EMSA

The European Maritime Safety Agency was established for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety, maritime security as well as prevention of and response to pollution by ships within the EU.

The idea of a European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) originated in the late 1990s along with a number of other important European maritime safety initiatives. EMSA was set up as the regulatory agency that would provide a major source of support to the Commission and the Member States in the field of maritime safety and prevention of pollution from ships.

The European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002, as amended, provides the legal basis for the establishment of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

The Agency provides technical, operational and scientific assistance to the European Commission and Member States in the fields of maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of, and response to, pollution caused by ships as well as response to marine pollution caused by oil and gas installations.

The Agency also contributes to the overall efficiency of maritime traffic and maritime transport.

Department C facilitates technical cooperation between Member States and the Commission for EU vessel traffic monitoring, the Long Range Identification and Tracking of vessels, and satellite monitoring and provides operational assistance to Member States and the Commission in the field of preparedness and response to at-sea pollution. The Department also provides a platform for integrated services, tailored to user requirements.

The Department is composed of four units, and also has a horizontal “Coordination and Innovation” cell:

• C.1 Pollution Response Services
• C.2 Vessel and Port Reporting
• C.3 Maritime Surveillance
• C.4 Digitalisation & Application Development

• Identifying business requirements and viable technology solutions within the context of satellite communication systems and assist in the integration of data that originate from or is received by such systems (i.e. RPAS) with other EMSA data systems;
• Ensuring that the data link communication of the RPAS used by EMSA can offer global, broadband, and secure communications including ability to fly beyond the radio line-of-sight through the use of safe and secure satellite-based command and control data links;
• Assisting in the definition of the space-based (satellite) data link communication specifications for the satellite communication systems for RPAS and other satellite-based applications used by EMSA;
• Assisting in the future definition of the regulatory framework for RPAS from a satellite communication point of view;
• Coordinating activities linked with the implementation of EMSA’s EDRS receiving station;
• Liaising with relevant stakeholders (EC, ESA, etc.) on activities linked with EDRS and satellite communications;
• Defining business and technical requirements for further developments linked with satellite communications associated with RPAS (such as high data rate situational awareness enhancing video) and EMSA’s EDRS capabilities;
• Participating in the relevant meetings and forums.

Qualifications and experience required:

A.1 Education:

• 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.

A.2 Experience:

• At least six years proven professional experience acquired after the award of university diploma when the normal duration of university education is four years, or;
• At least seven years of proven professional experience acquired after the award of university diploma when the normal duration of university education is three years.

A.3 language skills:

The main working language in the field of maritime safety is English. Candidates must therefore have a very good command of oral English as well as in writing with a satisfactory knowledge of at least one other official language of the European Union to the extent necessary for the performance of the above mentioned duties.

B. SELECTION CRITERIA

B.1. Essential: 

• A university degree in Computer Science, Electronics or telecommunications engineering;
• At least 3 years’ of experience (included in the experience mentioned above in A.2) in telecommunications engineering and space-based (satellite) data link communication systems;
• Very good knowledge on the technical parameters of satellite communication systems and links (air/ground communications, voice and data);
• Very good knowledge and proven experience in RPAS link control architectures for pilot, control (telecommand and telemetry), and payload communications particularly for beyond radio line-of-site situations using satellite communications;
• Good knowledge on the regulatory aspects of how satellite bands and links can be used in terms of spectrum (ITU regulations), link message security (incl. RF security), and certification for maintaining the safety and efficiency of an RPA flight.  

B.2. Advantageous:   

• Proven knowledge in maritime surveillance applications using satellite communication systems;
• Proven knowledge linked with laser communications;
• Proven knowledge linked with Ka band communication links;
• Experience in project management;
• Experience with space-based (satellite) maritime data communication systems using different payloads;
• Experience with Earth Observation applications or platforms;
• Experience with RPAS related applications or platforms;
• Proven knowledge in writing business and technical requirements;
• Familiarity with ground segment software.

The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Committee depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential criteria.

Applicants must meet the required eligibility criteria concerning the required educational qualifications and years of experience, as well as the essential criteria by the deadline for this call for applications.   

In order to be eligible the candidate must:

• Be a national of one of the Member States of the European Union or of Iceland or Norway;
• Be entitled to your full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled the obligations imposed on you by the laws concerning military service;
• Meet the character requirements for the duties involved and
• Be physically fit to perform the duties linked to the post.

The Project Officer for Satellite Communications will be appointed by the Executive Director, upon recommendation of the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.

This vacancy notice concerns a Temporary Agent position, pursuant to Article 2 f) of the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European Communities.

The offering of a post is subject to EMSA’s Establishment Plan being amended, following the adoption of the amendment to Regulation (EC) No 1406/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a European Maritime Safety Agency.

The initial duration of the contract is three years, with possibility of renewal.

The successful candidate will be recruited in the grade AD 7.

The basic monthly salary, before any deductions or allowances, weighted for Lisbon, at 1 July 2015 for grade AD 7 first step is 4551.90EUR.

In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances, such as an expatriation allowance (16% of basic salary), household allowance, dependent child allowance and education allowance. The salary is subject to a Community tax deducted at source and staff members are exempt of national taxation.

Please note that recruitment is done in the first or second step of the indicated grade, depending on the duration of the acquired professional experience. EMSA offers a comprehensive welfare package including pension scheme, medical, accident and occupational disease insurance coverage, unemployment and invalidity allowance. Further information regarding rights and conditions of employment can be found in the following document:

http://ec.europa.eu/civil_service/docs/toc100_en.pdf;

Please note that in line with the Staff Regulations recruited candidates shall be required to demonstrate before their first promotion the ability to work in a third European Community language.

The place of employment is Lisbon, Portugal.

Candidates are advised that if they are offered a post, and accept, they must undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that they meet the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.

Candidates must submit their application electronically solely via the EMSA website within the deadline. Applications by any other means (hard copy or ordinary e-mail) or submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

All candidates will receive an acknowledgement of receipt for their application.

EMSA is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all candidates who fulfil the eligibility and selection criteria without any distinction whatsoever on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, marital status or other family situation or sexual orientation.

You may apply in any of the official languages of the European Union, but it would be helpful to apply in English in order to facilitate the selection process.

For each selection process a Selection Committee is nominated. The selection is carried out in two phases:

1. In the first phase all eligible applications will be evaluated by the Selection Committee and scored against the selection criteria. Please note that non-compliance with at least one of the essential selection criteria will result in the exclusion of the candidate from the selection process. Advantageous criteria constitute additional assets and will not result in exclusion, if not fulfilled. The advantageous criteria will be considered by the Selection Committee depending on the number of applicants meeting the essential selection criteria.

On this basis, the Selection Committee will invite to the interview and to the test phase the best qualified candidates (maximum of 15), on condition that they have achieved at least 60% of the highest possible score during the evaluation of applications. Should the case arise that there are various candidates scoring the same number of points in the 15th ranking, the number of candidates to be invited will be increased accordingly to accomodate this. 

2. In the second phase, the selected candidates will be invited to pass one or several written tests related to the job profile and to take part in a selection interview.

During this recruitment phase, the selected candidates will be evaluated by the Selection Committee. After the interviews and tests, the Selection Committee will draw up a list of the most suitable candidates to be proposed to the Appointing Authority. Only candidates receiving at least 70% of the maximum points at interview and at the test phase will be included in the list of the most suitable candidates. The Appointing Authority will select the successful candidate and decide whether to also adopt a reserve list. The successful candidates will be informed accordingly.

All candidates will receive an information letter of the outcome of their application.

Please note that a binding commitment can only be made after verification of all conditions and will take the form of a contract signed by the Executive Director.

The reserve list will remain valid for a period of 1 year following its establishment. Therefore candidates whose name will be put on a reserve list could be offered a contract during this period of time. Please note however that inclusion in the reserve list does not guarantee recruitment.

Please note that the selection process may take several months to be completed and that no information will be released during this period. Once a selection process has been completed, its status will be displayed in the e-recruitment.

Please note that once you have created your EMSA profile, any correspondence regarding your application must be sent or received via your EMSA profile.

For any prior enquiry, please refer to the FAQ (Frequently asked questions) section, or send an e-mail to recruitment@emsa.europa.eu

Requests for information and appeal:

An applicant who would like further information, or considers that he/she has grounds for complaint concerning a particular decision may, at any point in the selection procedure, request further information from the Chairperson of the Selection Committee.
For information on how to lodge a complaint and/or an appeal procedure, please consult the ‘General Information for Recruitment’ overview on our website for more information:
http://www.emsa.europa.eu/recruitment-info.html