EEA/AD/2008/2

The European Environment Agency is organising an open competition with a view to drawing up a reserve list of temporary agents to work in the area of sustainable consumption and production.

The EEA is an agency of the European Union (EU) and one of the decentralised Community bodies. The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe’s environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.

The place of work will be Copenhagen, Denmark.

Job description:

To contribute, as part of a small dynamic group, to concrete EEA activities on sustainable consumption & production and waste focusing on: 

1. analysing current and possible future environmental and other impacts from resource extraction, production and consumption, and waste generation and management in Europe;
2. providing information on and analysing the effectiveness of policies in EEA member countries related resource use, production, consumption and waste; 
3. developing and using indicators of sustainable consumption and production and supporting Eurostat data centres on products, resources and waste; and 
4. Developing and providing indicators, information, assessments and case studies on environmental technologies and eco-innovation.

In the area of sustainable consumption & production (SCP) and waste, the EEA aims to provide analyses, information and knowledge to support the development, implementation and evaluations of national, EU and global SCP and waste policies, including in particular action plans and policies on SCP and waste in EEA member countries, the forthcoming EU Action Plans on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Sustainable Industrial Policies, and the global Marrakech process on SCP.

Functions and duties:

In close cooperation with other staff members of the EEA, the current European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management (until 31 December 2008) and the future European Topic Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (from 1 January 2009), the Temporary Agent will undertake tasks as specified in EEA annual management plans, which may include the following:

Consumption behaviour and its driving factors; 

• Analyse and provide information on what drives private and public consumption in EEA member countries and how it can be changed.

Environmental impacts from consumption & production and waste:

• Analyse worldwide lifecycle environmental and other impacts from production and in EEA member countries, using tools such as environmental accounting and life-cycle analysis. 
• Develop sustainable consumption outlooks and scenarios for Europe.
• Analyse trends in waste generation and management in EEA member countries.

Environmental technologies and eco-innovation;

•  Develop and provide indicators, information, assessments and case studies on environmental technologies and eco-innovation.

Policy information and effectiveness

•  Prepare country fact sheets on SCP and waste policies in EEA member countries (including all EU Member States).
•  Undertake concrete evaluations of effectiveness of SCP and waste policies in selected EEA member countries.

Indicators of sustainable consumption and production:

• Develop and use a framework and indicators of sustainable consumption and production;

External relations:

• To cooperate with EEA member countries (through Eionet), international organisations (including UNDESA, UNEP and the OECD), other EU institutions (including the Commission and the Parliament), business and civil society (including research institutions and NGOs).

ELIGIBILITY:

Formal requirements:

Candidates applying must satisfy the following general requirements on the closing date for the submission of applications:

• Citizenship of one of the Member Countries of the EEA (Member States of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey);
• Enjoy full rights as a citizen;
• Have fulfilled any obligation imposed by law concerning military service;
• Meet the educational requirements as described under “Eligibility”;
• Have a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the EEA Member Countries and a satisfactory knowledge of a second of these languages.

Education certificates and diplomas:

• A university degree relevant to sustainable consumption and production and waste (in particular the interface between the economy (production and consumption) and the environment) – for example in economics, engineering, environmental sciences, law, political science and sociology - ideally with a substantial environmental focus

Range of professional experience and skills:

• A minimum of three years of professional experience related to sustainable consumption & production, waste and/or eco-efficiency and environmental technologies,
• Excellent overall knowledge of the economic system of consumption and production (ideally including waste) and how it affects the environment,
• Excellent knowledge of at least some of the tools available to analyse environmental pressures from consumption & production and waste (environmental accounting, life-cycle analysis, indicators, cost-benefit analysis etc.), 
• A solid knowledge of sustainable consumption & production policies (ideally including waste and resource policies as well as eco-efficiency and environmental technology related practices) in the EU and in EEA member countries, 
• Experience in project management of cross-cutting and interdisciplinary projects, 
• Excellent analytical and writing skills (EEA working language is English),
• Excellent team player with very good networking and interpersonal skills, and abilities to work effectively in a multicultural environment.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Interested candidates must apply by filling in the application form below. To the application form must be attached:

• The template CV below duly filled in, and
• A letter of motivation

Application Documents:

Template Europass CV
Instructions for Europass CV

Closing date for application: Friday 11 April 2008, at 12.00 (Central European Time)

Applications sent after this date will be rejected.

Please ensure that you observe the following:

1. Remember to take time zones into consideration when sending your application.

2. Include both a CV using the Europass template attached above and a letter of motivation.

3. Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an automatic reply.

4. It is your responsibility to keep the automatic reply message as proof of submission of your application.

5. Should you not receive an automatic reply message, please submit your application again.

CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS:

The successful candidate will be offered a Temporary Agent contract in accordance with the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities. The selected candidate will be employed for an initial time period of four years, renewable.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Eligibility of candidates will be assessed according to compliance with all formal requirements by the closing date for the submission of applications.

Eligible candidates whose application shows evidence of all required competences and skills may be invited for an interview, which will be held for the most part in English.

Prior to contract signature, the successful candidate will be asked:

• to provide original or certified copies of all relevant documents proving his/her eligibility, including an extract from his/her police file;
• to undergo a compulsory medical examination to establish that he/she meets the standard of physical fitness necessary to perform the duties involved.

The Agency is an equal opportunities employer.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION:

Any personal data provided by the User shall be processed pursuant to European Regulation related to personal data protection, in particular Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movements of such data. It shall be processed solely for the purposes of the performance, management and follow-up of information requested by the User. The User shall have the right of access to his personal data and the right to rectify any such data that is inaccurate or incomplete. Should the User have any queries concerning the processing of his personal data, he shall address them to the European Environment Agency.

REQUEST FOR REVIEW:

Candidates who have not been admitted to the selection procedure will be notified by letter. The candidate may ask to have her/his application reconsidered by a sending a request for review to the Chairman of the Selection Committee at the address indicated on the letter within 21 calendar days from the date of the letter of notification.

For questions only:
Should you have any questions, please use this link: personnel at eea.europa.eu