Head of Department

Vacancy Notice N° e45/2011
Head of Department (Grade A5)
Directorate General 3 - European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM)

Department Publications & Multimedia (DPM)
Closing Date: 21 March 2011
Location
Strasbourg
Minimum Educational Requirements
Higher Education
Required Nationality
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Azerbaidjan, Montenegro

Job Mission

Notice is hereby given of the above vacancy which will be filled by competitive examination open to nationals of Council of Europe member states.

Job mission

Under the authority of the Director of EDQM, the incumbent provides leadership to and ensures efficient management of the EDQM Publications and Multimedia Department (DPM) in compliance with regulatory mandates and provisions in force as well as with Council of Europe values and priorities.

Key Activities

The incumbent performs all or a combination of the following duties:

Providing leadership to and management of the Department

§ managing the activities and resources of the Department:

- ensuring effective and efficient processes, procedures and a results-oriented organisation; developing and maintaining the quality assurance system within the Department in relation to the general system of the EDQM and in interactivity with the other services of the EDQM;

- providing guidance and priorities to heads of division and other direct reportees; assigning, supervising and co-ordinating the work of internal staff and external experts;

- managing the financial resources allocated; supervising budget proposals and tenders for projects and programmes; planning, implementing and evaluating activities;

- representing the Department in internal steering committees on the management of transversal matters, in particular on publications and databases;

- promoting co-operation between different Directorates and Departments in the implementation of activities; liaising with others to ensure the coherence of the Directorate’s work and the smooth running of interdepartmental activities.

§ providing leadership and direction to staff:

- leading and motivating staff members in co-operation with line managers; allocating roles and responsibilities; setting objectives; evaluating the performance of those responsible directly to him/her;

- facilitating internal communication; fostering co-operation, team spirit and a harmonious working environment with a view to increasing efficiency.

Publications

§ leading the EDQM’s publishing section to ensure effective planning and production of various printed and electronic publications of the EDQM notably the European Pharmacopoeia, the texts of which are legally binding in the Member States of the Convention on the elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia, Pharmeuropa and Pharmeuropa Bio & Scientific Notes as well as all other publications related to EDQM’s activities, in particular:

- managing a team covering content, development and design;

- delivering the core technical and editorial processes;

- leading on project management, such as design and development of new EDQM publications including web-based products.

- managing and planning all stages leading to the realisation of publications that are scientifically sound and published in faultless quality and within pre-defined timelines;

§ co-ordinating the work of scientific staff and experts to prepare chapters and monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia ensuring synergies between DPM and the European Pharmacopoeia Department for the final preparation of scientific texts.

IT

§ leading the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Division in the delivery of a first class service ensuring that best practice is followed, in particular:

- formulating and developing the ICT strategy and roadmap of EDQM, in line with the overall CoE strategy, ensuring all ICT support activities are aligned to business needs, targets and strategy;

- providing leadership to the ICT Support Team for the delivery and operation of ICT support services, including Helpdesk and ITIL Management across infrastructure, systems and applications and the development of the relationships with internal customers;

- managing and planning the development of databases and software programmes necessary for the functioning of the EDQM, taking into account technical developments;

- identifying opportunities to improve processes and practices, ensuring the adequate provision of tools and resources necessary to undertake them and forging close working alliances with external suppliers to deliver strategic objectives;

- delivering quality ICT services to both internal and/or external clients ensuring that both current and evolving client needs are met.

Communicating and representing the scientific work of EDQM

§ participating in promoting the work of the EDQM and providing support to users:

- participating in the public relations activities of the EDQM including the organisation of scientific conferences and training courses;

- preparing scientific contributions, e.g. articles, presentations and posters, for relevant scientific journals and conferences, together with the other services involved in the publication of results of scientific studies.

§ ensuring EDQM representation in European and international working groups on controlled terms related to medicinal products, e.g. at the level of the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for the registration of Human Medicines (ICH) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

Competencies

· Professional and technical competencies:

- qualifications: University degree in pharmaceutical, chemical or biological sciences;

- professional expertise:

o has extensive experience in management functions acquired in an international context in a licensing authority for medicines, an official medicines control laboratory, an analogous organisation or the pharmaceutical chemical or comparable industry; ;

o has a profound knowledge of matters and regulations related to the European Pharmacopoeia and good knowledge of the pharmaceutical legislation in Europe;

o knowledge of scientific areas of activity of the EDQM;

o has extensive experience in delivering ICT Services and developing databases;

o experience in the design and production of both print and electronic scientific publications would be an advantage;

- analytical thinking, problem-solving and judgement skills.

· Communication and linguistic skills: communication and drafting skills; has very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English) and good knowledge of the other (French); can express oneself and draft clearly, concisely and convincingly in English or French.

· Managerial skills: leadership; management of large teams, resources, projects and processes; coaching of others, influence and authority, the ability to apply broad and in depth business management knowledge to resolve multi-discipline or multi-functional/process problems and the ability to resolve conflicts between work teams over resource allocation and other critical issues.

· Interpersonal skills: relationship-building and networking at a political, diplomatic and administrative level; advising.

· Vision on international affairs: awareness of the international political, economic, social and cultural context; organisational awareness.

· Personal attitudes: initiative and responsibility, result orientation and sense of continuous improvement, concern for quality and efficiency, adaptability, self-management and development, organisational alignment.

· Personal values: integrity, loyalty and conscience, discretion, independence and confidence, respect for diversity.

Language Requirements

Communication and drafting skills; has very good knowledge of one of the official languages (English) and good knowledge of the other (French); can express oneself and draft clearly, concisely and convincingly in English or French.

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Additional Information

The Organisation

The Council of Europe is a political organisation founded in 1949 in order to promote greater unity between its members. It now numbers 47 member States. The Organisation’s main aims are to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and to develop common responses to political, social, cultural and legal challenges in its member States. Since 1989 it has integrated most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and supported them in their efforts to implement and consolidate their reforms. The Council of Europe has its permanent headquarters in Strasbourg (France). By Statute, it has two constituent organs: the Committee of Ministers, composed of the member States’ Ministers for Foreign Affairs, and the Parliamentary Assembly, comprising delegations from the national parliaments. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe represents the entities of local and regional self-government within the member States. The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body competent to adjudicate complaints brought against a state by individuals, associations or other contracting states on grounds of violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The overall mandate of the Directorate General of Social Cohesion is to foster social cohesion and to promote the improvement of the quality of life in Europe for the genuine enjoyment of fundamental human rights and the respect of human dignity. The mission of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (http://www.edqm.eu) is to contribute to the basic human right of access to good quality medicines and healthcare and to promote and protect human and animal health.

Applications

Applications must be made in English or French using the Council of Europe on-line application system. By connecting to our website http://www.coe-recruitment.com you can create and submit your on-line application. Applications must be submitted by 21 March 2011 (midnight Central European Time) at the latest.

Additional Information

The recruitment procedure consists of three stages: preliminary selection, written examination and interview with the Appointments Board (external recruitment procedure organised in accordance with Article 15 of the Regulations on Appointments).

Appointments will be made at grade A5. The first year of employment will constitute a probationary period. The compulsory retirement age is 65.

Following this competition, a reserve list of successful candidates, in order of merit, may be established. It will be notified to the applicants concerned. This list will be valid for two years with the possibility of extending it to a maximum of four years. During the period of validity of the reserve list, candidates on the list may be offered employment of indefinite or fixed-term duration, should a permanent post or a fixed-term position corresponding to candidates’ qualifications become vacant. It should be noted that placement on a reserve list does not give candidates the right to an appointment within the Council of Europe. Moreover, the choice of candidates from a reserve list is not only made solely according to the order of merit.

The total length of employment under fixed-term contracts will not exceed five years.

Details on conditions of employment including salaries, allowances, pension scheme and social insurance can be consulted on our recruitment website.

Under its equal opportunities policy, the Council of Europe is aiming to achieve parity in the number of women and men employed in each category and grade. In the event of equal merit, preference will therefore be given to the applicant belonging to the under-represented sex (at the time of the Appointments Board making its recommendation).

The Council of Europe welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief or sexual orientation.

During the different stages of the recruitment procedure, specific measures may be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities.