Director (m/f) General Inspection of Services European Patent Office

Director (m/f)
General Inspection of Services
in Directorate General Inspection of Services

EPO Munich (Germany)
General Inspection of Services (Dir. 0.3.2) is one of two directorates belonging to the EPO's Principal Directorate Controlling Office, the other being Financial Controlling and Statistics (Dir. 0.3.1). The Principal Director Controlling Office reports direct to the President of the EPO.

PD Controlling Office is currently being re-organised with a view to enhancing the EPO's ability to become more pro-active Office-wide in the specialised domains of organisation and methods. Reporting direct to the Principal Director Controlling Office, the Munich-based Director of General Inspection of Services will supervise a team of about 6-10 staff in the provision of information and advice in these areas for use by the EPO's management.

The successful candidate will be expected to carry out regular analyses of Office workload and performance and take a hands-on approach to identifying how the needs and objectives of the EPO can best be met from the point of view of structure, methodology and staffing. He/she will also be closely involved in the Office's programme and project portfolio procedures, with a particular emphasis on quality assurance and delivery of benefits.

Main duties

• Conducting organisational and efficiency reviews, comprising analyses of structures, methods, systems and procedures
• Analysing EPO results and making proposals for change and performance improvement
• Setting standards and establishing processes for organisational design
• Maintaining close co-operation with the Office's HR Business Partners
• Examining staffing levels and requests for human resources
• Supporting the Office programme and project portfolio processes
• Running the EPO's top-level Balanced Scorecard management tool
• Developing Office strategies and monitoring their implementation
• Fostering the professional development of staff, especially with a view to the strategic challenges facing the Directorate
• Carrying out additional tasks as assigned by the Principal Director

Requirements
The ideal candidate will have:

• A master's degree in business management, organisational design or a similar discipline
• Many years (preferably at least ten) of experience in the areas of organisational assessment and design and in the delivery of the associated principles and methods in co-operation with senior management teams, including a significant number of years of direct line-management responsibilities
• Sound knowledge of the internal workings of large corporations, preferably gained in an international environment
• Excellent interpersonal, project management, organisational and leadership skills
• Excellent diagnostic and listening abilities coupled with strong decision-making skills and the ability to prioritise and to manage multiple projects
• The ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with direct reports, peers and senior management
• The ability to perform both comprehensive and highly specific simulations and analyses
• A clear understanding of operational urgency

Minimum qualifications
University degree or - in exceptional cases - equivalent knowledge acquired over many years of qualified work. Many years' professional experience. Excellent knowledge of one official language, and the ability to understand the other two.

Selection procedure
The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of qualifications and tests. Before the formal interviews, shortlisted candidates will be asked to attend an assessment centre for exercises and discussions designed to assess their management skills and personal qualities. The results will go to the selection board for consideration in the subsequent stages of the selection procedure.

It is intended to hold an assessment centre on 14 and 15 December 2011 and the interviews on 16 and 17 January 2012. Both will take place in Munich.

Please apply online, using the online application form, reference number INT/EXT/5166

Closing date: 13.11.2011

As the second largest European organisation, the European Patent Office offers a competitive salary, excellent social benefits and varied work in a modern international environment.

More information on www.epo.org/vacancies