject to tax, health insurance and pension contribution deductions). In addition to this basic salary, the jobholder may be entitled to various allowances, expatriation allowance and family allowances, including education allowance for dependent children of school age. The Agency also provides a pension scheme and world-wide health insurance for staff and their dependents. A duty station weighting is applied to the salary to compensate the cost of living. The duty station weighting is subject to annual review. Please consult the Eurostat website for more information about the duty station weighting. Relocation and/or resettlement benefits are available for entry into service. More detailed overview of various allowances and entitlements is available at our website.

Successful and selected internal and interagency candidates currently in grade AD06 or AD07, who do not fulfil the eligibility criterion with regards of years of experience required for the AD08 post (please see eligibility criteria), shall be offered to transfer to the EMA within the framework of internal mobility, and appointed in their current grade and step.

this job offer is not open for applications