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ef. No: eu-LISA/19/CA/FGIV/20.1
Sector/Unit/Department: Network Services Sector, Infrastructure Services Sector/Infrastructure Management Unit/Operations Department
Function Group/Grade: Contract Agent/FGIV/Administrator
Starting date: asap
Level of Security Clearance: SECRET UE/EU SECRET
Closing date for applications: 06 January 2020 23:59 EEST and 22:59 CEST

1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE AGENCY

Applicants are invited to apply for the above-mentioned post at the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (hereinafter referred to as “eu-LISA” or “Agency”).

The seat of eu-LISA is Tallinn, Estonia. Tasks related to development and operational management of the systems are carried out in Strasbourg, France. eu-LISA also has a backup site is Sankt Johann im Pongau, Austria and a Liaison Office in Brussels, Belgium.

eu-LISA is responsible for the long-term operational management of the European Asylum Dactyloscopy Database (Eurodac), the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) and the Visa Information System (VIS), the development and operational management of the European Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Authorization and Information System (ETIAS). These systems are essential for the normal functioning of the Schengen Area, for the efficient border management of its external borders as well as for the implementation of common EU asylum and visa policies. The Agency has been entrusted with the centralised system for the identification of Member States holding conviction information on third country nationals and stateless persons (TCN) to supplement and support the European Criminal Records System (ECRIS-TCN) and with the development of interoperability solutions between large-scale IT systems.

The core task of eu-LISA is to ensure the effective, secure and continuous operation of said IT-systems. The Agency is also responsible for taking the necessary measures to ensure the security of the systems and the security of the data therein.

Information about the Agency can be found on eu-LISA website: https://www.eulisa.europa.eu/.

2. THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT UNIT

The Infrastructure Management Unit is composed of the Network Services, Infrastructure Services, Application Management Services and the Data Centre Services Sectors.

The Network Services Sector is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the LAN/WAN communications infrastructure that supports the large-scale IT systems hosted by the Agency.

The Infrastructure Services Sector is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Common Shared Infrastructure platform (compute and storage) supporting the large-scale IT systems hosted by the Agency.

The Application Management Services Sector is responsible for the third line operation and maintenance of the large-scale IT systems hosted by the Agency.

The Data Centre Services Sector is responsible for the physical infrastructure, including maintenance, inventory, and capacity planning for the eu-LISA Data Centres. The sector is responsible for defining standards and policies in term of racks, cabling, power and cooling in consultation with eu-LISA stakeholders.

3. DUTIES

The principal role of the Information Technology Officer (Network Administrator, System Administrator) is to contribute to the operations of the IT systems and carry out tasks necessary to keep the systems functioning in a 24/7 operational environment. The jobholder will support the maintenance and technical development necessary to ensure that the system infrastructure and network infrastructure function at a satisfactory level of operational quality as defined by the relevant SLA KPI’s. This will include activities related to incident management, request fulfilment and problem management as well as project related activities that might include supervision of contractors. The duties described below may imply travel to the backup site as well as shift-work, work on duty during nights and/or weekends.

The Information Technology Officer will work under the supervision of the Head of the Network Services Sector or Infrastructure Services Sector and report to the Head of the Infrastructure Management Unit. The main duties of the Information Technology Officer will include, but not be limited to:

• Receiving, investigating and resolving incidents, problems and service requests;
• Maintaining and troubleshooting the systems (network and system platforms and infrastructure) managed by the Agency and preparing/implementing new technical solutions;
• Ensuring follow up of the tickets assigned to 3rd parties and contractors according to the EULISA procedures;
• Contributing to the reporting on the functioning of the IT systems;
• Ensuring the daily management and operation of the Agency’s backup site (BCU);
• Carrying out technical analyses and participating in the definition and execution of tests;
• Review and Maintain technical documentation and contributing to Knowledge Bases in their area of expertise;
• Updating the configuration management database (CMDB).

4. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

4.1. Eligibility criteria

Applicants will be considered eligible for recruitment and selection on the basis of the following formal criteria which need to be fulfilled by the deadline for applications:

4.1.1. he/she has a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least three years attested by a diploma;

N.B. Only qualifications that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are subject to the equivalence certificates issued by the authorities in said EU Member States shall be taken into consideration.

4.1.2. he/she is a national of one of the Member States of the Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland and enjoys his/her full rights as a citizen;

4.1.3. he/she has fulfilled any obligations imposed on him/her by the laws concerning military service;

4.1.4. he/she produces the appropriate character references as to his/her suitability for the performance of his/her duties;

4.1.5. he/she is physically fit to perform his/her duties; and

4.1.6. he/she produces evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the Union and of a satisfactory knowledge of another language of the Union to the extent necessary for the performance of his/her duties.

4.2. Selection criteria

Suitability of applicants will be assessed against the following criteria in different steps of the selection procedure.

4.2.1. Professional experience and knowledge (common for all profiles)

• Professional experience in the daily operation of Network and/or IT systems with high availability and security requirements;
• Knowledge and/or preferably professional experience in IT operation processes and best practices;
• Strong drafting and communication skills in English both orally and in writing, at least at level C1.

4.2.1.1. Network Administrator (specific for profile)

• Previous experience of at least 3 (three) years in the role of a Network Administrator in a large scale enterprise networking environment;
• Knowledge and professional experience in operating and maintaining highly available and secure Local & Wide Area Networks, switches, routers, firewalls and load balancers;
• Professional experience in Software Defined Local Area/Wide Area/Data Centre Networking technologies (SDN) or equivalent.

4.2.1.2. System Administrator (specific for profile)

• Previous experience of at least 3 (three) years in the role of a System Administrator in a large scale, highly available, virtualised environment;
• Knowledge and professional experience in operating and maintaining highly available Redhat Linux based platforms or equivalent as well as maintaining physical Server & Storage technologies;
• Professional experience in maintaining administration toolset families such as VMware, Kubernetes, Puppet, Ansible etc. or equivalent, preferable in a Micro Service/Containerised environment.

4.2.2. The following attributes would be advantageous (common for all profiles)

• Professional experience on the operation of large scale infrastructure with 24/7 high availability requirements;
• Experience of managing projects and/or work packages (please indicate the level of responsibilities, the budget and resources);
• Professional experience in the execution of a service management process role or function e.g. service level manager, configuration manager, change manager or similar;
• Professional experience within an international and multicultural environment, preferably in a European Institution, Agency or body.

4.2.3. Personal qualities (applicable for all profiles)

• Ability to communicate efficiently and unambiguously in a way that the receiver effectively understands the message;
• Supportive and helpful approach to others, with a cooperative and service-oriented attitude, have good communication and interpersonal skills;
• Ability to think creatively, a strong sense of integrity, initiative and responsibility and willingness to propose new innovative solutions;
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills, maintaining a clear overview of multiple tasks including the ability to prioritise towards deadlines and focus on key objectives as well as pay attention to details;
• Works collaboratively and respectfully with others to ensure effective and successful completion of tasks.

Important! The applicants need to indicate on the presentation letter for which profile they apply. The applicant will be assessed against the profile’s criteria. Irrespective of the applicant’s choice, the successful candidate may be assigned to other profile in case of successful recruitment.

Because English is the working language of eu-LISA and because the successful applicant will be requested to immediately be operational, the recruitment procedure will be performed in English and all communication with applicants will be held in English.

5. INDEPENDENCE AND DECLARATION OF INTEREST

The selected applicant for the post will be required to make a declaration of commitment to act independently in eu-LISA`s interest and to make a declaration in relation to interests that might be considered prejudicial to his/her independence.

6. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

eu-LISA applies an equal opportunities policy and accepts applications without distinction on grounds of 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 or sexual orientation.

7. SELECTION PROCEDURE

The selection procedure includes the following steps:

• A Selection Committee designated by the Appointing Authority (`the Executive Director of eu-LISA`) is set up for the selection procedure;
• Each application is checked to verify whether the applicant meets the eligibility criteria;
• Applicants shall clearly indicate for which profile (Network Administrator or System Administrator) they apply;
• All the eligible applications are evaluated by the Selection Committee based on a combination of certain selection criteria defined in the vacancy notice. Some criteria will be assessed only for invited applicants during interviews and tests. Certain selection criteria may be assessed jointly and some criteria may be assessed in two or more stages of the selection procedure;
• The best-qualified applicants, who obtained the highest number of points, are invited for an interview phase, which will be complemented by a written competency test;
• During the interview phase, the Selection Committee examines the profiles of applicants and scores the applicants in accordance with the selection criteria;
• In order to be included on the reserve list, an applicant must receive at least 50% of the maximum points from the evaluation of the interview and the written test phase;
• The interview and the written test are conducted in English. In case English is the mother tongue of an applicant, some interview questions or test questions may be asked in the language they indicate on the application form as their 2nd EU language;
• After the interviews and tests, the Selection Committee draws up a non-ranked list of the most suitable candidates to be included on a reserve list for the post and proposes it to the Appointing Authority. The Selection Committee may also propose to the Appointing Authority the best suitable candidate to be engaged for the post;
• The Appointing Authority choses from the reserve list an applicant whom to engage for a job;
• The reserve list established for this selection procedure will be valid until 31 December 2022 (the validity period may be extended);
• Applicants placed on the reserve list may be engaged for a job for the same or a similar post depending on the needs of eu-LISA and its budgetary situation, as long as the reserve list is valid;
• Each applicant invited for an interview will be informed by a letter whether or not he/she has been placed on the reserve list. Applicants should note that inclusion on a reserve list does not guarantee engagement.

Please note that the Selection Committee’s work and deliberations are strictly confidential and that any contact with its members is strictly forbidden.

8. ENGAGEMENT AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The selected applicant will be engaged by the Authority Authorised to Conclude Contracts of employment (`eu-LISA`s Executive Director`) from the established reserve list. For reasons related to eu-LISA’s operational requirements, once the applicant receives an engagement offer, he/she may be required to confirm their acceptance of the offer in a short time, and be available to start the contract at short notice (1 to 3 months). The successful applicant will be engaged as Contract Staff, pursuant to Article 3a(b) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities (CEOS). The engagement will be in the Function Group FGIV, grades 13, 14 or 16 depending on the length of professional experience. The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary in EUR weighted by the correction coefficient (currently for Strasbourg, France 117.7%) and paid in EUR8.

In addition to the basic salary, staff members may be entitled to various allowances depending on their personal situation.

eu-LISA staff members pay an EU tax at the source and deductions are also made for medical insurance, pension and unemployment insurance. Salaries are exempt from national taxation.

Staff members may also be entitled to the reimbursement of removal costs and an initial temporary daily subsistence allowance.

eu-LISA staff members are entitled to annual leave of two working days per each complete calendar month of the service. There are on average 19 Public Holidays per year.

Throughout the period of service staff members participate in the EU pension scheme. The pension is granted after completing a minimum of 10 years' service and reaching the pensionable age. Pension rights acquired in one or more national schemes before starting to work at eu-LISA may be transferred into the EU pension system.

eu-LISA staff members are covered 24/7 and worldwide by the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS). Staff is insured against sickness, the risk of occupational disease and accident as well as entitled to a monthly unemployment allowance, the right to receive payment of invalidity allowance and travel insurance.

The initial duration of the contract is five years including a probationary period of nine months, with the possibility of contract renewal for another period not exceeding five years. Second renewal would be indefinite.

eu-LISA reserves the right to offer similar employment contracts of a shorter duration than five (5) years in accordance with the business needs of the Agency. In this case, the Agency will contact the person in the Reserve List and ask in writing his/her interest in such contractual arrangement.

All selected applicants will need to have, or be in a position to obtain, a valid Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (SECRET UE/EU SECRET level).

A Personnel Security Clearance Certificate (PSCC) means a certificate issued by a competent authority establishing that an individual is security cleared and holds a valid national or EU PSC, which shows the level of EU Classified Information (EUCI) to which that individual may be granted access (CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or above), the date of validity of the relevant PSC and the date of expiry of the certificate itself.

Applicants who currently hold a valid security clearance shall provide a copy of the security clearance to eu-LISA and specify the issuing authority, level and date of expiry. In case the validity of the security clearance expires within six months, the renewal procedure will be initiated expeditiously.

Note that the necessary procedure for obtaining a PSCC can be initiated on request of the employer only, and not by the individual applicant.

Failure to obtain the required security clearance certificate from the successful applicant`s National Security Authority, either during or after the expiration of the probationary period, will give the right to eu-LISA to terminate any applicable employment contract.

9. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

eu-LISA ensures that applicants' personal data is processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.

Please note that eu-LISA will not return applications to the applicants.

The legal basis for the selection procedures of Temporary Staff (TA 2 f) are defined in the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities.

The purpose of processing personal data is to enable selection procedures.

The selection procedure is conducted under the responsibility of eu-LISA's Human Resources Unit (`HRU`). The controller, in practice, for personal data protection purposes is the Head of the Human Resources Unit.

The information provided by the applicants will be accessible to a strictly limited number of HRU staff members, to the Selection Committee, and, if necessary, to the Executive Director, Security and/or the Legal Officer of eu-LISA.

Almost all fields in the application form are mandatory; the answers provided by the applicants in the fields marked as optional will not be taken into account to assess their merits.

Processing begins on the date of receipt of the application. Our data storage policy is as follows:

• for applications received but not selected: the paper dossiers are filed and stored in archives for 2 (two) years after which time they are destroyed;
• for applicants placed on a reserve list but not recruited: data is kept for the period of validity of the reserve list + 1 (one) year after which time it is destroyed;
• for recruited applicants: data is kept for a period of 10 (ten) years as of the termination of employment or as of the last pension payment after which time it is destroyed.

All applicants may exercise their right of access to and rectification or erasure of their personal data or restriction of processing.

In the case of identification data, applicants can rectify the data at any time during the procedure. In the case of data related to the admissibility criteria, the right of rectification cannot be exercised after the closing date of applications` submission.

Any substantiated query concerning the processing of his/her personal data should be addressed to the HRU of the Agency at eulisa-RECRUITMENT@eulisa.europa.eu.

Applicants may have recourse at any time to eu-LISA’s Data Protection Officer dpo@eulisa.europa.eu and/or the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu).

10. APPEAL PROCEDURE

If an applicant considers that he/she has been adversely affected by a particular decision, he/she can lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Union, to the following address:

eu-LISA
(European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice)
Vesilennuki 5
10415 Tallinn, Estonia

The complaint must be lodged within 3 (three) months. The time limit for initiating this type of procedure starts from the time the applicant is notified of the act adversely affecting him/her.

11. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

In order for application to be valid and considered eligible, the applicant is required to create an account in eu-LISA e-Recruitment tool, fill in the personal and CV information as well as eligibility and selection criteria checklists.

If you wish to apply for a position at eu-LISA, you must apply to a vacancy via the e-Recruitment tool. eu-LISA does not accept applications submitted by any other means (e.g. e-mail or post), or any speculative applications.

The closing date for submission of applications is: 6 January 2020 at 23:59 EEST (Eastern European Time) and 22:59 CEST (Central European Time).

Applicants are strongly advised not to wait until the last day to submit their applications, since heavy internet traffic or a fault with the internet connection could lead to difficulties in submission. eu-LISA cannot be held responsible for any delay due to such difficulties.

Once the applications have been received by eu-LISA e-Recruitment tool, applicants will receive an automatic acknowledgement message by e-mail confirming the receipt of the application.

Please note that if at any stage of the selection procedure it is established that any of the requested information provided by an applicant is false, the applicant in question will be disqualified.

In case of any queries about the selection process, please contact us via e-mail: eulisa-RECRUITMENT@eulisa.europa.eu.

You will be requested to supply documentary evidence in support of the statements that you make for this application if you are selected for further steps of the selection procedure.

Please note that the time period between the closing date for applications submission and the end of the short listing applicants for the interview may take up to several months.

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