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IT Technical Support Specialist (OPER IT CA 02/2016)


EBA - European Banking Authority

London, United Kingdom

The Authority

The European Banking Authority (“EBA”) is an independent EU Authority established on 1 January 2011 by Regulation (EC) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010, and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L 331/12) on 15 December, 2010 as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1022/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2013 regarding the conferral of specific tasks on the European Central Bank pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (L 287/6) on 29 October 2013.

The Mission

With a view to improving the functioning of the EU internal market, the EBA contributes to ensuring a high quality, effective and consistent level of regulation and supervision in its areas of competence. It also promotes public values such as the stability of the financial system, the transparency of markets and financial products, and the protection of depositors and investors.
It works to prevent regulatory arbitrage and guarantee a level playing field, strengthens international supervisory coordination, promotes supervisory convergence and provides advice to the Union institutions in the areas of banking, payments and e-money regulation and supervision, and related corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting issues.
As an integral part of the ESFS, the EBA works closely together with her sister authorities, EIOPA and ESMA, as well as the Joint Committee and the ESRB.
The EBA is currently inviting applications for a position as an IT Technical Support Specialist at its offices in London, United Kingdom.
Further information on the EBA is available on the EBA website: http://www.eba.europa.eu/-/it-technical-support-speciali-1.

Job description

The support team in EBA IT provides, operates, and supports the IT infrastructure and administrative applications required by the EBA. The core applications of EBA are supported by another team in EBA IT. The IT infrastructure is outsourced mainly to independent service providers. The IT Technical Support Specialist will join the EBA IT Unit and contribute to the operation of the IT infrastructure and administrative applications of the EBA.

Main responsibilities

  • Acting as a point of contact and first line support for EBA users for incidents and problems in relation to the IT infrastructure and administrative applications of the EBA;
  • Tracking, coordinating and following-up incident and problem resolution with the IT service providers (second and third line support) in accordance with the agreed service levels for the Infrastructure;
  • Acting as a single point of contact for service requests of the users within the EBA (e.g. software installations and access requests);
  • Assisting and supporting the EBA users’ inquiries about the MS Office and other office automation products;
  • Defining new and improving existing processes for IT support;
  • Defining and monitoring KPIs for IT support;
  • Drafting and maintaining technical documentation and user manuals for infrastructure and applications;
  • Contributing to the technical library and ensuring the consistency with existing policies;
  • Contributing to drafting technical specifications for tender procedures and participating in the evaluation;
  • Contributing to the planning of maintenance activities in particular related to the EBA’s desktop environment;
  • Purchasing of hardware and software from existing framework contracts of the EBA;
  • Contributing to drafting and validating technical designs in particular for the EBA’s IT infrastructure;
  • Contributing to training of users on the IT infrastructure and administrative applications.

Requirements

1. Eligibility Criteria

Candidates will be considered eligible for selection on the basis of the following criteria to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

1.1 General

  • Thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the European Union;
  • Be a national of a Member State of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway;
  • Be entitled to his/her full rights as a citizen;
  • Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by the applicable laws on military service;
  • Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.
Prior to the appointment, the successful candidate will be asked to provide a certificate confirming the absence of any criminal record and shall be medically examined in order to fulfil the requirements of Article 12 (2)(d) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities.

1.2 Specific

1.2.1 Qualifications

To be eligible, a candidate must have a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma.
Only qualifications awarded by EU Member State authorities or EEA authorities or qualifications recognised as equivalent by the relevant EU or EEA Member State authorities will be taken into consideration. If the main studies took place outside the European Union, the candidate’ s qualification must have been recognised by a body delegated officially for the purpose by one of the European Union Members States (such as a national Ministry of Education) and a document attesting so must be submitted with the application by the closing date.

1.2.2 Professional experience

Candidates must have, in addition to the above, at least 6 years of proven fulltime professional experience in the field of IT of which at least 4 years in a comparable position.
The work experience for eligibility purposes is counted from the award of diploma up to the closing date of applications.

1.2.3 Knowledge of languages

For working purposes, an excellent knowledge of the English language, both written and spoken, is required.
Native English speakers will be tested to prove their second language skills.
Knowledge of other official languages of the European Union will be taken into account.

2. Selection criteria

In addition to the above, the candidate must have:
  • Extensive experience in deploying and managing Windows on client devices;
  • Extensive experience in configuration and troubleshooting of end user devices (PCs, laptops, tablets, etc.);
  • Experience in administering MS Exchange Server 2010 or above;
  • Experience with MS Active Directory (e.g. users' accounts and profiles, etc.).
It would be advantageous for the candidates to have:
  • Experience in software packaging and deployment (e.g. with MS SCCM);
  • Working knowledge of ITIL;
  • Experience in providing IT support in an international environment.
Applications will be assessed on the basis of the Eligibility and Selection criteria specified in the vacancy notice (in parts 1 and 2) and these must be met by the deadline for submitting applications.
For this position the candidates are expected to fulfil the following competencies to be assessed during the interviews:
  • Excellent communication skills with customers across all levels of the organisation;
  • Excellent problem solving skills and the ability to determine the most appropriate solution to an identified incident or problem;
  • Strong orientation to results and the ability to meet agreed deadlines and targets under pressure;
  • Ability to independently organise a number of parallel activities (conceptual tasks, incidents, problems, service requests) and follow through until their completion;
  • Ability to promote innovative ideas for the improvement of the EBA IT in operations;
  • Flexibility in taking over other tasks in view of a dynamic and evolving institutional environment;
  • Being a good team player with strong interpersonal skills.

3. Equal opportunities

As a European Union agency, the EBA will apply a policy of equal opportunities and will take care to avoid any form of discrimination in its recruitment procedures.

4. Selection procedure

The selection procedure will include the following:
4.1. The selection committee will be established. All the applicants shall be informed on the composition of the selection panel in the letter acknowledging the receipt of their application.
4.2. The selection committee will analyse application documents (CV, motivations letter, and eligibility criteria grid) of applicants with reference to the eligibility and selection criteria and will establish a shortlist. Short listed candidates may be invited to sit written tests and interviews.
Written tests will be done in English and will be related to the job and designed to test the ability to communicate in written English, knowledge and competencies related to the job, and drafting skills. Total mark for written test: 10. The minimum score to pass: 6.
The interview will aim to assess the suitability of the candidate to perform the duties, professional knowledge and motivation. The interview will be held in English. Total mark for interview: 10. The minimum score to pass: 6.

Successful candidates with the total score equal to and above 12 will be placed on the reserve list, which will be valid until 31/12/2016. It may be renewed. Inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. The successful candidate will be selected from the established reserve list which may also be used for the recruitment of a similar post depending on the needs of the EBA.
In accordance with Articles 11 and 11a of the Staff Regulations (SR) and Articles 11 and 81 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) the successful candidate will be required to make a declaration of the conflict of interest before recruitment. The Executive Director will examine whether the successful candidate has any personal interest which may impair his/her independence or any other conflict of interest in relation to the position offered and will adopt appropriate measures. To that end, the successful candidate, using a specific form shall inform the Executive Director of any actual or potential conflict of interest.
Please note that the selection committee's work and deliberations are strictly confidential and that any contact with its members is strictly forbidden. Any contact made by the candidates or third parties in order to influence the members of the panel in relation to the selection constitutes grounds for disqualification from the selection procedure.

5. Appointment and conditions of employment

5.1 Contract type, duration and starting date:

The successful candidate can be offered a contract agent fixed-term contract of three years with a probation period of nine months and the possibility of extension.
Example: A contract agent with experience of less than 8 years (recruited at grade 13 of FG IV), marital status - single, entitled to expatriation allowance earns an estimated monthly net salary of € 5,275.24 (3,737.51.64 GBP).
The expected starting date is 1 July 2016.

5.2 Function group and grade:

The successful candidates shall be recruited in function group IV. The estimated monthly minimum basic salary is from € 3,246.70.
The details of the whole remuneration package are provided in Articles 62 - 70 and Annex VII to the Staff Regulations.

5.3 Summary of the conditions of employment

  • Salaries are exempted from national tax; instead a Community tax at source is paid;
  • The correction coefficient applicable to the remuneration of officials and other servants under Article 64 of the Staff Regulations for the United Kingdom shall apply;
  • Depending on the individual family situation and the place of origin, staff members may be entitled to the following: expatriation allowance, household allowance, dependent child allowance, education allowance, installation allowance and reimbursement of removal costs, initial temporary daily subsistence allowance, and other benefits;
  • Annual leave entitlement - two days per calendar month plus additional days for age, grade, and 2.5 days of supplementary home leave granted to staff entitled to the expatriation allowance or foreign residence allowance;
  • EU Pension Scheme (after 10 years of service);
  • EU Joint Sickness and Insurance Scheme, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance; and
  • Travel insurance when travelling on missions.

5.4 Place of employment

Offices of the European Banking Authority on Floor 45 - 46, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AA – United Kingdom.

6. Submission of Applications

Applications including curriculum vitae in the Europass format, motivation letter, and eligibility criteria gridshould be submitted in English to the following address: vacancies@eba.europa.eu by 8 April 2016 at 12:00 noon London time.
EBA will disregard any application received after deadline. Applicants are strongly advised not to wait until the last day to submit their applications, since heavy internet traffic or fault with the internet connection could lead to difficulties in submission. The EBA cannot be held responsible for any delay due to such difficulties.
Only complete applications will be accepted and considered. In order for the application to be considered complete candidates must send all documents: curriculum vitae in the Europass format, motivation letter, and eligibility criteria grid before the deadline.
Candidates should assess and check before submitting their application whether they fulfil all the requirements as specified in the vacancy notice, particularly in terms of qualifications and relevant professional experience.
Professional experience indicated in the curriculum vitae is counted only from the time the candidate obtained the certificate or diploma required for the position and if it is on paid basis (including study grants or internship grants). PhDs may be counted as professional experience if the candidates received a study grant or salary during the time of PhD studies. The maximum duration counted for PhD is three years provided that the PhD has been successfully concluded by the closing date for applications of the selection procedure.
Start and end dates of all previous positions and whether full time or part time work should be indicated in the curriculum vitae. Freelance or self-employed candidates must provide either a copy of the entry in the relevant trade register, or any official document (for example a tax revenue) showing clearly the length of the relevant professional experience. Details of any professional experience, training, research or studies must be given on the application form. Candidates must be able to provide photocopies of supporting documents clearly showing duration and nature of experience upon request.
The address indicated in the CV will be used as the location from which the candidates invited to interviews travel.
At this stage, please do not send supporting documents (copies of ID cards, passports, diplomas, etc.).

7. Data protection

EBA will ensure that candidates’ personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

8. Appeal Procedure

Candidates who consider that their interests have been prejudiced by any decision related to the selection procedure can take the following actions:

8.1 Request for review of the decisions taken by the Selection Committee

Within ten days of the date of the letter notifying the candidate of a decision taken by the Selection Committee, he/she may submit a written request for a review of such a decision, setting out the reasons for your request, to: e-mail address: vacancies@eba.europa.eu.

8.2 Appeals

a) The candidate may lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities and Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities, within the time limits provided for, at the following address:
The Executive Director
European Banking Authority
Selection procedure: Ref. OPER CA 02/2016
Floor 45 - 46, One Canada Square,
London E14 5AA - United Kingdom
b) The candidate can submit a judicial appeal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities to the:
European Union Civil Service Tribunal
Boulevard Konrad Adenauer
Luxembourg 2925
Please note that the appointing authority does not have the power to amend the decisions of a selection board. The Civil Service Tribunal has consistently held that the wide discretion enjoyed by selection boards is not subject to review by the Civil Service Tribunal unless rules which govern the proceedings of selection boards have been infringed.
For details of how to submit an appeal, please consult the website of the European Union Civil Service Tribunal:http://curia.europa.eu. The time limits for initiating these two types of procedure start to run from the time you are notified of the act allegedly prejudicing your interests.

8.3 Complaint to the European Ombudsman

It is also possible to lodge a complaint to the European Ombudsman pursuant to Article 228(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Decision of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the Staff Regulations and the general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties, published in Official Journal of the European Union L 113 of 4 May 1994:
European Ombudsman
1 Avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
67001 Strasbourg Cedex
France
http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu
Complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspense effect on the period laid down in Articles 90(2) and 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging, respectively, a complaint or an appeal with the European Union Civil Service Tribunal under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. Furthermore under Article 2(4) of the general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties, any complaint lodged with the Ombudsman must be preceded by the appropriate administrative approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned.